Willie, wide-eyed, looked at Mike and pulled a face that said, ‘Fuck. How did we get this so wrong?’ He looked at the staircase, and, without a plan, he tore up the stairs and ran into each of the three bedrooms and the bathroom. To his amazement, there were so many beds crammed into each room that not even a fifty-pence piece would fit between them. More shockingly, however, was the bloodied bathroom. Deciding not to hang about, he hurtled back down the stairs.

Mike and Staffie stood motionless, pointing their guns. They only let out a breath when they heard Willie come charging down the stairs.

‘Well?’ demanded Mike.

‘It looks like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ’ave moved in, but there’s no sign of Snow White and the only dwarfs are Itchy and Scratchy.’ He pointed to the two tatty-looking men.

‘Anything else, Walt Disney?’ asked Staffie, with a quizzical expression.

‘Yeah. It looks like the Brothers Grimm have been here too. The bathroom’s covered in claret.’

‘Who are you?’ bellowed Mike, as he turned to the men.

‘Please, we don’t want no trouble,’ one of them replied, in a strong Polish accent.

It was time to throw some light into the room. Just as Staffie edged his way past Mike and Willie, he suddenly gasped. ‘Jesus, what the fuck’s going on?’

Once the curtains were opened, Mike and his friends stood still in shock at the sight before them.

A dead woman, her white, waxy, and naked body drenched in blood, was lying on the floor. She had been gutted like a fish.

‘Well, there’s Snow White, then,’ said Willie.

It took a moment for the three men to take in the devastation. The woman was young, probably in her mid-twenties. Her eyes were still open, and she looked absolutely terrified. Her mouth was black and gaping as if she had gasped for air. But what was worse was the butchered remains of her torso. The deep cut went from her chest all the way down. Spilling out onto the floor were the intestines and other internal organs. Mike glared at the mess; it reminded him of strings of sausages on a butcher’s shelf. Beside the entrails, there were wrappers, condoms, and clingfilm. More shockingly, next to the girl’s head, was a small bloodstained hessian sack.

The disturbing scene hit Mike like a ton of bricks. All he could imagine was his boy lying there. The blood left his face, and, instantly, he gagged. Staffie and Willie glanced over at their boss and were stunned by what they saw. They’d never seen Mike act so physically distressed. He was always the cold-faced one who was never affected by any gruesome scene, and he’d witnessed enough of them.