Petey Bailey, his cousin, who he loved dearly, was arsehole-lucky that he had a father who was not a fucking hair’s breadth away from the nuthouse. But they had to work together; the fact that they were the go-betweens for their old men was as important as it was sad. That was the way it was, and there was nothing they could do about it.

‘I told you I would keep him in check, and I am. Now, what’s the score with the new clubs? I know we talked about coming into Essex next, and I have just the place actually. It’s as cheap as chips – the bloke who owned it fucking slung most of his profits up his nose. He is a complete cunt. He also owes a big amount of wedge to us and, as luck would have it, he now owes a fair amount to Davey. I got Davey to offer him an out, so he gave him enough money to cover the interest on his original loan, that means now, of course, he has two loans that he can’t pay. It’s just a matter of assuring him that we will forgo the debts if he signs the premises over to us. He will be glad to get shot, I think. He made the cardinal mistake: he opened a club and saw it as his personal hangout, not as a business. It was only a matter of time before he fucked up.’

Petey smiled; he loved Danny’s knack of sniffing out a bargain. ‘Sounds good to me! Bailey Enterprises are on the up, eh? Where’s this place located?’

Danny lit a cigarette and, taking a deep pull on it, he said nonchalantly, ‘Ilford High Street. Used to be Colin Farmer’s drum, now it’s ours. Run properly it could be a gold mine.’

Petey was impressed; Colin Farmer came from a good family – they would have bailed him out if he had asked them to. Evidently Danny had convinced Colin otherwise, and he wondered what he had used to lean on him. It had to be something big – much more than the debts alone.

Danny could almost hear his cousin’s brain crunching as he tried to work out the score, and he grinned, deciding to let him in on the secret. ‘I pointed out that his coke habit was not something his family would embrace, and that his penchant for young boys might cause a few raised eyebrows.’

Petey was absolutely gobsmacked and his cousin’s amazement pleased Danny no end.