Lenny and Reggie were with Jack Johnson, making plans for the demise of Frank Barber. There was no other choice – especially now they knew about Frank taking over the Carters’ business and the trouble he would cause if he started a blackmailing scam. If he went after the likes of Smithson, then he would be party to all sorts of information that would augur well for no one. He had crossed a line and he needed to be reminded of that. This wasn’t the old days where anything went – this was the world of the new criminal.

They wanted him outed and this was as good an excuse as any to do that. It was a win-win situation, especially for Terry, who would happily work with them to take back what he saw as his. He was wise enough to know he couldn’t do it without Jack and his boys, even if he would forever be beholden to them now. But, rather the devils he knew, than the one he was currently working with – a cantankerous old fucker who still thought Frank Ifield was the height of sophistication.

He was quite happy to lead Frank Barber to his death. This would soon be over and they could get back to normal.

Chapter Sixty-Nine

‘You all right, Shaz? You’re quiet tonight.’

Lenny wasn’t sure what was wrong with his wife but he sensed there was something bothering her.

Sharon looked at her big, handsome husband and sighed gently. ‘Just tired, that’s all. It’s been a long day.’

He nodded almost imperceptibly. ‘That right?’

He turned his attention back to his food and, as he bit into his steak, he watched her surreptitiously. There was definitely something bothering her and he wondered if she had heard a whisper about Frank Barber.

‘Sit down and talk to me, woman. You’re like a fart in a colander – all over the fucking place.’

Sharon hesitated a few seconds before sitting at the table opposite her husband. She watched him eat. He didn’t look any different, and she still wondered why she thought there could be some truth in her young son’s words. But the reality was, she had long sensed that there was something not right about his friendship with Reggie Dornan. Things that had vaguely bothered her over the years were coming to the forefront of her mind. Gerry Dornan saying that Reggie should come out of the closet before he ended up in Narnia; at the time she had laughed with Gerry at her words. They had been said as a joke because he never seemed to have a girlfriend. She could not think of one instance where Reggie had ever brought a woman anywhere with him, even to the pub.