Dragging him up by his arm, Jessica smacked him gently on his bottom. ‘Do as I say, or Daddy won’t let you go to the party.’

Desperate for twenty minutes to herself, Jessica left her son bawling his eyes out and went upstairs to make herself glamorous. The argument between herself and Eddie was now well and truly forgotten. Jess had a big bump on the back of her head where Ed had thrown her against the wall, but she hadn’t told him that he’d hurt her. After the Lee episode, she was just thankful he’d forgiven her.

Sipping the coffee Raymond had just made him, Eddie pulled a face and spat the contents of his mouth back into the mug.

‘Fucking hell, that’s rancid. I think the milk’s gone off.’

Raymond ignored his complaint. He was more interested in hearing about the Old Bill’s findings than worrying about poxy milk.

‘Right, tell me from the beginning what your dad said.’

Eddie explained the conversation in full. ‘So, it looks like we’re all off the hook. The filth always hated Mad Dave, he led ’em a merry dance for years, so they’re not gonna pursue his death with five-star treatment.’

Raymond felt a surge of relief flow through his body. He’d been getting jumpy last night and hadn’t slept too well. At least with the new information, he could now relax a bit. ‘How does your old man know all this?’ he asked Eddie.

Eddie smiled. ‘The old man’s had a couple of coppers on his payroll for years. One’s a bent sergeant. The dodgy cunt demands a serious backhander for his info. It’s worth it in the long run, though, we’ll never get nicked with him on our side. He’s tipped us off a few times in the past, when the filth were on our cases. An insider of that quality is worth his weight in gold.’

Raymond nodded in agreement. ‘What you up to today, Ed? Is it all right if I come round to see Jess and the kids?’

Raymond loved having his new flat and independence, but he hated being alone for too long. That’s why he’d let Jane, the bird he’d met, stay for two nights.

‘We’re going to a party down the road from me. This geezer has a big do every year. Pat Murphy his name is, he’s an ex-boxer. Go and get yourself ready, Ray, and you can come with us. Jess won’t mind, she’d love you to come,’ Eddie told him.

Raymond didn’t need asking twice. He was so used to his mum and dad constantly shouting at one another, he couldn’t get used to the silence. ‘I’ll just run a quick bath. I’ll be fifteen minutes, tops.’