Mike’s eyes were still focused on his son. ‘If it’s any consolation, I thought the job would be easy, coming down on a few suppliers and dealers to get a message to the Faces behind this drugs racket. Blimey, this has to be a first, me agreeing with the law. You’re right, though. This gang is out of control. They don’t play by the rules. The Devil’s rules maybe, but there ain’t any well-known Faces this side of the Thames that have done anything close to the crimes this lot are committing. Jesus. Raping a young woman and bashing a kid with a fucking bag over his head, what’s that all about? They’re cowardly in that sense. Do you have any CCTV footage at all?’

Stoneham sighed. ‘Yes, we do, actually, but all it tells us is there was a black BMW in the vicinity. The number plates were fake and the windows were tinted. The last camera in the Square only caught the back of the men.’

‘And what do they look like?’

Stoneham felt vomit rise to the back of his throat. His ears tingled every time he thought of the two men cruelly abusing his niece. ‘Roughly six foot three to four tall . . . ’ He paused. ‘Approaching your size.’

Mike pushed himself away from the doorframe. ‘My size? Well, that narrows things down. I don’t meet many men similar in size to me.’

‘No, I pulled out the best photo analysis team to examine the evidence, but all they could see was the footwear. One had the latest Nike trainers only sold in Footlocker, and the other guy had Timberlands, a size eleven. One had a black hat, which covered his ears, but we only had a side profile. He wore a long Crombie-type coat. The other man had a hoodie on, but we don’t know the make. The other issue we had was the photos were obscured by the rain. It was torrential. We tried to identify any markings on the car, but the CCTV footage was blurry with a fast-moving object. I tried my best, and I’m not giving up. And you, Mr Regan?’

‘Me . . . I will find these men, and well, you know what I’m gonna do.’ He gave a false laugh. ‘It was a bit of a game to start with, but things have changed. I’m going to do things my way from now on. Not rely on your leads but concentrate on me own. And, trust me, you’d better ensure every one of your men looks the other way ’cos what I will do won’t be pretty.’