Jessica could hear her father in her head, telling her ‘they don’t make things like they used to’.

‘It was a different age,’ Eleanor said and, for a moment, Jessica thought she was talking about the clock. ‘Now, it’s all about equality for men and women, gay and straight, white, black, Asian and so on, but it wasn’t like that then – or at least it didn’t feel like it.’

Eleanor waved her hands, trying to illustrate a point she didn’t seem comfortable remembering. ‘It’s so different, even going to pubs where there’s no smoking. Back in the casino, I remember this blue haze of smoke. You would stink of it when you got home and it was everywhere; in your hair, on your clothes, even your shoes.’

‘What was your actual job?’

The woman reached forward to put down her empty mug and then stared up towards the ceiling. ‘We didn’t do anything really. There were the trained guys who ran the tables, then the barmen. After that, there were around a half-dozen of us. We carried drinks to the tables but otherwise we welcomed guests and took their coats.’

‘And you were all women?’

Eleanor nodded. ‘Exactly. All young, all thin: either blonde or black hair because Nicholas didn’t go for brunettes. He never hired black or Asian girls either because he had his types.’

‘And you simply had to walk around looking good to keep the customers happy?’

‘Pretty much, it wasn’t hard.’

‘So what happened?’

Eleanor again went silent and Jessica watched the woman staring at the clock. Eventually she took a deep breath. ‘One of the reasons I don’t like being called “Ellie” now is because that’s what I was then. It’s like two different people – Eleanor the adult, Ellie the child.’

‘I’ve heard your husband calling you Ellie.’

‘He knows I don’t like it. I don’t know how to describe it – he says it differently.’ Jessica knew exactly what she meant – Adam said ‘Jess’ in the way no one else could. She bit her bottom lip, trying not to think of him.

‘What happened to “Ellie”?’

Jessica’s use of the name made the woman look away from the clock towards her. ‘Nothing particularly, it was just different. Back then, Nicholas had this big rivalry going with this other guy, Leviticus. They each ran various pubs and clubs and things like that – and they hated each other. There were always rumours swirling around the staff that one was going to kill the other and they were basically at war. This one night, we closed early and everyone got kicked out at the same time. We didn’t know what was happening, but then it turned out there had been a firebomb attack on one of Leviticus’s pubs just out of the centre. I don’t know if it was anything to do with Nicholas and there never seemed to be any retribution at our end. We all went back to work the next day.’

Jessica must have appeared confused because Eleanor clarified the point. ‘I’m not saying that was anything to do with what’s happened now, I’m just telling you what it was like. We were always scared, especially us women. As well as all of that, Nicholas would shout and swear. He’d throw things and call you names – it wasn’t a good place to be.’

‘Is that why you left?’

Eleanor gulped and Jessica knew it wasn’t. ‘On the side, he used to lend money to people. It all used to tie in together; someone would lose a lot of money at one of the tables and they would be invited into one of the rooms at the back where Nicholas or someone else would offer them terms on a loan. We all knew it went on but it was one of those things you never talked about. Of course, it was never that straightforward, there would be some sort of small print the person had missed – or no contract at all – and the interest rates would go up so people ended up paying ten times what they owed.’

Jessica was unable to stop herself interrupting. ‘Once he had you, he had you.’

Eleanor nodded. ‘Exactly. You used to dread walking past the room. Once I was getting changed after shift and heard this crack, we all did, then it was just some guy screaming. If you couldn’t pay, then someone would hurt you – but then you could never pay anyway because the minute you did, there would be some other penalty clause or something you had missed.’

The woman was clearly becoming distressed telling the story. She was fidgeting in the chair, putting her feet on the floor and then curling them underneath her, twiddling a strand of her hair around her finger, then letting it fall, before starting again. Jessica knew she was getting somewhere. She had waited to visit Eleanor precisely because she needed to figure out Nicholas first.

‘Did you ever tell anyone?’

‘None of us did, it was just one of those things. If he was doing that to grown men, imagine what he would do to women like us.’

‘What made you and Kayleigh get out?’

‘With Nicholas it was all about control; he liked owning things, whether it was buildings, businesses or people. I’m not sure he ever distinguished one thing from the other. He never liked staff leaving and so he started the same with us. He would buy you something you thought was a gift and then, a few weeks later, your wages would be next to nothing. When you asked what was going on, he’d say that you owed him money for the jewellery, or the designer clothes. Of course, because you had no money to pay your rent, he’d force you to take out a loan . . .’

‘. . . And then he had you.’ Jessica felt a chill go down her back. She had seen Nicholas close up and the way he talked about women. Her behaviour the previous day seemed even more reckless.

Eleanor gulped, nodding in agreement. ‘Right. You couldn’t leave the job because you had the loan to pay back, so he had you in two ways. You would be tied to him through owing him money, then tied to him through the job too.’

‘. . . My women . . .’

‘How did you get away?’ Jessica asked.

Eleanor started to scratch around her eyes, although Jessica could not see tears. ‘I think even back then I knew what was going on. While the other girls took their jewellery, I always said no. Somehow I knew it was going to end the way it did.’

‘So you didn’t owe him anything?’

‘No.’

‘What about Kayleigh?’

Eleanor sighed deeply, taking a tissue from the table and blowing her nose before replying. ‘She was more trusting.’

Jessica let the woman compose herself, allowing the silence to boom uncomfortably through the room.

‘It wasn’t just that,’ Eleanor added. ‘With the customers and men, he’d break your bones – or get one of his men to. He’d hurt you, or threaten to hurt you to make you pay. With us women . . .’

Jessica swore under her breath.

‘Kayleigh owed him for a few things. The only reason any of us started working there was because it was easy and the money wasn’t too bad. All you had to do was turn up for work looking half-decent and you were done. That’s where the problem came – girls would keep their money and then leave after a while. Kayleigh had saved pretty well but that all ended up going back to Nicholas because of the loan.’

‘But you helped her?’

Eleanor nodded. ‘We were mates. You know what it’s like when you’re young and you look out for each other. You get more cynical as you get older. I’d kept my money too and, because I didn’t owe him anything, I gave Kayleigh my savings. Between us, we bought him off and there was no way he could come back with charges, fines, or whatever.’

‘Had he . . . touched . . . her before that?’

Eleanor shrugged, not elaborating on Jessica’s choice of word. ‘Probably.’

‘What about you?’

‘I would have fucking killed him if he’d touched me.’

The swear word came from nowhere. Previously Eleanor had been speaking quickly but clearly and eloquently. Although she had something of a local twang, it wasn’t overbearing but, as she cursed, she looked directly at Jessica, her eyes making it clear she meant it, her accent strengthening.