‘Glad you’ve seen sense at last,’ said Peter. ‘Right, here’s what we’re gonna do. Mary, I’m gonna take my hand away from your squealing gob, and when I do, I don’t wanna hear a fuckin’ peep from you. OK?’

He switched his eyes to Mary and she nodded at him.

‘Good,’ he said, taking his hand away, which was streaked with Mary’s saliva. ‘Now you and me are gonna go into the bar, Mary, and make sure all the customers and staff have gone home. Then you can get the money for me from the till… and not a fuckin’ word to anyone, OK?’

‘OK,’ Mary murmured, her voice trembling.

‘Excellent,’ said Peter, now calm and business like. ‘I’m sure you two will look after Pat for me while we’re away,’ he grinned to Glynn and Mike.

Then he looked at his spit-sodden hand in disgust, wiped it on Mary’s sleeve and led her through to the bar. Relief surged through him but he wasn’t going to let it show to anyone in this room. It had been a bad night’s work but at least he’d got a result in the end.

Chapter 22

Caroline had a bad feeling. It had been niggling her for days. There was something disingenuous about the way Shazza and Denise had been greeting her and her friends. Although they had been over-friendly since Anna’s suicide attempt, something else had changed recently. Caroline could sense it but she couldn’t quite make out what it was.

While Adele was away at the gym and Cheryl was playing pool with Anna, Caroline decided to slip away and see what she could find out. She crept up to Shazza’s cell and listened outside, trying her best to appear casual in case anyone was watching.

She could hear the sound of Shazza, Denise and Louise talking. But their voices were faint from outside the cell and she had to strain to decipher what they were saying. She managed to catch snippets of their conversation.

‘Today,’ said Shazza, ‘while… her own.’

Then Caroline heard Denise say something back but the only word she caught was, ‘Anna’.

‘Yeah, no problems,’ said Shazza, followed by, ‘We’ve got time… lock-down.’

Then they changed the subject and Caroline walked away from the cell, her blood pumping frantically. She needed to warn Anna!

It seemed to Caroline that they were planning to do something to Anna before lock-down. So, her instincts had been right after all…

‘Anna, I need a word,’ she whispered, once she had caught up with her at the pool table. ‘Cheryl, you, too.’

Anna and Cheryl crowded around Caroline. ‘I think Shazza and Denise are planning something,’ she whispered, checking around her to make sure no one was listening in.

‘Like what?’ asked Anna.