Georgio knew that Lewis was telling the truth. After the attack on him, he had to come back bigger and stronger than ever. Georgio knew that people on the Wing had heard the rumours about him owing Lewis money and now Lewis had to push the issue to save face. To show his strength. Georgio didn’t even hold this against him. It was prison law, far more binding than the law of the land.

‘So what’s it to be, Georgio?’

He bowed to the inevitable; after a swift planning session in his mind, he smiled in a defeated manner.

‘I’ll have the money for you within twenty-eight days. I’ll have to get someone to fetch it for me, but that won’t be a problem. I want your word, however, that this will be the end of it all. Me and you trundle along nicely, I don’t want us to fall out after this.’

Lewis held out his hand. He had won the game and could afford to be magnanimous.

‘No hard feelings, Georgio. I’ll call the Old Bill off your back and me and you can get down to planning what we’re going to do on this Wing. It needs a shake-up and between us I think we could do the job perfectly adequately.’

Georgio grinned. ‘You won, fair and square, Donald. Now about those two nonces . . . Can I have your word that you’ll let me have them? I’ve been racking me brains for a way to do them and I think I could really liven this place up at the same time. In your name, of course.’

Donald picked his teeth with his fingernail. ‘Of course.’

Georgio and Lewis grinned at one another and Georgio winked. He could afford to be as friendly as he liked. All in all, it couldn’t have worked out better for him.

From now on Lewis would be like his Siamese twin. He wanted his money and Georgio wanted to cause a disturbance the like of which Parkhurst had never seen before.

‘Shall I get us both a nice cup of tea?’ he offered.

Lewis nodded happily.

‘Why not?’

Alan saw Donna before she saw him. He studied her sitting by the window table of his restaurant, sipping mineral water and watching the world go by. He smiled to himself in pleasure. She really was a very good-looking woman. She was as usual, dressed immaculately, her plain black dress cut high at the neck, tailored and smart. She wore sheer black tights and high black shoes. She looked businesslike yet painfully vulnerable at the same time. She wore a deep red lipstick and the slash of colour gave her a childlike appearance.

He walked over to her, smiling in welcome and waiting to inhale the fragrance of her perfume. The Chloë smell had become uniquely hers to him. Flowery, cool and crisp. That summed up Donna Brunos.