Mike sighed deeply, but the expression wasn’t so severe as before. He looked at Jackie with a measure of respect. He opened the concealed lid of a footstool and grabbed a wad of notes, much to her surprise. She’d never known about that hiding place and could’ve kicked herself.

‘Tatum asked me to visit Leon to pick up some drugs for him. It was for someone called Dez Weller. He’s a seriously dangerous bloke, by the way. Anyway, I was supposed to pass it on, during a prison visit . . . ’ She realized she’d just let her mouth run away with her, and if she mentioned that it was their son who was supposed to take the drugs from her, then Mike would go spare.

Mike was taking it all in. Dez, his archenemy, dealing that shit inside, wound him right up, but he kept a deadpan face.

‘Do you have this Leon’s address or pick-up place?’

‘Fifteen grand, Mike.’

He nodded. ‘Yeah, yeah, sure.’ While he moved over the next tranche, he asked, ‘What’s the man’s address?’

‘It’s in my bag, on the back of one of my court summonses, I think.’

Mike shot up from his seat and pulled her bag out from behind the bar area. He didn’t behave like a gentleman and hand it to her, so she could rummage through it. He merely tipped the contents out. There on the floor was the court summons. ‘Right, thank you. Now, who was this Leon working for or with? And before you say twenty grand, I agree. I’ll give ya twenty grand for that information.’

Jackie studied him like a gamekeeper would a poacher. With narrowed eyes, she folded her arms before replying. ‘Twenty-five grand!’

Mike gritted his teeth. He had to admire Jackie, but this was a piss-take of Olympic proportions. ‘Fuck off, Jackie. Twenty grand and no more.’ He had to be believable.

She looked at him with an imperious stare, until he broke away from her gaze and added more to her increasing pile. Not a bad day’s work, she thought.

‘Right, all I know is the man that Leon is scared of is a guy called the Governor. I didn’t see his face, but I did get a glimpse of him when I was spaced out. Leon gave me the shit to try, and not being used to drugs . . . ’

Mike rolled his eyes.

‘No, seriously, Mike, I drink and I’ve smoked weed but nothing hard-core. Anyway, I was as high as a kite, and the next minute, I sort of came out of a trancelike thing, and I could hear this man’s voice. It was deep and gruff – a bit like yours. Anyway, I opened me eyes and saw the back of him. He’s a big fella, like you, with cropped hair, like yours . . . ’ She paused and frowned. ‘’Ere, it wasn’t you, was it?’