Frankie poured herself a vodka and her dad a Scotch. ‘So, what’s the plan? Can we go to Scotland tomorrow? If I ring DI Blyth, I reckon she’ll come with us. If we turn up with the Old Bill in tow, the O’Haras will have to give me my kids back.’

‘No, we ain’t involving no Old Bill, so you can get that silly idea out your head.’

‘Why not? Blyth’s always been good to me and I know she’ll help me get Georgie and Harry back.’

‘Because if the O’Haras get one whiff of the filth, they’ll gallop off faster than Red Rum once could. Seriously, Frankie, the Old Bill are fuck-up merchants, most of ’em couldn’t catch a cold, love. I’ll get ya your kids back and as soon as I bring ’em home, you can ring that Blyth bird and tell her what’s happened. Until then, you don’t tell a fuckin’ soul, OK?’

Frankie nodded.

‘Right, I’m gonna make some phone calls. I ain’t schlepping all the way up to Joanie’s gaff at this time of night, so I’ll get all the lads over here.’

Eddie rang Larry first to tell him the score, then he called Gary, Ricky and Raymond and ordered them to meet him at Frankie’s. He took deep breaths before he rang Terry Baldwin. If what Katie had said about Jed being alive turned out to be true, he would not be a happy man. With a plan forming in his mind, he punched in Baldwin’s number. ‘Meet me at Frankie’s, mate. It’s urgent,’ he said politely. He ended the call and stared at the phone. ‘Cunt,’ he mumbled.

Stuart was back within half an hour. Ed ran to greet him and put his finger to his lips to warn him to keep schtum about where he had been. ‘Where did she go?’ he whispered. Stu repeated the address he had seen on the piece of paper and Eddie breathed a massive sigh of relief. Surely that Katie bird wouldn’t give both her phone numbers and her home address if she was lying. Then again, knowing travellers as well as he did, the whole thing could be a set-up and the O’Haras could be waiting to blow his brains out when he got to Glasgow.

Frankie was looking out of the window.

‘What you doing?’ Eddie asked, as she ran to the front door.

‘Letting Joey and Dom in. I rang Joey while you were on the phone, told him what had happened and asked him to come over. Don’t worry, we can sit upstairs and have a drink if you need privacy,’ Frankie replied sarcastically.

Joey held his twin sister in a tight embrace. ‘Don’t build your hopes up too much, Frankie, in case it’s another wild goose chase,’ he warned her.