Ending the call, Blyth picked up the rest of her sandwich and chomped away happily.

Terry Baldwin pulled up outside the iron fence with the red lettering where he’d been ordered to wait. He’d been instructed to drive to River Road in Barking, and, as he turned off his engine and headlights, the only sound was that of a ferocious-sounding guard dog barking its bonce off. Terry shivered. He didn’t know whether it was because the area gave him the creeps or the temperature had fallen below zero. Tapping his fingers against the steering wheel to try and keep them warm, Terry thought of his Sally. He’d kept the wake small, just a few people back at the house. The thought of having a piss-up in the pub was unbearable and he couldn’t have stomached it.

Terry nearly shat himself with fright as a light was flashed three times through the back window of his motor. He was expecting whoever he was meeting to arrive by car, not on a pushbike with a torch. He got out of the motor and walked towards the guy. He could barely see his face at all, as the bloke had a ski jacket on with a hood up and a scarf covering his mouth.

‘Did Jamie send you?’ Terry asked warily. There were no houses for miles and this weirdo could pull any kind of stroke if he wanted to.

Ignoring Terry’s question, the man pulled a plastic bag from the inside of his jacket and handed it to Terry. Terry took the bag, looked inside to check the contents and handed the weirdo an envelope containing money.

Watching the delivery man cycle off into the night, Terry got back inside his car and started the engine. Hopefully, by this time next week, that vile little shit who had stolen his family from him would finally have paid for his sins.

Chapter Nineteen

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The following morning Eddie told Stuart and Raymond to go and do the collections alone. The loan-sharking business was booming and Ed had now split the collections into two separate areas. Gary and Ricky covered the East End, where the majority of their business was done, and Ed, Raymond and Stuart covered Essex and any other surrounding areas. Ed had always left south, west and north London alone. Each area had its own firm that carved a crust the same way that he did and stepping on someone else’s toes just wasn’t worth the agg.

When Gina walked into the lounge, freshly showered in a bathrobe, Ed pulled her towards him.

‘So why have you taken today off?’ Gina asked. Ed had been through a traumatic time recently and Gina just wished she could do more to help him.