Chapter 10

Tony Curran arrives home in his BMW, already decided that he is going to kill Ian Ventham. He thinks about a gun buried somewhere in the back garden and plans to find it later, treating Ventham's death as an inevitable response to being pushed too far.

Inside his expensive house, Tony reflects on how he built his fortune. His construction company began as a front for his drug business and a way to launder money, but it gradually became a legitimate, profitable enterprise that helped pay for the home he always wanted.

With his wife Debbie away, Tony replays his argument with Ian Ventham. Tony is furious that Ventham has cut him out of The Woodlands, but he reassures himself that their row was quiet enough that no one could have noticed, which he believes will protect him once Ventham is dead.

Tony tries to begin planning the murder, but when he cannot find paper, he decides to work it through in his head. He resolves not to act immediately, preferring to let Ventham believe he has won before striking later.

Before Tony can do anything, an unseen attacker catches him off guard and hits him in the left temple with a large spanner. Tony collapses onto the kitchen floor, and the killer places a photograph on the worktop as Tony's blood spreads around the kitchen island.