I started to do a countback on my booze intake, and Sammy clearly noticed, laughing out loud.

“None of us bothered tonight, mate. Not asking for a go/no go tonight, just setting a seed. That’s your mate over there, I believe”

The last confused me, until I saw where he was looking, which was in the direction of a very lost-looking Neil. As I started to move, Maz tugged me gently back.

“The lad’s turn, darling. See?”

Ish was already there, hugging my, our friend while clearly struggling to explain why he had some young woman attached to one hand.

“Time to leave them to it, Mike. There is music next door. It’s not our style, but could we… Music Is not ‘traditional’, and this time I just need you”

She drew me from the Powell Bar, and we followed the pulse and the bass beat to another, larger room, where the music was most definitely not to our usual taste, nor the pairings of the dancers to anything coming within any reasonable distance of conventionality.

It was an education, I suppose, for while there were any number of skinny and shirtless young men revisiting that moment from ‘Rite of Spring’ and dance themselves to death, there were also others who were simply glommed together in happy mutual comfort, including a pair of the leather bears from the entrance. The DJ was playing all sorts of heavier ‘glam’, and my mind simply went with it. There was a beat, there was some grunt to the music, and there was a wife who wanted to let rip.

Nobody need know what we danced to, but dance we did.

I could see so much more clearly why Marlene’s place was so busy, as well as appreciate the service she offered to her community. We were so lucky in the end, and by ‘we’ I meant what might be considered our community, for we had everywhere outside the pub’s walls to relax in while for many of those here, it was all they had. For a second or two, I felt guilty, an intruder, but then I simply thought “Six fucking years” and got on with the shaking and sweating.

It wore us out, though, and we had responsibilities, so we gathered our breath and with it brought our heart rate back down, before heading back to the Powell, where Neil was at the bar sandwiched between Candice and Diane. Maz was straight across for a hug, and Neil and I shook spare hands around her.

“Where are you staying, mate?”

“I booked into that Sleeperz place by the station, but Candice here cancelled it as soon as I told her”

“Course I did! Plenty of room at ours, I said”

Blondie flicked a look towards Sammy, then snapped her smile back on once more.

“Not a case no more, is it? Sammy there likes to say ‘family’ a lot, so we’ll call it that, and now it’s not a case, we can forget case rules”

She furrowed her brow theatrically, leaning past us to shout a question at her other half.

“Barry, love? Am I doing ‘blonde’ or ‘borg’ tonight?”

The shout came back: “Blonde borg, I believe”

“Yeah, but I’d never get into that costume, never mind out of it again, so you lot can all put your minds away right now. Sixty of nine? Blonde! Anyway, serious head? We have all sorts of offers for you lot, and none of them involve rubber or lycra. Unless you’re as perverse as us, of course”

Once again, her eyes swept the room, locking for a few seconds on Ish, who was, naturally, in the middle of a crowd of Deb’s charges.

“What are you doing about the boy’s situation, Mike? Not a lecture, don’t worry, and I don’t really believe this of you, but she doesn’t get ghosted when you all fly off again”

Maz took point.

“None of us know, Candice. Ish has spoken to us both at length and, well, things change. I suspect we will be looking at a lot of video calls. Those cost nothing, unlike the old phone days. When I used to ring the family home from Australia, that was silly money”

“And the video stuff, Maz?”

My wife looked quickly up at me before continuing.

“They will either peter out, or they will continue. Both people involved are committed to their studies, so no excess, but if it’s ‘peter out’, then I am between two stools. I don’t know which of them has it worse, which one might drift, if at all. Then it’s family time. Oh, and Clara doesn’t lose us if she loses Ish, not unless she wants to. I have had more than enough of locked doors”

Candice sang a few words, ‘Had his moment of doubt and shame’, then grinned in that false way of hers.

“Yeah, love. A few of us here been in shit places. Obs, as Debbie puts it”

I gave her what I hoped was a better smile.

“Protective lot, aren’t you?”

