‘Fran, baby, stop! Stop. Just take a deep breath. What are you getting yourself worked up about? Come on, it’s cold, come on in.’

‘But you must have moved them. Think, Alf, think! Yesterday? Maybe you moved them yesterday?’

Not understanding why Franny was becoming so hysterical, Alfie spoke soothingly. ‘This is the first time I’ve used your car in a while, Fran. Look, you must’ve made a mistake, they’re probably still in the house. And anyway, I thought you said that it was old stuff, so who cares if you don’t know where you put them.’

As Alfie walked away, Franny stood, cold and barefoot in the rain, whispering to herself as she began to tremble violently. ‘I care, Alf. You have no idea how much I care they’ve gone.’

36

The drive to Doncaster on the M1 was long and gave both Alfie and Franny more time to think than they would’ve liked.

‘What have you done, Franny?’ Alfie’s voice broke the silence, and Franny, uncomfortable with the question, turned to look at Alfie as he drove. She tried to keep her voice light as she asked, ‘Done? What do you mean?’

Thinking about the texts he’d been receiving, Alfie asked again, ‘I mean, if you’ve done something, and you were worried to tell me, whatever it is, you can. The point is, look at me: I’ve fucked up so many times in the past myself. Bree …’

Franny cut in, ‘We’ve already gone through that, and I told you how I felt. What’s done is done.’

‘I know, and I’m grateful that you forgave me. I don’t deserve it, so if there is anything that you want to tell me, then you can. I’m hot-headed, we both know that, but we’re a strong team and I know we can get through anything as long as we’re truthful.’

Once again Franny’s smile was tight. ‘Where’s this coming from, Alf?’

Quickly glancing across to her, Alfie smiled before gazing back at the motorway. He knew that maybe he should mention the texts right now, especially as he was talking about being truthful, but each time he came to it – each time he was about to tell her about them – something held him back. ‘It’s not coming from anywhere. I just thought that everyone has their secrets.’

Franny, pale and feeling ill, stared back out of the window, her thoughts crossing from Mia to Bree to Shannon. She’d been trying to find Shannon since she’d seen her that day in the street. She’d asked around but nobody knew where she’d gone. With Charlie’s club closed she’d probably had to move on, find work elsewhere. Though in truth, she still would feel happier if she got to talk to her. ‘I don’t, Alf. I don’t have any secrets; maybe that’s just you.’

She glanced at him, giving another weak smile before the two of them fell silent again, retreating into their own thoughts.