Noel and Jamsie were already at the scrapyard, waiting for their dad to meet them there. They knew that he was on his way, and they were hoping that they could be out of here sooner rather than later. They had arranged to meet a few mates in Canning Town, and were going to have a few drinks there, before going on to the Electric Lady.

When their cousin Petey drove into the yard, they let him in and closed the gates behind him, before following him into the offices. Petey, as always, was on his high-horse. He looked around the small office pointedly, before saying sarcastically, ‘No one here yet?’

Jamsie shrugged. ‘Not unless they are hiding under the desk, no.’

He was not bothered in the least about Petey’s attitude; Jamsie knew that he would not dare act up like this if his dad or his uncle were in the vicinity.

‘My old man’s on his way. Do you want a drink, mate?’

Petey nodded warily; this felt off, there was clearly another agenda going on. He wondered if his uncle had found out about his taking cash from the safe at the betting offices. He had always placed bets after races had been run – he had a few little girls who he worked the scam with. His Uncle Daniel had queried the size of the debts and the frequency of them recently. He had a feeling that he had worked out what was going on. Petey was suddenly all smiles, putting on a front. ‘Yeah, why not? I’ll have a beer. I’ve just been to the new house – fuck me, it does look good, lads. I must be honest, I was sceptical initially of letting Bernadette loose on the place – let’s face it, she is a lot of things, but fucking classy ain’t one of them! But she did a really good job. For the first time, I’m actually looking forward to marrying her!’

They all laughed.

Noel saw a car pull up at the gates, and he rushed out of the office to open them.

Petey sipped his lager. ‘Do you know what this is all about, Jamsie? Bit cloak and dagger, ain’t it?’

Jamsie didn’t answer him; he was too busy watching his father as he walked slowly towards the Portakabins. He had a shotgun in his arms, and Danny and Davey were walking slowly behind their dad. He felt a sudden sorrow envelop him. It looked like his cousin Petey was actually for the high jump; he didn’t know what this was about, but obviously it was serious. He saw Petey looking at his dad, seeing the gun; he could only imagine how scared he must be.