‘I’m going to have a word with someone,’ he added. ‘Guess what her name is.’

Sam was the first to twig. ‘Celine Watts?’

‘Got it in one.’

‘Are we going to whack her?’ Eddie asked.

‘Would that be wise?’ Don snapped back. ‘And besides, you are going nowhere near her. Like I said, I’m going to have a quiet word, that’s all. See if I can persuade her to change her story.’

Sam was looking at him in the mirror again. ‘Thanks, Mr Empson,’ he said.

‘The one you should be thanking is Gorgeous George.’

Sam nodded slowly. He knew the score. The pair of them had been spotted in a car park next to woodland on the edge of the city. There had been another man in the car with them and he’d been crying, according to the witness. The witness was Celine Watts. The crying man was a small-time pusher who’d been warned before. His body had been found in the woods, in too shallow a grave.

Leaving Gorgeous George three options. Option one, hang Sam and Eddie out to dry. Option two, get them off the hook. Option three, bump them off.

So far, it had been option two.

The streets were quiet. It only took them half an hour. Eddie stopped the car next to the kerb and Don started to get out.

‘Do you need us?’ Eddie asked.

‘Not on your life.’ Don pulled on a pair of black leather gloves and walked up the path. When he got to the front door, he noticed that it was open a couple of inches. There were lights on inside. He pushed at the door and stepped into the narrow hallway. The first door led to the living room. Music was playing, and he could smell smoke. A woman was lying on the sofa, her feet bare. She was moving her toes in time to the music. There was an empty bottle of lemonade on the floor, next to a bottle of vodka. She was flicking ash from her cigarette into the palm of her hand.

She was not Celine Watts.