Jack Johnson had made the decision to give Lenny Scott the job of overseer. The boy was good with numbers, and he was good with people, given his knack for treating everyone with the utmost respect. He was being given the chance of a lifetime – it was unheard of in this business. He was big, he was handsome and he was liked, even by the punters. That was a bonus. Lenny Scott could charm the money out of people. He was so nice he could make the usual rabble feel bad about trying to give him a swerve. Jack Johnson had big plans for this boy. He had known he was worth something and he had been proved right.

Not one person had felt the urge to retaliate about Billy Mason, which spoke volumes. He was liked, was old Billy, but he wasn’t respected. He had mugged off too many people for that to ever happen.

Now Jack had this lad who he could mould, who he could teach his craft to. He knew he had a one-off in young Lenny Scott. He was that rarity: hard as fucking nails when he needed to be, but a regular John in his everyday life. Men like Lenny were few and far between, thank fucking God! The world was his oyster, and Jack envied him the life he had ahead of him. But he knew Lenny admired him, respected him, and was grateful to him. It meant the world that Lenny Scott revered him – it showed him the boy’s loyalty, and it also made him feel good about himself. Jack Johnson liked that he was seen as a man of stature, not just by the general populace – the majority of them were prize cunts – but by someone like young Lenny; it meant a lot.

The phone rang and he picked it up quickly. It was Lenny Scott apologising for not being able to make the meet. His wife was in labour and he was at the hospital.

Jack laughed loudly as he said, ‘That’s exactly where you should be, boy. I wish you luck.’

Truth be told, he appreciated that the boy put his family first. It said a lot about him, about his priorities and about his decency. Jack hoped the baby was a boy; he understood that was what Lenny wanted. He deserved a son – he was a man who would appreciate a male child.

Chapter Twenty-One

Lenny Scott Junior was born at eleven fifteen at night; he weighed nine pounds and had the look of a mini sumo wrestler. Lenny Scott was overwhelmed with the feeling of love as he held his son in his arms for the first time.