‘How do you know the sharks didn’t get her?’

Valentine shook her head vigorously. ‘Because it doesn’t add up. An eyewitness reported that she was dancing and flirting drunkenly with two guys in some strip joint the night before, a mile from where her body was found. The official story is she went off with them. But it’s all wrong.’

‘Maybe she did,’ Ben said. ‘Maybe you just want to believe there’s more to it.’

‘Linda wouldn’t have gone off with two guys she met in a bar,’ Valentine said. ‘They wouldn’t have been her type.’

‘You know that for a fact?’

Valentine looked at him sharply. ‘She was gay. I know that for a fact. A personal fact,’ she added meaningfully. ‘And I know she wasn’t there. Paxton had her butchered and the whole story was concocted to cover his tracks. That’s how he works. And we’re going to get the fucker. For what his trade does to innocent victims everywhere, and for what he did to Linda.’ Valentine’s face was tight with rage. A tear rolled down her cheek, and she brushed it away. ‘We’re going to do whatever it takes to nail him.’

Ben didn’t reply.

‘That’s where you come in,’ Wolff said. ‘We’re on our own here. We desperately need help from someone Paxton trusts.’

‘And you were hoping that, based on no evidence at all, I was going to betray him.’ Ben turned to Zara. ‘How can you listen to these people?’

Zara came over to where he was sitting and crouched down on the floor next to him. She held his hand tightly. ‘You’ve got to believe them, Ben. When I met Harry, I could only see his charm. But that’s not who he is. He’s a monster. A tyrant. He’s the most evil, cruel, dominating man ever born.’

‘We approached Zara four weeks ago,’ Valentine said. ‘We’d been watching them whenever they were on shore together. We could see they were arguing a lot. We took a chance.’

Zara looked deep into Ben’s eyes. ‘Do you remember that day we were together? When I told you I wanted to leave him but couldn’t because of Morgan’s death?’

‘I remember,’ Ben said.

‘It wasn’t because of Morgan. It was because of what Kim, Jimmy and Udo told me. They showed me terrible pictures, of African children whose arms and legs had been shot off with guns that had been bought from Harry. Little bodies covered in horrible burns, faces disfigured. Villages that had just been destroyed, along with everyone in them. That’s what he does, Ben. That’s where all the money comes from. How was I supposed to just walk away?’

‘You’re just taking their word for it.’

‘No. After I agreed to help them, I started trying to look around the Scimitar. Down in one of the cargo holds, I found these crates. Big locked brown metal boxes with white stencilled writing on them. Then I heard voices. Harry and some others. I hid. I couldn’t see them, but they were talking about a shipment. I heard the sound of them opening one of the crates, and a kind of gun sound.’

‘A kind of gun sound?’ Ben said sceptically.

‘A sound like this,’ Harrison said. He took a Colt.45 auto from under his jacket. With his left hand he racked back the slide on the large, stainless steel automatic and released it with a metallic shlack-clack.

‘Just like that,’ Zara said.

‘I think that’s called leading the witness,’ Ben said.

‘Let her speak,’ Valentine cut in.

‘When they left, I sneaked away. When it was safe, I went back down there with a camera. The crates had gone.’

‘That’s what I call real hard evidence,’ Ben said.

Valentine looked uncomfortable. ‘We know. We haven’t got a shred. That’s why we came up with the plan to get me onto the Scimitar. It’s very rare for Paxton to let anyone on board. Zara told us about your meeting. We checked you out. Your military background, your wife’s murder. I had a feeling you’d be the kind of man who would help out a lady in distress.’

‘I was a fool to,’ Ben said.

‘I thought you were a hero,’ Valentine replied. ‘I was sorry we had to trick you. But there was really no other way.’

‘Why trust me now? How do you know I’m not working with Harry?’

‘We thought of that. It didn’t figure.’

‘Maybe I was just too clever for you, the way you claim Harry is.’

‘We thought of that too. But thanks to Zara we have a recording of your talk with Paxton. It’s pretty clear from the conversation that you’re not involved with his business. You went to Cairo for him, but you didn’t kill those men. We know about the citizen’s arrest, too. As far as we’re concerned, you’re clean. Clean, but very interesting.’

Ben glared at Zara.

She squeezed his hand. ‘I’m sorry I spied on you. We had to know.’

‘And I take it you didn’t find anything during your little snooping expedition,’ Ben said, turning back to Valentine. ‘Or you wouldn’t be talking to me now.’

Valentine sighed. ‘I was hoping I could find something on his personal computer. I sneaked into his study and fitted a miniature keystroker with a transmitting device. That way, we can intercept everything he writes. But guess what? He hasn’t written a word.’

And guess what? I’ve had enough of this conversation. It’s a joke.’

‘We can’t let you go,’ Wolff said.

Ben looked at him hard. ‘If you try to stop me, everyone in this room except Zara is dead.’

‘He doesn’t mean it that way,’ Valentine said. ‘He means you can’t leave without letting us tell you the truth about Harry Paxton.’

‘Seems to me you just gave it your best shot,’ Ben said. ‘And failed.’

‘There’s more to tell. By the time I’m finished, I guarantee you’ll see him in a whole new light. You’ll realise you don’t even know him.’

‘I served with him. I fought alongside him. I think I know him a hell of a lot better than you do.’

‘And he also saved your life,’ Valentine said. ‘Sierra Leone, May 14th, 1997. Right?’

‘Right.’

‘Wrong.’

He glowered at her. ‘What did you say?’

‘I told you you weren’t going to like it. You’re going to have to make some mental adjustments.’

‘I know the truth.’

She shook her head. ‘You believe in a lie. Harry Paxton, then a Lieutenant Colonel with the Special Air Service, did not save your life that day. You were just supposed to think he did.’

‘I didn’t see you there that day, Valentine. Where were you, hiding under a stone? I’m the only witness to the fact that Harry saved my life. He shot the Cross Bones captain who was just about to kill me. He was awarded decorations and promotion for it.’

‘There was another witness,’ Valentine said. ‘One who saw the whole thing. Someone who wasn’t shot to pieces and half unconscious when it all happened. Someone whose testimony holds up a lot better than yours.’

‘Who?’

‘His name is Tinashe. He was sixteen when your SAS squad attacked the Makapela Creek mission in Sierra Leone. He was a member of the Cross Bones Boys militia. One of the many youngsters brainwashed by The Baron into killing.’

‘A great witness. A brainwashed murderer, sixteen years old.’

‘He’s a different person now. In some ways, it’s thanks to you. After that day, it was like the spell broke. He ran away from the Cross Bones militia and swore he’d never get sucked into anything like that again. That’s why he was so hard to find. It took us a long time to track him down. Shall I tell you what he saw that day-what really happened?’

Ben tried to control the anger that made him want to tear the room apart. ‘Let’s have it,’ he said coldly.

‘Tinashe was frightened by the battle. He managed to crawl into the hollow of a dead tree. From there he had an open view of the ruined schoolhouse.’

Ben felt a stab of shock at the words. In any official archived report that Valentine might have been able to access, the scene of the battle was described as the mission complex at Makapela Creek. There’d never been any mention of the schoolhouse. He could feel his insides churning.