Jed waited until he got to the lounge before he switched his torch on. Spotting the photos of young Harry with a pretty woman, Jed smiled. ‘Once we’ve finished him off, we’ll take a couple of them pictures as souvenirs. We need to rough the place up a bit, make a mess, but we’ll have to do it quietly,’ Jed whispered.

Gesticulating for Sammy to follow him up the stairs, Jed clutched his baseball bat tightly in both hands. He’d waited a long time for this moment and felt high on adrenalin.

Harry’s snoring sounded like a pig snorting and Jed grinned as he tiptoed towards his bedroom. The door was open, and as Jed stood over the sleeping man, he was filled with a mixture of excitement and hatred. Glancing at Sammy, he lifted the bat in the air and smashed it as hard as he could over Harry’s head.

Instinct took over and a dazed Harry staggered out of the bed and lunged at Jed. ‘Who are you? What the fuck do you want?’ he shouted, as his feeble punches failed to connect.

Jed hit Harry once more and laughed as he fell to the floor. ‘Not as strong as you thought you were, eh?’ he goaded.

‘Tie up his arms and legs then shine the torch on him,’ Jed told Sammy.

Recognising the accent was that of a traveller, Harry knew he was in trouble. For many years he’d slept with a gun under his bed and his only hope now was to make a grab for it. With the two blows he’d received to his head, Harry was no match for his fit young attacker. Clocking Harry’s hand creeping under the bed, Jed repeatedly stamped on it with his right foot.

As Harry felt his wrist snap, he screamed out in pain. Sammy tied Harry’s arms up, ‘Who are you? One of the fucking O’Haras? I’m warning you – you kill me and my Eddie will break every bone in your useless pikey body,’ Harry shouted.

Jed laughed as Sammy tied Harry’s legs up. Harry reminded him of an oven-ready chicken, ‘Sorry, did I forget to introduce myself? I’m Jed O’Hara, Butch’s grandson, and this is my cousin, Sammy. I take it you remember my grandfather?’

Annoyed that Harry didn’t reply, Jed booted him in the head. ‘Answer me, you old shit-cunt.’

Harry was in so much pain he could barely speak. ‘What happened with your grandfather was business, nothing personal,’ he croaked.

‘I’ll give you fucking personal,’ Jed spat, tying the gag around Harry’s mouth.

Jed could sense Harry’s despair. Watching him choking, trying to say something, Jed loosened the gag.