Her answering look held dark pools of bitterness.

“You don’t need to know. Maddy, Neil’s Maddy, she was one we could have saved if someone hadn’t decided to be a complete and utter cunt, and as that one still IS a case, I need to STFU. It’s… Neil?”

“Yeah?”

“Just need a quiet few words with these two, sorry. Lil?”

She waited a couple of seconds, then tried again.

“Lil, put Jennifer down and please give Marlene a shout for me… Hiya. Could we use the foot of your stairs for a chat? Just for privacy?”

A quick nod, the passing of a key, and then the three of us were in a stairwell behind a soundproofed door. The fluffy act evaporated immediately from Candice as she came directly to the point.

“Failing, you two. All of us have. Debbie’s early life, there were coppers involved. Same with what happened to Di and Paula, some of Deb’s girls, some other victims you won’t meet tonight, like Lainey’s little sister. My man there, he’s firearms. If he has to act, he’s already failed, as he sees it, and he has had to act more than enough times. Anyway, we understand pernicious guilt by transference. What I am on about now is real guilt, where we let those coppers do Forbes’ work, and that is setting us up for a much deeper look at Nigel’s mates, and no, I am not going into detail. It’s not over. It’s the other side of things that worry us, and that is how Neil will react when he realises he is doing that famous pushing at an open door, and then meets Part Two coming through”

Maz simply nodded, as I said, “Where else would we be but ready to catch him?”

“Thank you. He’s a lovely man, but not a survivor, not on his own. It’s that Part Two thing you need a hint about”

Maz asked, “What’s happening to those police officers, you mean?”

“That’s part of it. It’s… Here, we had other issues. Long story short, there was a series of rapes. One woman came forward, got the conviction, and then several others, and we got that bastard locked up for the rest of his life”

My wife’s voice was like a caress.

“Ashley Evans?”

Candice’s face set hard.

“That’s the one. How do you know?”

“I read Paula’s book, so I know who else was involved. I think I know what you’re doing with Forbes now”

“Yeah. Which is my worry about how Neil might react on seeing the news”

I felt a little lost, so Maz explained.

“Something Lexie said to me, darling, about him trawling venues like galleries for ‘posh tottie’. ‘Thick posh tottie, those were the words, but ‘vulnerable’ is a better one in my view”

Candice nodded.

“Yes. There are separate investigations, as I have NOT hinted, but the tottie one might draw some public attention precisely because going public is what draws the other victims out. That’s the plan, anyway. The rest depends on what Forbes was specifically targeting”

I pulled my wife closer to me, a little ripple of worry crossing my mind.

“In what way, Candice?”

“Ah. Don’t want to go into too much detail, but Maddy may or may not have been typical. He was quick to dump her once he’d got his cock off, but I am not sure… Details, Mike. Think US Army doctors in Afghanistan, just closer to home. That bit where he got Maddy to pay for the meal even though HE was the one taking HER out. I think… Look, do I overdo the ‘blonde’ shit?”

“Sometimes, but, not by much”

“Well, when we get offences from a particular group, whether it be catfishing, cuckooing or whatever, the victims always get the shame bomb, the ‘how could I be so stupid?’ crap, and that is a bloody uphill slog. What we need from Neil’s friends is simple: just be there to let him see he’s the bloody victim, not the accomplice”

Maz still had that soft whisper to her voice.

“You have someone already, then”

“Time to get back in, or Barry’ll be getting confused. Have I got my blonde back on properly?”

We both nodded, and she opened the connecting door before heading to the bar to rejoin our family, extended now so, so far. Deb was wrapped up by her man as she prodded and slid the face of a tablet she was showing Neil, and to no surprise on my part he was returning the favour via his own tablet. I guessed they were discussing photo sets, perhaps even a commission. Ish was nowhere to be seen, but then again, all the ‘Brood’ were similarly missing, so I had no worries on that front. ‘Alwen’ was at the bar again, as I secured a Goat, with a large white for Maz, so I asked where our boy might be.

