Taking a drag of his cigarette, Alfie watched the smoke rise into the air. None of this was making sense. He thought the reason they’d taken Mia was because of him, something he had done, somebody he’d pissed off without knowing and as it was common knowledge that Franny was connected with him, whoever it was had taken the opportunity to snatch Mia as some kind of ransom.

He’d truly thought whoever had taken Mia would get in contact with him, letting him know what they wanted. But the more he thought about it, the more it dawned on him: it wasn’t about him at all. It never was … It was about Franny.

‘What have you done, Fran?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean what have you done? Who have you pissed off? Think about it. Who have you turned over?’

‘What?’

Full of sincerity, Alfie said, ‘Look, I ain’t having a go at you. In this business there’s always someone who’s got a gripe, who ain’t happy. It’s obvious that the reason Mia was taken is about you, not me … or maybe it’s about your mate. What have they done? For fuck’s sake, Franny, think, because maybe that’s the key to it all.’

Ill at ease, Franny shrugged again as she scrambled for words. Alfie was far from stupid. If she said the wrong thing, she knew that he would smell it a mile off. ‘Her ex-partner … he’s a face, from up north. She left him without saying anything so of course when Mia went missing at first she thought it was him, or at least one of his men, but it ain’t. It’s nothing to do with him.’

‘What’s his name?’

‘You won’t know him.’

‘Come on, Franny, I might! Talk to me for fuck’s sake. And if I don’t know who they are then I can ask around. Why are you being so evasive? Why I am getting the feeling you ain’t being straight with me?’

Franny raised her voice as she covered her ears. ‘Alf, stop! Stop! Stop! Please just stop! Stop trying to fix something you can’t. The point is, it’s not him, it’s not her ex … and … and she doesn’t want him knowing about Mia going missing, not yet anyway. So, you asking about ain’t going to help with matters; it’s just going to make it worse. But as you can imagine my friend is going out of her mind. She can’t cope, Alf. It’s like she’s going mad. She’s hearing things. She can’t sleep. Can’t eat. She has no idea where to turn, no one to talk to. It’s a mess …’

‘I’m sorry, Fran.’