‘What is wrong with you, Davey?’ said Shelby. The Golden Sunshine lay forgotten on the floor beside her. ‘I’m trying to get our family back together!’

‘That is what we’re doing,’ said Davey. He knelt down to grab the ziplock bag, offering it to Shelby on one knee as though proposing. ‘You’re giving us a chance to get our family back together. We’ll be able to go anywhere you like. Anywhere in the world. I can do it. It won’t be hard – it’s easy to take over a drug crew. You saw how quickly he took over mine!’

‘No, actually, I didn’t – because you never told me about it!’ said Shelby shrilly. ‘No! No, no and no!’

‘I will not allow it!’ said Ahab. ‘And neither will Mackenzie. We’ll both stand against you.’

‘Speaking of my halfwit son . . . Mackerel can come with me,’ said Ivy.

‘What? Why?’ said Shelby. ‘No. We don’t need to get him involved.’

‘He’s staying at my house, Mum,’ said Davey. ‘I don’t want Blackbeard, or anyone from the crew, thinking Shelby’s involved.’

‘Fine, we’ll have his bail address moved to mine if that makes you happy.’ Ivy’s nostrils flared as though she’d just had a whiff of something disgusting. ‘I might make him sleep in a tent.’

‘He won’t want to stay with you!’ said Shelby.

‘Enough!’ said Ahab.

‘If I see you approach a police officer, Ahab, I’ll kill you,’ said Ivy. ‘I will not lose my son again. We’re doing this. We’ll take over Blackbeard’s crew. I’ll take Mack with me, we’ll have the whole family together.’ She gestured to Shelby. ‘Well? Call him and tell him to come here!’

Ahab tried to think fast. ‘You can’t do that to him, Shelby.’ She was the last person he could appeal to.

Shelby wiped her nose, her make-up running. ‘Ahab, does it look like we have a choice?’

‘Mackenzie will not be part of this,’ said Ahab. ‘You leave him alone.’ The man had suffered more than his fair share, and now they were dragging him back in . . .

‘By the way,’ said Ivy, looking at her nails. ‘You’re looking after the imposter boy, right? On our way here I saw him jogging towards the boulder field. Looked like he was searching for someone.’

That jarred Ahab. The little conman, what was he up to now? Why couldn’t he have just stayed put?

‘Forest?’ said Shelby. ‘I didn’t see him.’

‘That was why I was on the phone to Frankie in the car, dear,’ said Ivy, but her amused eyes never left Ahab’s. ‘Well, aren’t you responsible for him? You better go get him.’

Ahab stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He was responsible for Forest.