“Oh, Clar got him surrounded and dragged him off to the disco once they were sure it was safe”

“Safe?”

“As in, a parent-free zone. He’s a shy one, isn’t he?”

Maz looked around me.

“You lusting after him didn’t help!”

That actually brought a blush, so yet again I heard my wife soften her manner.

“You okay, girl?”

“Ah, easy being behind the bar. Bit of banter’s expected. Face to face is another thing. Anyway, I’ll see a few of the girls through the week for updates”

She grinned, clearly settling down once again.

“Some of us are students at the same uni, but it’s the Summer hols right now. Chance to boost savings before the next term, and in a safe space”

She grimaced at some memory or other.

“First New Year’s Eve I ever worked here, there was a beating. There’s always beatings, of course, but this one, two of our regulars found him, and this was where they brought him, to wait for ambulance and police. ‘Safe space’ isn’t just a saying here. Anyway, here’s your boy”

Maz and I turned, and he was somewhat red in the face, hair plastered to his head.

“Been dancing, son?”

“Yes, Dad”

“Ish?”

“Mum?”

“Was that timing to avoid us seeing you dancing, or you to avoid having to see your parents dance?”

There were several girls clustered round, one of whom purred, “Do tell, Ishy sweety!”, and he blushed an even deeper colour.

“Not now, Maria. Bad enough when that bloke….”

‘Maria’ chuckled happily.

“I think Clar set him straight, Ishy! Or rather, not straight, seeing where we are, but it was weird when the music stopped”

I was having some mad vision of musical lap-sitting with that remark, So I gave the Maz-eyebrows to the lad.

“Oh, somebody got thrown out, and EVERYBODY stopped dead to watch, or maybe help, and as he leaves, Marlene says something about a chipolata and ‘half a badly-packed kebab from Chippy Lane’ and he’s nearly running out the door”

Maria laughed out loud.

“Nice try, Ishy!”

She turned to me.

“That was an earlier one, man we call Tin Tin. This was a whole mass of women”

Her manner changed, abruptly.

“Chloe, can you grab Lil? First aid box?”

“On my way”

Maria looked at Clara, clearly for permission, then lifted the edge of our boy’s shirt with a wince.

“Stupid bloody false nails”

Lil appeared, another woman in tow, and the former took a quick look around the Powell bar before turning to her companion.

“Lock the door for now, Jen. Little lever under the doorknob. What we got Maria?”

“I hadn’t realised until we were joking away, and then spotted some, well, spots. Mr Rhodes?”

“Yes?”

“Ish did nothing wrong. He just got targeted. What it is, Marlene has some shot sellers in the other bars, all men, all ripped as anything, no shirts, and all gay as a gay thing. Hen party liked that. Thought it was all for their benefit, then decided to spread it about, try to pull lads’ shirts off. Just noticed the blood. Oh, Clara?”

The girl looked terrified.

“Yes?”

“Bloody good backhand on the fat one. Yes, I do know most od them were”

Tick tock and Marlene was with us, via the bar.

“You on it, Lil?”

“Yup. Jen’s got the door for now”

“Good woman”

“I already know that, boss. Anyway, few slices, nothing deep. Wiped the little ones down, and there were only three cuts needed a plaster. If Ish is happy to leave his shirt off till things dry out, he’ll not have to peel it off later”

“How is Moi expected to work efficiently if I am to be so distracted?”

“Boss, you already pay for the shots boys, so don’t talk bollocks”

The queen shrugged.

“Fair point, but you wound me. Should have blocked those fuckers on sight. You okay, Ish? Need anything? Cold drink? Hot drink? Moi?”

She rose, turning to Sammy.

“Catch all that, Inspector? Let me know when you want the discs from the cameras. Ish?”

“Yes?”

“Big bath towel, lengthwise across the bed, not down it. Allows you to be both passionate and agile without leaving claret on the sheets. Later!”