‘Just make sure you ain’t being followed, boy. We’ve lost one of the motors, the Land Cruiser. If you see it sitting near Frankie’s, get Dom to drop you off, then tell him to drive off with the kids still inside.’

Joey looked out of the back window. ‘There’s nothing behind us. If need be, where should Dom drive to?’

‘Oh, hang on a minute. It’s OK, panic over, the bastard’s behind us again, Ray’s just spotted him.’

Joey breathed a massive sigh of relief. He wasn’t made of the same steel as his dad and brothers and the thought of pointing a gun at someone, even if it was to protect his sister, filled him with total dread. ‘Please be careful, Dad,’ Joey urged.

‘Of course I will, but if you ain’t heard anything from me in, say, four hours, ring Flatnose and tell him to come and look for us. You know where we’ll be, don’t you? And you’ve got Flatnose’s number? If you have to ring him, just tell him the score, he’ll know what to do. He sort of knows about what’s going on anyway, I rang him earlier, but you’re the only one I’ve actually told where we’re heading.’

‘I’ve got both his numbers, but if I ring him at two or three in the morning, will he be awake?’ Joey asked anxiously.

‘Of course.’

‘What about Larry?’ Joey asked.

‘Don’t ring him yet. I’ll call him tomorrow. Look, try not to worry, boy, as I’m sure everything is gonna be fine, but if something does go wrong, never forget how much I love you and also promise me you’ll always take care of Frankie for me.’

Aware that his eyes had welled up, Joey did his best to keep the emotion out of his voice. ‘I promise and I love you too, Dad.’

Eagerly awaiting the return of her children, Frankie was glued to the window in the living room. ‘Where are they, Babs? They’ve been gone ages. What if something’s wrong?’

Babs put a comforting arm around her friend’s shoulder. ‘They’ve not even been gone half an hour yet; it seems longer ’cause you’re so excited. Everything is gonna be just fine, and whenever Babbsy say that, she always right.’

‘Keep watch for me while I go a toilet again. I’ve got the shits through nerves and look at my hands, I can’t keep ’em still. Say they don’t remember me, or even worse, hate my guts for taking them away from their father? I just want them to be happy, Babs, and I’m so worried they might not be able to settle into a normal life. Them travellers are such a different breed from us, they really are.’