She slipped out of the van and Donna watched her with apprehension as she approached the garage doors.

What she was supposed to do if Big Paddy or Davey jumped on them, she wasn’t sure. Donna picked up her mobile and turned it on in case she had to phone for help.

Carol unlocked two padlocks and two mortice locks on the wooden door of the garage. The door opened fully to allow access for a vehicle, and it also had a small inset doorway. Carol opened the doorway first and Donna watched as she stepped inside, her heart in her mouth.

Carol popped her head out and gestured to Donna to back the van up.

Five minutes later the two women had opened the door fully and were packing the boxes of books and discs into the back of the Astra.

‘Oh, please hurry up, Donna, for fuck’s sake. If we get caught by the Old Bill it’ll be bad enough, but if Paddy comes we’ll be in deep shit.’

Donna was moving the last of the boxes from the back of the lock-up. The Astra van was nearly full and the last few boxes would be difficult to cram inside it. As she moved them she called out, ‘Carol, come and look at this!’

Carol walked over to her and frowned. The concrete had been taken up at some time and now, after the removal of all the boxes, they could clearly see that a hole had been dug in the floor of the lock-up.

‘What do you reckon this is then?’

‘I don’t know,’ Donna said. ‘Maybe something’s buried here.’

Carol stepped back in fright.

‘You don’t think it’s a grave, do you?’ Her voice was hesitant, fearful.

Donna laughed nervously. ‘Well, if it is, then the person was buried standing up! Look at the size of it.’

Carol lit a cigarette and pulled on it deeply.

‘That’s what I’m frightened of. Maybe it’s a little kid. After what we’ve found out the last few days, I wouldn’t put nothing past that lot.’

Donna felt her face blanch. ‘Oh, leave it out, Carol, that’s stupid.’

The other woman shook her head.

‘Listen, Donna, that lot are capable of anything, especially your Georgio. I ain’t being funny but I wouldn’t put fuck all past him. I mean, would you have believed that Big Paddy, that nice bloke, could rough up old Dolly, eh? Maybe they branched out into British kids, who can tell? For all we know, Georgio and Davey could have been nonceing.’

Donna shook her head impatiently. ‘I can’t believe that, Carol.’

She pulled Donna round to face her.