Frankie could be just as blunt as her father at times. ‘It all depends if you help me or not. I need a big favour, Dad.’

Eddie smirked. He’d thought his daughter had asked him to visit her because she had missed him, but in true Frankie style, the only reason she’d requested his presence was because she wanted something in return. ‘Go on, hit me with it.’

Eddie was appalled as Frankie explained the true horror of what had happened to her cellmate, Babs. He hated nonces, fucking despised them, and he admired Babs for killing the bastard in the way that she had. Seeing Frankie’s eyes well up, Eddie held his daughter’s hand.

‘It’s OK, you don’t have to tell me no more. I’ll sort your mate out with a brief, babe, and I’ll cover all the costs for her, OK?’

Frankie squeezed her father’s hand. ‘Thanks, Dad, I knew I could rely on you.’

Alice O’Hara was a bundle of nerves as she walked through the corridor of Georgie’s infant school. Dealing with people in authority wasn’t Alice’s cup of tea and she was dreading facing her granddaughter’s headmaster.

‘So, what’s she done now?’ Alice coldly asked the secretary. Since starting her new school Georgie had been off her food again, and Alice was becoming increasingly worried about her granddaughter’s weightloss and quietness indoors. In the last couple of weeks she’d become very sullen and introverted, and trying to get her to school in the mornings was an absolute nightmare.

‘The headmaster will explain all to you. Take a seat and I’ll let him know you are here,’ the secretary informed her.

Alice sat down on the chair and twiddled her thumbs anxiously. The school head had rung up just over an hour ago. Jed was up in Cambridgeshire grafting with Sammy, and Jimmy hated authority as much as Alice did, so had opted to wait outside in the motor.

‘The headmaster will see you now,’ the secretary said, smiling.

Alice walked into the small room.

‘Please sit down, Mrs O’Hara,’ the headmaster instructed.

‘So, what’s she done?’ Alice asked him. He was an ugly man, with silly glasses perched on the end of his nose.

‘Georgina ran away from the playground earlier and if it wasn’t for one of the other children telling the teacher on duty, we wouldn’t have known until playtime was over.’

‘Surely the gates are locked, though? Where is she now?’ Alice asked worriedly.