Raymond took a deep breath. ‘Thanks for letting us know.’

‘How is she, Joey?’ Jed asked as he sat on a chair next to Frankie.

‘She’s sedated. She’s still in shock. What are we gonna do, Jed? My mum’s dead,’ Joey sobbed.

As Jed stood up, Joey threw himself into his arms. Jed didn’t know what to do. He was positive Frankie’s brother was an iron and he didn’t really want to touch him. ‘Move out the way, Joey. I wanna talk to Frankie,’ he said awkwardly.

As Jed held her hand, Frankie opened her eyes. ‘I’m sorry about your mum. I’ll look after you from now on, I promise I will. Is the baby OK? Have they checked you out?’

‘I’m having a scan in the morning. Please don’t leave me, Jed, stay here with me,’ she whispered.

‘I’m going nowhere,’ Jed assured her.

Eddie Mitchell woke up in the early hours. At first his brain was fuzzy, but within minutes he remembered everything. ‘Jessica! Jessica!’ he cried, the tears rolling down his cheeks.

The Irish nurse walked over to him. ‘You’re going to be OK, Mr Mitchell. You had a nasty bullet wound and lost a lot of blood, but you’re in the best place here. We’ll have you back on your feet in no time.’

‘Are the police still here?’ Eddie asked groggily.

The nurse nodded. Eddie was in a private room and the police were waiting outside the door. ‘Can you tell ’em to come in. I have a confession to make,’ Eddie whispered.

Raymond stood outside smoking another cigarette. The whole episode had been a nightmare and had made him take stock of his life. He had already planned what he was going to do. He was going to propose to Polly, settle down and go straight. What he had seen in that trailer had put him off violence for life and he would never forget the sight of his sister’s mutilated body lying on that floor for the rest of his days.

‘Are you OK, Uncle Raymond?’ Joey asked, as he walked up to him.

Joey felt like a spare part now that Jed had arrived, and he couldn’t wait to leave the hospital and grieve in peace. Raymond put his arm around Joey’s shoulder. ‘I think I should ring your uncles Paulie and Ronny to tell ’em what’s happened. They can tell Reg and Auntie Joan. They’re all gonna find out, anyway.’

Joey nodded dumbly. His mum was dead and nothing else really mattered any more.

Sergeant Lineker could barely believe his ears as Eddie Mitchell confessed to murdering his own wife.

‘So, it was mistaken identity? You thought that Mrs Mitchell was somebody else?’