Ruby continues her watch over the house opposite. There’s still no sign of Steve Pullen, and it looks like his wife and son have settled down for a cosy evening. The house glows like a beacon, the curtains open in the upstairs windows, revealing details of their lives. There’s a big wooden-framed bed in the master bedroom. Ruby’s heart hardens. It’s a travesty that the couple have slept there peacefully while her father endured years of broken nights on a lumpy prison mattress. The downstairs curtains remain closed, but shadows flicker behind the fabric, adding to her frustration. That bitch and her son remain safe inside, enjoying each other’s company.
When she checks her watch, it’s almost time to meet Denny Lang. Ruby feels uncomfortable as she puts on her jacket, because she’d rather not go, even though she gave the invitation. Any error could bring the police running if they guess that she’s still alive.
Ruby slips out of the B&B unnoticed. Flagging down a taxi, she tells the driver to take her to Tobacco Dock. He keeps up a flow of chat about football and politics. She responds with monosyllables as the city flicks past, keeping her head down so he won’t remember her face. Oxford Street is a glitter of shop windows, the pavements empty until tomorrow’s fashion victims arrive. She feels better once the taxi reaches Victoria Embankment. The river was her biggest consolation after her dad was caught. She drew solace from watching London’s great artery pulsing with activity, barges and clippers plying between wharves. It was a reminder that she was alive too, despite feeling dead inside.
She arrives at the wharf five minutes early. It’s in a neglected part of Shadwell, with warehouses crumbling from disuse, stagnant water lying in the dock’s basin, stinking to high heaven. She waits in the shadows until a BMW pulls into the car park and the passenger door swings open. Denny looks older than before, his face carved with deep lines, as if his conscience is troubling him at last.
They sit together in his car, gazing at the lighters ploughing west and the water gleaming in the dark. Denny says nothing for a while, then turns to stare at her.
‘Why are we here, Ruby? It’s not safe.’
‘This is my last chance to run over the plan. I’ll never see you again now that I’m Chloe Moore. You helped me so much; I wanted to thank you in person.’
‘I just followed your dad’s wishes, sweetheart, but I’m glad it’s almost over. My time with him still bothers me. I was a bog-standard accountant until he recruited me. I saw terrible things but chose to look away.’
‘What are you saying, Denny?’
‘Avoid doing stuff you’ll regret, love. It’ll be on your conscience for ever. There’s still time to stop all this.’
‘Dad deserves a proper tribute.’
‘I know,’ he says, his eyes blinking shut. ‘But I have to live with my past, and so will you. Once he’s gone, you can make your own decisions.’
‘It sounds like you want him dead.’
‘That’s not what I mean.’
She inhales a long breath, assessing the guilt on Denny’s face. She remembers his kindness when she was small; he often took her to the park for ice cream, but that means nothing now the truth has surfaced.
‘It was you that betrayed him, not Pierce, wasn’t it? I never doubted you, but a warden at Crowthorne said it was one of dad’s closest friends. You blew the whistle. How else would they have known where he was hiding?’
‘They’re talking shit, Ruby, prison guards lie all the time, for money.’ He shakes his head, but her father taught her how to watch for signs that someone’s lying. ‘Promise me you’ll start over somewhere new. Craig shouldn’t make you do his dirty work.’
‘I’d never betray him, you disloyal bastard.’
Lang’s face is blank with shock when she rams her knife into his ribcage; he screams for help, even though the unlit car park is empty. Her father’s rage sings in her veins. She grabs his keys, and once he’s locked inside, she carves a symbol on the side of his BMW: a square slashed through with vertical lines. Then she drops a lit match into the petrol tank.
She waits in the darkness while Lang claws at the windows. Childhood memories make her shut her eyes, but it’s too late for regret. He had to die, for betraying her dad, and revenge feels easier this time. When the car explodes she smiles as flames spew upwards, turning it into an inferno.