Taylor stared at Alfie. He blinked, and a tiny smile came to the corner of his mouth. He spoke with a small lisp. ‘Yes, I’ll wait outside, cos I’m a good boy.’

In that moment, Alfie was crippled with heartache. He felt the pain for Taylor rip through him like a razor. The only consolation was that he knew from now on Taylor would be fine. He watched him trot out, sucking his thumb as he ran, and once he was sure he was safely outside, Alfie turned back to Barry who stared at him.

‘How did you know his name was Taylor?’

‘I know a lot of things. About you, your life, your friends and what you do, but mainly I know you’re a piece of scum, and you like to prey on kids; frighten them, make them hurt in places where they should never hurt, make them have nightmares for the rest of their lives, make them terrified of every sound, make them fear putting the light out, make them wet their bed until they’re well into their teenage years. That’s what you like to do, isn’t it, Barry? You piece of shit – that’s what you do. But I’m not a kid anymore and you’re no longer the monster to me that you once were; you’re just a pathetic, twisted old man.’

Barry tilted his head and gazed into Alfie’s eyes, and it took a minute or so for Barry to say, ‘Fuck me, if it ain’t Alfie Jennings. I wondered when you’d crawl into the proceedings. I’ve heard a lot about you recently but my, my, haven’t you changed. Look at you, you’re built like a brick house now, not like the runt you used to be who’d freeze when I said boo, who’d freeze when I made him give me a kiss … I suppose there’s no chance of one now.’ Barry made kissing sounds then burst into a nasty laugh, prompting Alfie to charge at him, smashing him against the wall, clenching his fist and hitting him hard in the side of his head, causing Barry to stumble and fall, crashing his skull on the pile of bricks.

Standing over him, Alfie could see blood running out of Barry’s ear. He could also see his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he struggled to talk. ‘And … and there’s me thinking … thinking we … we’re going to be …’ Barry trailed off as the life began to slip away from him.

Alfie crouched down by his side. ‘If you’re about to repent your sins, save it. I ain’t a priest and to tell you the truth, I think it’s too late for you.’