Jay beckoned her over, so she walked over and took a seat next to her.

“Hey, it’s Mack the Knife,” Jay said.

“Very funny. Annie, I don’t know how you put up with her.”

Annie rolled her eyed. “I don’t know either. Hand over that little baby, so I can give him kisses.” Mack smiled and lifted Dexter up and across the bar. Annie cuddled and kissed him. “I’ll just take Dexter back to the kitchen and get him some food. Lilly will serve you with your drinks.”

After Annie left with Dexter, Lilly, a young bartender, took their order and came back with two bottles of lager.

“Cheers,” Jay said.

“Cheers, are you working tonight?”

“No, it’s my night off, or I wouldn’t be drinking. I’m just waiting on Annie. We’re going to get something to eat on her break. The barber’s doing okay?”

“Really good,” Mack said.

Jay took a swig of lager and said mischievously, “I hear you’ve a nice woman next door.”

“Yeah, she’s lovely. As quiet as a little mouse, and Dexter is her shadow. He loves her.”

“I must go in and get some sweets. Annie loves old-fashioned boiled sweets.”

“She’s very shy until she gets to know you, but she’s warm and kind.”

“Sounds really nice.” Jay cleared her throat and turned to face Mack. “I know it’s not strictly your department any more, but I heard a couple things on the street.”

Mack was suddenly alert. “The safety of the Sharkey family will always be my business. What have you heard?”

Jay looked both ways and said in a low voice, “Word is Malky McDade’s come up from London to take over from his dad, now his dad’s planted.”

“It’s not surprising, I suppose.”

“I think he plans to be more aggressive about his business and push his drugs into as many territories of Glasgow as he can,” Jay said.

“He’s always had a good supply filtering through his London drop-off points.”

“Malky’s already stepping into some other territories, north of the border,” Jay said.

“He must have more bodies on the streets if he’s that brazen. Thanks for that, Jay, I’ll tell Nikki, so we make sure he’s not in our territory with any of that shite.”

“I did also hear that Kevin Drury is working for him.”

“That little shit? I wonder how long he’s been working with the McDades.”

“Here’s Annie coming,” Jay said.

She walked back from the kitchen with Dexter under her arm and a bowl of plain chicken. She came around to sit next to Jay and said, “Are you two gossiping?”

“Aye,” Mack said, “how’s ma wee boy?”

“Licking his lips at this chicken. Is it okay that I feed him?” Lilly said.

“I think he’d kill me if I said no.”