Victor blushed and looked down at the amber liquid. ‘That’s a kind thing to say, and, babe, it’s my pleasure.’

Zara leaned back on her chair. ‘Okay, so, as you know, my cocaine business has almost dried up. The supplier’s disappeared, the Colombians have well and truly backed off, and the dealers are moving towards this new drug.’

Victor was nodding. ‘Yeah, it’s a shocking state of affairs.’

‘Well, I’ve contacted a friend of Izzy’s today. I didn’t even realize I had his number. But lo and behold, I’ve a new supplier. He’s managed to deal with a new importer, and, apparently, the cocaine is the best there’s ever been in the UK. He can supply me with enough to cover the whole of the South-East and more if I need it. If I can get my restaurants back up and running with my own men, then I’m in business again, and so, hopefully, it will push the demand for that shit stuff lower down the line. You see, there has to be an alternative. No one will just go cold turkey. The toffs will always want a bit for recreational use, and I intend to be their supplier.’

Victor held his hand up to give her a high five, and, with a chuckle, she responded likewise.

‘Sounds like a plan . . . But I can see one fly in the ointment. More than one, actually. It’s the gangs behind this Flakka drug. How do you propose to tackle them?’

She sighed heavily. ‘I don’t know yet. I would have said involve the Lanigans, but after what you said earlier, it has got me wondering. I’ve been over and over these last few days, just thinking about all of this, and something just doesn’t add up. You were right: I think the Lanigans are after running me out of London. When Neil pushed me into the ladies’ toilets when those cars pulled up, he wasn’t protecting me, he was placing me in there as a sitting duck. None of the men were killed. It was a set-up, clear and simple, and I think they intended to do away with me.’

Victor frowned. ‘What? No way. I don’t think they would go that far, would they?’

She nodded. ‘Did you know that many moons ago, I nearly killed Davey Lanigan. I smashed him around the head with a rock.’

Victor shook his head. ‘What? You? But you are so sweet and dinky.’

‘Yep, I nearly knocked his head clean off his shoulders.’

Victor laughed. ‘Well, I’ll be buggered.’

‘Then something else puzzled me. It’s Eric.’

Victor leaned forward on the edge of his seat, drinking in everything she said. ‘Eric as in Mike’s brother?’

‘Yeah. He knew stuff that he could’ve only known if he’d spoken with the Lanigans.’