He held his phone out to her, and she looked at the picture he showed her, as she knew he wanted her to. She didn’t have a choice – her fight was gone. She saw her nana Hannah dead or dying. There was blood everywhere. It was sickening. Her nana had died violently, for no reason other than because this weirdo had decided it was her time. Seeing her nana stripped of her dignity and left to die was so very wrong. Hannah Flynn was a woman who had brought up her child alone, who had worked every hour God sent, to give her son the best that she could. It was an awful way to die, and worse at the hands of someone like this. Jessie felt a spark of hatred threaten to erupt, but made sure that she kept her face neutral.

‘That’s my nana. I assume she’s dead?’ She was pleased with how nonchalant her voice sounded, pleased that she had taken away some of his glory. He wanted a reaction from her, and she would give him one – just not the reaction he was expecting.

The man sat upright; he was so stiff it was like he had a board up his jumper.

Jessie sighed. ‘No one liked her anyway. You did us all a favour. I bet my dad would shake your hand if he knew.’

The man was sitting on the bed, staring at her, but she knew he wasn’t seeing her – he was once more on his own private planet. What kind of person was he to kill an old lady, and show the pictures to her grandchild? Her fear of him was gone. She was dying – it was only a matter of time now. But she would die without giving this fucker another inch – she was not going to give him the satisfaction of knowing she was frightened of him any more. Seeing her nana Hannah like that, so brutally murdered, was the last straw. As tired and as ill as she felt, she wasn’t going to let him think that he had broken her completely. Her nana Hannah deserved that much from her, surely?

She made herself laugh then, a low, deep-throated chuckle. ‘God, I bet she was surprised to see you, eh? Hannah Flynn, the hardest woman in the East End, murdered on her doorstep. It’s so ironic. You’re lucky she didn’t stab you first.’

She could sense the man was annoyed with her. He didn’t like what she was saying, and that suited her – she hoped he would do the kind thing and finish her off as well. It wasn’t as if she was ever going to leave this place alive. He had already made that abundantly clear to her.