‘I only saw them together that once I called you about, Ma. That time in Woolwich, but I didn’t know who Franny was until she came into the club. I recognised her as the woman who was with Bree.’

‘And where’s Bree now?’

Shannon shrugged. ‘I dunno. I’ve told you everything.’

Ma Dwyer stood up from behind the table. She wore a green tight jumper and a pair of black leggings, which did nothing to hide her bulging waistline. She struggled to move her grossly obese body as she waddled over to where Shannon was sitting. Shannon stared down at her aunt’s oedema-swollen ankles and feet pushed tightly into stained, white canvas trainers. She clipped Shannon hard about the head. ‘Watch your cheek. You’re becoming a stuck-up little cow. If you’re hiding anything …’

‘I’m not, I’m not!’

Ma nodded, her hard, cruel demeanour oozing from her. ‘Don’t get smart!’

Shannon looked up at Ma. She remembered a time when she’d thought that all little girls had aunties like Ma. After her mother had died, she’d gone to live with Ma and her sons in Essex. And quite quickly, the problems that she’d had when she’d been with her mother seemed nothing in comparison to what happened when she was with Ma.

Not that she could really remember her mother – the woman had been in and out of mental institutions all her life – but she did know that she had loved her. There’d certainly been no love for Ma, though, and when she’d had the opportunity to go and work for Charlie, she hadn’t looked back, having very little contact with Ma and none at all with Bree. Though through the odd conversation she’d overheard Uncle Charlie having, she knew Bree had run away. She also knew that something bad had happened to Ma’s sons, but she’d been too afraid to ask. The one thing she’d learnt growing up was never to ask Ma or her uncle their business unless of course you wanted to feel the hard edge of their fist.

But even to her it’d come as a surprise, shocked her to know that Bree had left her husband to be with Alfie. Alfie! Not that she blamed her. Though how he ended up back with Franny, she didn’t know. In fact, there was a lot she didn’t know, but if she had known any of it, she certainly wouldn’t have called Ma.

Alfie had been good to her, and the more she thought about what she had done, the more miserable she felt. It was clear that Ma hated Alfie, but she’d only done what she’d done because of Franny, who’d been mean. But now she wasn’t sure how she was going to put things right.