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as angry as he usually did.
    But still, he had things to do. If all went according to plan, if Smithy and Scottish Jim and Daft Larry and Parcelforce did their jobs properly, all Cakes would have to do would be to say a few words and bugger off again. Taking what belonged to him with him. It should all take care of itself. It should be easy. But he couldn't wait to see the look on that thieving bastard Lewis's face.
    He checked his watch; nearly half past two. He left the churchyard and went down into the village. Towards the back room of the Miner's Arms.
    It had been an interesting journey, over the past couple of days. And it wasn't over yet.

Chapter Nine
    Thump thump thump went Lewis's heart. His mouth was dry and his palms were damp. His future and his happiness were about to be decided. It all depended on what another person would, in the next few minutes, tell him. The plans he'd made might be ashes in just a few minutes, and if so what would he do then? The possible life he'd built for himself might fall to bits. Never to be put back together again. Thump thump thump went his heart.
    He went around the side of the pub, to the back door. Let himself in. There was Manon, sitting behind a table, looking beautiful. And next to her was the Old Man.
    Lewis was surprised. 'What are you doing here? I don't need any support, y'know. I'm a big boy now.'
    'Sit down, son,' the Old Man replied.
    He pointed at a chair opposite Manon. Lewis took it. The table was now between him and Manon like a kind of barrier between them. He didn't like it.
    'We've both got something to tell you, Lewis. Haven't we, love?'
    Manon swallowed and nodded.
    'So just be quiet and listen. Don't say a word until we've finished. Right?'
    The Old Man nodded at Manon and sat back, lacing his fingers over his little pot belly. Manon cleared her throat. Her eyes were big and wide and had worry in them. Lewis sat still and listened and watched in wonder as the world spun out of control around him. He'd pictured a possible scene of damage and of heartbreak but this …this was a nightmare. Devastation.
    'Remember I told you I'd spent time in London? That I lived in Swansea but spent a lot of time in London?'
    Lewis felt himself nod once.
    'Well, that wasn't quite true. See, I went to London in the first place to find you. I figured that's where you'd go. I knew you had friends there – you used to talk a lot about going there and I wanted to find you. I missed you, Lewis. Despite all that happened I missed you. Because the baby was yours too, y'know.'
    Lewis felt himself nod again. His eyes burned.
    'Plus I was worried that you might hurt yourself or something so I went looking for you. Daft, I know, in a city that big, but…' She shrugged. 'I stayed in a friend's bedsit. Got a job delivering cakes around the Holborn area on a bike. It seemed strange right from the start – I mean, I was delivering doughnuts and cream slices and stuff to squats and tower blocks and places like that. Not shops or offices at lunchtime or anything. Just didn't seem right.'
    Lewis's heart began to sink into his body. It plopped into his stomach.
    â€˜So she called me,’ the Old Man said. 'Couldn't call her father ’cos he was still looking to blow your bloody brains out, so she called me. Said there was something fishy about the bakery she was working for. She sounded frightened so I went to Swansea and caught the first train to London.'
    'I met him at Paddington,' Manon said. 'With a box full of éclairs that should've been delivered to a squat in Clerkenwell earlier that day. We went back to my bedsit and cut them open…I'm sure you can guess what we found.'
    Lewis swallowed, although there was nothing to swallow. Just hot and stale air inside his mouth.
    'So I went round to the bakery,' the Old Man said. 'Angry, like. Furious, I was. Innocent young girl being taken advantage of like that, not on. I was all up for teaching some bugger a lesson like,