Reggie was in his flat. It was three weeks since the Carter debacle and, though it had done their creds the world of good, there were still murmurings of what those shitbags the Wilson brothers might have said to people in their circle. It worried Lenny far more than it worried Reggie but he knew that he had to do what Lenny wanted – and Lenny felt they should not be seen so much together. Just for a while, he said, to see how the land lay. Reggie had no option but to go along with him.

He looked around his home and sighed; he loved it here. There were many reminders of good times in this flat – it was a haven for him and Lenny. He was frightened that Lenny was going to call it all off. He had not understood until now just how terrified Lenny was about them being found out. But then, he had a wife and two young sons, so he had a lot more to lose than just his street credibility.

The phone rang and he picked it up casually. Then after a few seconds he said urgently, ‘I am on my way.’

Chapter Fifty-Five

Sharon Scott had been taken to the hospital for stitches, telling a story of falling down the stairs that no one believed. Reggie Dornan had held her hand and talked to her as the doctor fixed her lip and eyebrow. He was shocked at what Lenny had done to this poor girl who had done nothing to warrant such an attack.

In the car going back to the house, he said seriously, ‘If I hadn’t seen this with my own eyes, I would never have believed it, Sharon.’

She looked awful; her face had swollen up like a football and the bruising was already starting to go black.

Sharon spoke with difficulty. ‘I don’t know what it was over. I made a silly joke, that’s all.’

She explained what she had said and he saw that she was watching his reaction; he was careful to give nothing away and instead simply sighed heavily. ‘You know Lenny can’t take a drink, Sharon. Anything can set him off when he is drunk. Silly cunt, he is. But I will have something to say to him, don’t you worry. So will Jack Johnson . . .’

She grabbed his arm then and said quickly, ‘You can’t tell anyone, Reggie. That’s why I called you and not my mother. No one can know about this.’

He could sense the urgency in her voice and he wondered how a woman could stay with a man who had hurt her, attacked her like an animal. Whatever his feelings for Lenny, even Reggie knew that this wasn’t his finest hour. He supposed it was the bond of having children together; but women were far more forgiving than the male species, he realised.

‘Sharon, love, how are you going to hide that away?’