Donna stood in the small reception area and took in her surroundings as she waited. The redhead was in her fifties and painfully thin. Her eyes were cleverly made-up, and Donna admired her expertise. On closer inspection she realised with a shock that the woman was at least sixty. She smiled faintly at Donna, and when the doorman went into the club itself she said, ‘What brings you here, Mrs Brunos?’

Donna smiled in a friendly fashion. ‘Just a bit of business, why?’

The woman shrugged daintily. ‘Just wondered. How’s that handsome old man of yours, eh? Haven’t seen him for a while. Then, I don’t expect you see much of him, do you?’

Donna’s eyes glittered as she threw back: ‘I see enough of him, love.’

The woman smirked. ‘Don’t get your knickers in a twist, I was only stating a fact. He was unlucky there.’ She looked through the doorway into the club and then bending forward said softly, ‘A word of advice. Be careful of Chrissy. He’s a dangerous fucker and he looks like butter wouldn’t melt, OK?’

Donna nodded, wondering what the hell the woman was being so nice for. In her small forays into the underworld of Soho she had already established that people only gave you what you bought from them. Money was the order of the day and its voice was loud and crystal clear.

‘I’ll bear that in mind.’

As she spoke a tall handsome black man came out of the club doorway.

‘Can I help you?’

Donna was stunned by his upper-class English accent.

‘I am here because I need the keys to the flats in Wardour Street. Stephen asked me to keep an eye open for him while he was away. I’m Donna Brunos, by the way, Georgio’s wife.’

She held out a hand which was ignored.

Christopher smiled widely. Then he said in a thick West Indian dialect, ‘Listen, lady, I don’t give a fuck who you are or what you want. Stephen Brunos has no right telling you anything, OK? Now you go back to wherever it is you come from and don’t you ever come near me or mine again, OK? You taking that on board or shall I have someone embed the message in your brain?’

Donna looked into cold black eyes, and realised that she was actually in mortal danger. When she didn’t answer, the man grabbed hold of her arm.

‘Listening to me or what, woman? Georgio don’t scare me, the man ain’t been born yet who can scare me, but I scare plenty of people - your old man and his brother included. Now fuck off, lady, before I lose my temper.’