‘I know that we have got to take Ozzy Harper out, Declan. We’ll go over to his house tonight, and just shoot him, end of. Quick, clean and neat. It will send a message to everyone then. All the people who have been running me down, slagging me off, taking me for a cunt, will know that they are living on borrowed fucking time. They’ll realise that, eventually, I will get round to them as well – and I will do just that, Declan. I swear on our mother’s fucking grave. I will take them out, each and every one.’

Patrick was deadly serious, and Declan was appalled. He smiled at his brother, aware that he had to talk him out of this lunacy. It was getting far too fucking dangerous. He was actually contemplating killing a man they had known all their lives, who was a real friend, a decent bloke – and a hard man in his own right.

‘I think Ozzy is away, Patrick. I heard he was in Spain. He has a gaff out there, remember? In Marbella. We’ve stayed there many times.’

Patrick’s eyes were darting everywhere. Declan knew his brother was now wondering if he could be trusted. Patrick’s paranoia was getting worse by the minute. He had to sort this out before Patrick really went postal. Imagine if Patrick had decided to kill someone, and no one was with him to talk him out of it! It could literally cause fucking murders. Or what if his brother took against Carmel or his girls again? He was more than capable of killing them – he had killed before, after all. Only then, he had planned it out beforehand, and it had been nothing more than a means to an end. Now it was just an idea that popped into his head, and he felt honour bound to see it through to the bitter end.

Patrick was confused. ‘Are you sure that Ozzy is away, Declan?’

Declan nodded. He glanced around his brother’s office, saw that the door was closed and the French windows locked tight. He knew Carmel and the girls were upstairs, prisoners in their own home.

‘Why don’t we go and meet Michael? He will know for definite where Ozzy is. That way we can be sure, can’t we? Michael always keeps tabs on everyone, it’s in his nature.’

Declan picked up the phone on the desk casually, and rang Michael’s house. He explained quickly and loudly that Patrick wanted to kill Ozzy, but no one was sure if he was in Spain at the moment, so could Michael please meet them at their old offices at the scrapyard. That way they could talk it over together, and plan what they were going to do about it. The scrapyard was the best place because, as Patrick said, all their other offices were bugged.