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me hidden all those years and a whole string of other crimes they might have uncovered.
    That policeman – Tom, Emma called him – knew what Rory had done to me, and he didn’t look like the kind of bloke who would let him get away with it.
    ‘I think the cops might have arrested Rory, but I don’t know about Finn. It doesn’t matter much. Whether Finn is inside or not, he’s got contacts. He knows I grassed them up – and he’ll get me if that’s what he wants. I’ve been expecting something to happen since the moment I ran.’
    It seems far more likely that Finn McGuinness is offering the reward. Why he’s waited so long is a mystery, but it would be just like him to offer money to some young guy who in the end will probably never see a penny of it. But I still want to know for sure. I want to know where the danger is coming from. I should have made that call.
    I feel safer now that I’m back underground. I don’t want Andy to hate me after everything I told him and I wonder what he’s thinking. He’s been so good to me, and I don’t want to spoil things. I plucked up the courage last night to ask him why he looked out for me all the time. He said it felt good to be able to protect somebody, then he clammed up. I’m going to try to explain better about what my life was like. I’ll tell him about the Pit, how it felt to be thrown into a damp, cold, dark hole in the ground for not doing as I was told, and how it felt to learn my dad had sold my young life to save his own skin.
    I wander back through the tunnel, back to Andy, and I realise that after I’ve told him the rest I’m going to have to leave him and move on. I’m a danger to anybody around me, and I don’t want Andy to get dragged into my mess. My eyes mist over at the thought of losing him, and my step falters. Nobody looks at me as I walk past.
    There’s something funny about the atmosphere down here tonight. Everybody seems jumpy – or is it just me? Tension seems to be bouncing off the walls. I’m looking at the floor as I walk, making sure I don’t tread in anything nasty, but out of the corner of my eye I notice that nobody is looking at me because they’re all looking away, down the tunnel towards our pitch.
    I lift my eyes from the floor and stop dead. Quietly I move to the side of the tunnel, deep into the shadows.
    Andy is up ahead, and the man from the other night is with him. I know it’s him – it’s the way he stands; the slight bow in his legs with his feet spread apart. He’s got a knife – againstAndy’s throat. I edge a little closer so I can hear what’s being said. The tunnel echoes and the voice sounds weird, but I can make out the words.
    ‘You know something, don’t you, kid?’
    Andy starts to shake his head, then obviously thinks better of it with the knife up against his neck.
    ‘No – why do you think that?’
    ‘Because when I came asking the other night, you were too fucking interested. That’s why.’
    ‘Only ’cos you mentioned five grand. I’d do anything for a piece of that.’ Andy sounds convincing, but his voice is shaking.
    ‘There’s people looking for this girl – serious people – people who would slit your throat and not even think about it. Just like I’m going to.’
    I’m about to jump out of the shadows and give myself up. He can’t kill Andy – this is my problem. Then he carries on speaking, so I stay where I am.
    ‘But not yet,’ he says. ‘I think you know something.’ He pushes his knife against Andy’s throat, forcing his chin up. ‘Look at me, kid.’ Andy opens his eyes and stares at the man. Even from here I can imagine the terror in those eyes. Andy’s a peace-loving kid, and I think he’s known too much violence in his short life. Haven’t we all, I guess.
    The guy is talking again, pushing the knife harder, and I can see darker marks around the blade. It can only be blood.
    ’If I find out you’re hiding something from me – you’re dead. Tell me