‘Gerry was telling me that you rarely even go out with women! Says your mum is worried about you!’ She was laughing as she spoke, but it occurred to her when she saw his face that Reggie didn’t think what she was saying was funny.

‘Look, Sharon, just because I don’t discuss every aspect of my sex life with my sister and mum doesn’t make me a bad person. I just prefer to keep my private life private.’

He was being short with her and they both knew it. Sharon was immediately contrite.

‘I’m sorry, Reg. I was only having a joke, mate.’

He sighed and forced a wide smile on to his face. ‘Honestly, Sharon, Gerry and my mum are always trying to marry me off. I have plenty of time for that. I am a man who needs to sow his wild oats!’

Sharon laughed with him, but for some reason she felt that there was more to it than that – yet for the life of her, she couldn’t say why.

Chapter Fifty-Two

Lenny and Reggie finally tracked the Carter twins to a brothel they owned in King’s Cross. It was a nice house in what had once been a pleasant road; now it was another casualty of bedsitterland. It was a substantial size and it earned them a good wedge. They had girls of all ages, shapes and colours for the punters’ delight. The funny thing with the Carter twins was that, as bastard-like as they could be, they treated their girls with the utmost respect. Maybe that was why Lenny had always liked and got on with them.

They didn’t suffer fools gladly, and they were very touchy where their dignity was concerned. Both were big, arrogant men, in their late twenties, balding, running to fat and married to a pair of dark-haired sisters who they worshipped and adored. They were strange fuckers, odd coves, but they were good earners and they were respected in their own way. They didn’t suffer fools gladly though and the fact that they were always looking for the insult or the piss-take made them people to be wary of. A lot of Faces were guilty of the same thing – it was just that not as many felt the urge to murder over it.