Ray had been given a flat in Mortlake Road and he decided it would do for the time being; he was only sleeping there, after all. He was still living out of a suitcase and he had welcomed the chance for a change of scenery. It had got a bit too hot for him up North. He liked Jack Johnson and Reggie Dornan. He had guessed about Reggie and wondered why others didn’t sense it too. Maybe it was a southern thing. He shrugged and pushed the thought from his mind.

It was Sharon that he was interested in. She was a looker and she was a nice girl to boot. She was also the mother of two little terrors who he felt needed a firmer hand than she could give them. As for the father-in-law, that was a disgrace of epic proportions. His own son’s widow? It was almost incest. What kind of personality would even consider something so heinous? Sharon Scott had looked terrified and he recognised as well as Reggie did that they had turned up at just the right moment. He wasn’t a fool – some men would shag a fence if the opportunity presented itself. But to hit on your daughter-in-law – the mother of your grandsons – was disgusting. He would have to keep his wits about him where that man was concerned. He had proved that he was capable of anything. Ray was also shrewd enough to realise that in the sober light of day Big Lenny would be mortified, all the more so because he would remember that his humiliation had been witnessed. That did not augur well for future friendliness. No one liked to think that they had been caught out and that was exactly what had happened to Big Lenny Scott. Well, he was a man of stature, but to someone of Ray’s temperament that meant nothing. He would wait and watch to see how things panned out there. But it was not a good beginning for either of them.

He turned his mind to this Brewer idiot. He had gathered as much information on him as possible and, after careful consideration, Ray had decided he wasn’t too bothered about him. If push came to the proverbial shove he would just take him out. The man was a fucking menace – pure and simple. He understood that Jack was in a precarious position as the boy was more connected than the fucking crown princes of Europe. But that meant nothing if he wasn’t liked. It seemed Jamie Brewer was seen as a pain in the arse by the majority of his relatives, though that did not alter the fact that he was related to some heavy people. You might not like your kin, but at the same time they were still your blood.