Tippie turned the key, then checked that the door was firmly locked. Her pockets bulged with the children’s watches and phones as well as Kensy’s hairclip, which she’d pulled from the girl’s disgracefully messy locks.

‘Those two won’t be going anywhere.’ She turned and smiled at the man beside her. Michael Smith, formerly known as Lawrence Macgregor, had been eager to deal with Kensy and Curtis in his own way, but Tippie had denied him that opportunity – for now.

‘I don’t understand the point of keeping them alive,’ he said.

‘I’ve told you before – I want the children to be together. It will be some small comfort for them,’ Tippie replied. ‘Besides, there are so many dangerous things on a big property like this – it shouldn’t be hard to make their deaths look like a tragic accident.’

He frowned. ‘But you’re going back to London without them?’ he said. ‘Won’t that create some questions?’

‘I’ve already thought of that. You see, miracles happen too.’ Tippie smiled. ‘Mim’s been found. She’s fine – poor dear tripped out in the field and hit her head. She’s not badly injured. But would you believe that Kensy and Curtis have both been struck down by a dreadful bout of stomach flu? The pair of them going at it from both ends – vomiting and diarrhoea. They couldn’t possibly travel, but Mim’s here to look after them.’ The obsequious look on her face was terrifying.

‘But won’t Max call them – and Mim?’ Lawrence asked.

‘Of course he will, which is why it’s so fortunate that I’ve recently perfected a device that can sample and reproduce a voice with almost one hundred per cent accuracy. I’ve got Kensy’s phone and watch, and Curtis’s too. Mim lost hers when she was out walking, silly woman. I’ve jammed the locator beacons, so the devices will still say all three are here, and I’ll make some calls now to reassure everyone that while they’re unable to travel and they’re not at all well, they’ll be fine. Mim too.’

‘My god, you’re the most beautiful evil genius I know.’ The man looked at her adoringly and touched her cheek.

Tippie blushed and turned away. ‘Oh, kind sir, you do say the loveliest things. But we must be away.’

The helicopter was due back any minute. Tippie was about to make a move when a thought occurred to her.

‘Shugs! You still need to find him and let him know that his work isn’t up to standard,’ the woman said.

They’d been distracted by the children. Honestly, the stupid brats had given her no choice whatsoever about the final outcome. Though that had always been her plan. The older generations could rot in jail, but these young ones had to be dealt with differently. Stop the line altogether and make sure that no one could ever challenge her. Pharos would be her legacy. And she was going to enjoy telling Cordelia what had happened to her precious grandchildren and their friends.

He nodded. ‘I won’t be long.’

Tippie pulled the watches and phones she’d taken from Kensy and Curtis out of her pocket. Before she sent any messages to Max, she’d let Magoo know the good, and not so good, ‘news’. Thankfully he wouldn’t want to sleep in the same room tonight, being such a germophobe. And that would give her the time she needed to finalise things. It was all coming together so well.

Tippie hadn’t believed her luck when she’d met Michael Smith – a man with more ambition than anyone she knew, excluding herself, of course. She and Magoo had been out one night at their local pub when she’d noticed Michael staring at her across the bar. When Magoo had gone outside to take a telephone call, Michael had walked over and struck up a conversation. Tippie knew he was flirting. He had a lovely smile. Magoo returned and Tippie had introduced the two. Later, Magoo told her that Michael was the spitting image of his cousin Percy, who had died – and that Percy had also had a twin brother, Lawrence, who’d been abducted and killed as a child. Tippie had been curious. She’d wondered if there was a possibility that Lawrence was still alive and where he could have been for all these years?

Tippie had run tests and soon realised that Michael’s DNA was a perfect match for Percy – and Lawrence – MacGregor’s.

Michael was like a loyal puppy. The poor man had endured a difficult upbringing, with a family, if you could call it that, who Tippie later learned had been paid to take him in and keep their mouths shut – no doubt by the criminals who had kidnapped the infant in the first place. He’d run away more times than the authorities could count, living on the streets for a time before being rejected by his ‘parents’ and shunted between foster homes.

She couldn’t believe how easy the man was to manipulate. And the best part was that he had no idea who he really was, and neither did her ridiculous husband, despite his confronting ‘Michael’ on the Thames after he understood how close she’d been getting to him. Honestly, she thought Magoo would have joined the dots by now, but he was so pathetically innocent.

Michael’s loyalty was perfect. She’d told him far too much, but then again he was Pharos despite not knowing it. Sadly, he wasn’t going to live to see the fruits of his labours – not once everything was in place. Another tragedy.

Magoo wouldn’t tell. Until death do us part, wasn’t that their vow? She was his world – he’d never give her up, no matter what. And besides, this was his birthright – even if he wasn’t prepared to take it. She was.