Alice got up off her hands and knees. She’d been mopping the floor for the past two hours now and there was still water everywhere. ‘What do you want? If it’s about Georgie not going to school, we took her out of there because the headmaster virtually called her a dinlo. Her father is in the process of finding her a new school,’ Alice said defensively.

When Harry ran into the hallway with a glass ashtray in his hand, followed by an older boy who was screaming, with blood running down his forehead, Carol Cullen looked at the scene before her in horror.

‘Are you the gavvers? I hit him ’cause he hit my sister,’ Harry said, not recognising Carol at all.

Alice was mortified as she saw the state of Mush’s head. The inch-long gash looked deep and was bleeding profusely.

‘Can you come back another time? I’d better get him to the hospital. I always keep me eye on ’em usually, but Jed and Jimmy are both out and me washing machine’s flooded the kitchen. You know what kids are like: they were playing nicely and then they have a little barney, and all hell breaks loose,’ Alice said, embarrassed by the situation.

‘That definitely looks like it needs stitching, so yes, you’d best go straight to the hospital, Mrs O’Hara. I will pop back tomorrow at twelve noon, so can you make sure that you are here, please? It would also be helpful if Jed was present.’

Alice nodded and, as Carol Cullen turned away, she slammed the front door and clumped Georgie around the head in temper.

‘Now look what you’ve done. I told you not to open the bloody door, didn’t I? We’ll have gavvers and social workers all over the poxy place now, you dinlo.’

When Georgie held her head and started to cry, Harry dropped the bloodied ashtray onto the floor. His dad had had a right go at him when he’d found out he’d had a scrap with Georgie a couple of weeks back.

‘You never, ever hit your own sister, Harry, but if anyone else touches her, no matter who they are, then you fucking clump ’em one, boy,’ his dad had told him.

Glaring at his nan, Harry ran towards Alice and punched her repeatedly as hard as his little fists would allow him to. ‘You leave my sister alone!’ he screamed.

* * *

DI Blyth felt the adrenalin pulsate through her veins as she took the call and recognised the superintendent’s voice from Arbour Square. She hadn’t heard a word from him since their meeting in his office last week, but he had promised to contact her personally if and when he had news of any substance.