Chapter 36

The car stopped like a hiccup in the third last parking bay of the Gold Diggers Motor Inn. Bane turned to the unfortunate visitor from Eden beside him and took a deep breath. There was a quote from the Bible he couldn’t get out of his head. ‘It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.’ It was a quote from Jesus that was repeated in Matthew, Mark and Luke’s gospels. Undeniably important then. He felt sick to his stomach about what he was about to do. There would be no coming back from this, not for either of them.

‘I don’t suppose you would wait here and let me deal with this?’ He counted very deliberately to three, in case a thread of hope remained, but Dallmin stared back at him coldly, so he reached into the back seat to retrieve Lainie’s old pocket knife that he’d stashed in his bag. He flicked it open and offered it, handle first.

‘If someone tries to hurt you, you hurt them first. Do you understand?’ He watched Dallmin closely, trying to assess his reaction.

Serious brown eyes studied the blade as the gentle man tested its edge with his thumb. ‘It’s a good tool,’ he said. ‘I have hurt myself many times with such tools over the years. It was always funny before. I laughed at myself for being so careless.’ He lifted his chin. ‘I will not be careless with this, Bane. I understand what you are asking.’

Grief for the man threatened to weaken his resolve. Lainie had once insisted that there was always a choice, but she was wrong. Even she had come to realise that, when it was too late. This time he was bound to his course of action, and for better or worse, he would see it through.