“Aye. One of the finest,” Shuggie agreed. “So, when I heard what had happened.” He flicked his gaze, just briefly, in Budge’s direction. “When I heard everything that had happened, I knew I had to swing by and have a wee word with my nephew here.”

Shuggie took another draw of his cigarette, then dropped it and ground what was left of it beneath the heel of a shoe. He gestured at the detectives, and at the rooftop in general.

“This was a surprise, though, I have to say. This unexpected wee reunion. But, my nephew’s right, lads. You say he raped our wee Jazzy, but you don’t have any proof. And you won’t be able to get proof, either. You know it. He knows it. I know it. We all know it. You can throw your weight around all you like, but there is not a single thing you can do to him.”

Logan could see where this was going, even if Shuggie’s nephew couldn’t.

“Hear that? There’s fuck all you can do to me,” Frankie sneered.

A hand was placed on his shoulder, courtesy of his uncle. He looked down at it, apparently confused by the suddenness of its appearance, and the pressure it was in the process of applying.

“This is a family matter, Jack,” Shuggie said. “Best I don’t bother you with the details.”

“Aye! You fuckin’ tell him, Uncle Shuggie. We’re family.”

The hand on Frankie’s shoulder became a vice on the back of his neck. Shuggie’s voice was like the rasping of a rusty saw. “I wasn’t talking about you,” he said. “Brendan?”

Paco squealed in fright as Budge caught him by the arm. “Hey! What? Uncle Frankie, what’s…? What’s happening?”

“They took it in turns. These two. They took it in turn to rape her,” Shuggie continued.

“Wh-what?” Paco cried. “N-no, no, we didn’t. She was—”

“Fuckin’ shut up!” Frankie barked, silencing the younger man before he could say anything incriminating.

“Jazzy spoke to one of the other girls. Told her everything. Everything they did. Everything they made her do. How scared she was.” Shuggie gritted his teeth, and Frankie squirmed as the grip tightened. “How much they’d hurt her.”

Logan took a cautious step forward. “Right, well, in that case we can—”

“She won’t testify. Before you start thinking you might be able to build a case. You can’t,” Shuggie said. “And even if she did, it’s still one word against the other. These two against her. You think that’s even getting as far as the CPS? Honestly?”

“Maybe we can…” Logan began, but he couldn’t keep up the pretence long enough to reach the end of the sentence. There would be no trial, never mind a conviction.