Jamie turned and, pointing at the door, screamed, ‘Shut that fucking kid up!’

Jackie burst into tears and she was relieved when her brother stormed out of her home, screaming obscenities as he went. Hearing his car screech off down her drive, she picked up her terrified daughter and, like her brother before her, she left the house as quickly as possible. She would go to her mate’s, and wait there until all the fuss died down. She hoped he didn’t come across her old man, because, when he was in a temper, Jamie was capable of anything.

Chapter Ninety-Seven

The cab drivers were nervous – a fact that easily communicated itself to the walk-in customers. There had been whispers, of course, that there was something going down so it was a quiet working environment these days, which was unusual in a cab rank. Normally there was plenty of banter and discussions about certain fares – whether it was an old man who stank of piss, or a particularly fuckable young mum. There would be a TV blaring and the sounds of the drivers calling over the radio. There was a cab drivers’ mantra that went: if the wheels ain’t turning, I ain’t earning. They needed to get as many fares as possible to pay their weekly upkeep. Most cabbies were gregarious by nature; after all, it was a job where you dealt with the public. Even the ever-ebullient Margaret was looking decidedly shifty and the punters were all glad to leave the office and jump into the nearest cab.

Sharon came in at four in the afternoon with Ray and went through to her tiny office. She could sense the tense atmosphere and she was affected by it more than she would have believed possible. Even with the protection of Ray Donovan, she was feeling real prickles of unease. When Reggie Dornan and two other men turned up at five o’clock, she started to feel physically sick with dread. But she refused to leave; she understood that, whatever happened, she needed to be there or she would always regret it.

She was running three lucrative businesses: the cab ranks, the betting office and the loan company set up shortly before Lenny died. She was a woman in what was usually a man’s world and she felt she had to show that she wasn’t frightened of standing up for herself. True, the men were here to do the defending, but instinct was telling her to stay put and have her say.

She could feel Ray watching her and she knew that he thought she should go home to her children and leave the men to sort everything out. Whereas Reggie appeared to understand what she was feeling; she was shocked to realise that he admired her for her stand. The two heavies didn’t really give a fuck either way, or, if they did, they were not sharing their opinions.