The man winks, eyes glistening with charm. ‘Don’t want to hang with an old git like me? Understood. Good-looking man like you, house full of drunk girls – course you don’t.’ He chinks Will’s empty beer with a rum bottle. ‘Have a smashing night, young man!’

Will grins as he eavesdrops on the guy lapping the kitchen, bonhomie and banter for every guest. He makes it look so easy.

A heavy arm lands on Will’s shoulder. ‘Right then,’ Alfie says. ‘Business done. Time for pleasure. Let’s sink a couple and get mingling.’

Alfie grabs his beer from Will.

‘I reckon this is gonna be a good night, Parks,’ Alfie says. His cheeks are flushed and he keeps sniffing and playing his tongue over his front teeth. ‘Can feel it in my water.’

‘Been at the gear again?’ Will asks with a smile, knowing the answer perfectly well.

‘I have a very generous clientele,’ he says. ‘They buy it off me then chop me one out. Be rude to refuse.’

‘Of course.’

‘Got something for you, too,’ Alfie says, poking a tiny ball of paper into Will’s palm.

‘What is it?’

‘Just a tiny bit to loosen you up, cuz.’

‘MD?’

‘You got it.’

Ordinarily, the idea of taking drugs would scare the shit out of Will. It was the first time they’d tried them – isn’t that how all the tragic stories always begin? But tonight he wonders if he has the luxury of knowing it’ll do him no harm.

Will rolls the nugget around in his hand. ‘Mate, I kind of need to be on the ball tonight.’

‘Not forcing you, cuz. It’s only a tiddler, though. You’ll be more on the ball than ever.’

‘Yeah. I dunno.’

‘Your shout. What you need to be on form for anyway?’ Alfie’s grooving on the spot and making eyes at a Wednesday Addams across the kitchen.

‘Oh, it’s … nothing.’

It was two days ago that Will saw the old lady with the empty pram again. He’d spotted her trademark pink headscarf from a distance. She was sitting on a bench behind the old tenement buildings on the outskirts of town. As nervous as he was at the thought of another bizarre conversation, he didn’t try to avoid her.

‘How lovely to see you, Will,’ she said as he drew level. The afternoon sun was warm as she fed scraps to the seagulls with one hand, rocked her pram with the other.

‘All right?’ Will muttered.

‘Good news about your nain.’ Her voice was gentle.

‘She’s home,’ Will said. ‘Doing well.’

‘Of course. Do you have a moment, Will?’

Her soft smile put Will at ease, slowing his racing pulse. ‘Yeah. No problem.’ Uncomfortable towering over her, he took a seat on the bench.

‘People don’t usually sit next to me,’ she said.

‘Sorry, I just …’ Will mumbled. ‘It’s …’

‘It’s nice. A nice change.’