She wished she was older, more Petey’s age. She often played out a scenario in her head before she went to sleep in which she would accidentally bump into him, and he would suddenly look at her as if for the first time, and then that would be it. He would see her as a woman, as someone of note. She was desperate to be seen as a grown up at last, not just little Tania. Even if the impossible did happen, though, she knew her father wouldn’t allow it, let alone her brothers. It was just a dream and life was so unfair.

She wished her mum would come home, it wasn’t like her to stay out this late. After a night out, her mother would make hot drinks for them both and regale her daughter with anecdotes from her night. Tania loved her mum and they were very close. Her mum really understood her, and she was lucky to have her. Growing up, as she had worked out some of the truth of the Life, her mum had always been there to make her feel better when she was frightened.

Well, at least her mother would give her the highlights of the evening, whether she wanted them or not. She really wished she had just gone now, and enjoyed the night for what it was. She knew it would have been a good night out; her friends would all have been jealous that she had even been there, let alone a part of the management, so to speak.

She sighed sadly as the truth finally dawned on her. She had really shot herself in the foot; she had passed up the chance to be treated as a grown up at last. She had not even had the sense to see that until it was too late.

Chapter One Hundred and Seventeen

Terrence Allen was, as usual, holding court; he knew more jokes than Frank Carson, and he loved nothing more than telling them. He was in a pub on Southend Seafront with his brother Billy – a pub that was owned by the Baileys. He had been in there since early evening, a fact that could be corroborated by at least twenty people. Now they were enjoying a lock-in.

He was pissed, but not so pissed he didn’t know what he was doing. He was actually having a good time. He was in terrific company; they were all like-minded men and, more importantly, they were Faces. These were men the Baileys would listen to, and they would each swear on a stack of Bibles that the Allens were in their company when the bomb went off outside the club. Peter Bailey would be spread all over the West End like a paper chase before the night was over.