Franny gazed at Alfie. She touched his face gently. Although when Alfie had told her about hurting Charlie she was initially angry, the more she thought about it, the more she realised it could work to her advantage. She could now use it as an excuse for not wanting Alfie to come in and speak to Charlie, something that otherwise might’ve been difficult to do without him becoming suspicious.

‘Alf, I love you and thanks, I know this is hard for you, but he’s hardly going to want to speak to you after what you did to him, is he? I doubt he’s going to be your number-one fan. And to tell you the truth, I think if you did try to talk to him, it’s more likely to put him off saying anything than if I went on me own.’

‘If you’re sure.’

Franny smiled, though her smile didn’t reach her eyes. ‘Yeah, I am.’

‘Are you sure we shouldn’t call the police? Don’t get me wrong, it ain’t something I’d normally do, but we have to think about Mia.’

Pensively, Franny said, ‘Well that’s the point and that’s why we can’t. Once the police find out it wouldn’t be long before word gets out on the street that they’re looking for her, so whoever has got her, would release. If she’s too much of a risk to keep, they’ll want to get rid of her as quickly as they can … and I mean permanently get rid …’ She paused, choked at the thought, and then added, ‘Look, you wait here, I’ll see you in a bit.’

Inside the hospital, Franny sat and waited for the nurses to finish changing Charlie’s bandages. She looked at her watch. She’d already been waiting for over half an hour, but she needed to speak to him today, the longer it took to get any leads on Mia, the less likely it would be to ever get her back.

For all she knew, Mia might not be in the country anymore. The trafficking of kids was rife, and big money passed through hands of small-time villains and large professional gangs. The vile demand was always there, and the number of children who went missing or were in some abusive situation was overwhelming.

She sighed, putting her head in her hands, trying not to let her imagination take her to dark places. She had to think positively, because after all, what else had she got?

She had tried to call Ma, but she hadn’t answered her phone. She doubted Ma would be of any help, especially knowing how desperate Franny was. It probably amused her; Ma certainly liked to play games but if Ma wasn’t careful, those games might turn on her.