As she drove off again, speeding round the outer circle of Regent’s Park before taking a left into Chester Road, Alfie spoke. ‘Franny listen to me, this is madness. You nearly killed that woman back there! We can’t just drive around.’ He frowned and reached across to the dash, something catching his eye. He grabbed it and instantly a chill rushed over him. Terror. His words were barely audible.

‘Franny … Franny … Stop the car. I know who’s got her.’

Franny glanced across at Alfie at the same time as she slammed on the brakes. ‘What?’

Swallowing hard to try to get his breath, Alfie whispered his words. ‘I said, I know who’s got her.’

‘How? What are you talking about? Tell me … Tell me!’ she screamed at Alfie as he began to read the letter out loud, which’d been left tucked on the dash.

‘Roses are red, Violets are blue, I’ve got the baby, what ya going to do?

Oh, and don’t call the police, I’m warning you!’

Drained of colour and feeling traumatised, Alfie gazed at Franny. ‘It’s from that guy I was telling you about. It’s from him. He’s got her, he’s got your friend’s baby.’

Franny stared at Alfie strangely. Her voice tight. ‘No, no, it can’t be.’

He crumpled up the letter in his hand. ‘It is, whether you like it or not, Fran.’

‘No.’

‘It is, I know it is.’

Franny shook her head, hysteria tingeing her tone. ‘It can’t be, it just can’t.’

‘I’m telling you it is!’

‘It ain’t, Alf!’

Angrily Alfie raised his voice. ‘I know what I’m talking about. He’s got Mia.’

‘He hasn’t! He hasn’t!’

‘He has!’

Franny screamed at the top of her voice. ‘He ain’t, Alf, he ain’t because they were from me.’

‘What?’

‘The letters were all from me! Not this person you think. So you see, whoever has got her can’t be him, because I wrote them. All of them.’

The car filled with silence as Alfie tried to comprehend what Franny had just said. He spoke in a hush. ‘You?’

‘Yeah.’

His eyes flickered with anger. ‘You wrote them?’

Franny gave a tiny nod along with a tiny reply. ‘Yes, all of them.’

Alfie’s voice was tight. ‘Even the letters I got when we were in Essex?’

‘Yes … I’m so sorry, Alf.’

‘Sorry?’

Franny nodded.

Alfie slowly turned to look at her, his face darkened as he stared in hatred and spoke in a measured tone. ‘I’m going to kill you.’ Then, incensed, he lunged at Franny. She screamed as he grabbed for her throat, but she managed to hit him off and scrabble out of the car, running towards the entrance of Queen Mary’s rose garden with Alfie only metres behind her.