‘No, Tommy, you’re still not old enough. Sorry, I know you don’t like it but you have to use the ladies’ with me,’ Sarah answered as she led Tommy down the curved steps to the public toilets located under the street, noticing how clean and white the tiled walls were.

Once downstairs, she saw how the brass pipes and door knobs gleamed in the light coming through the opaque glass tiles in the pavement above. She quickly scanned the room, and, pleased to find the char lady wasn’t around, took off her shoes and rinsed them under the tap in one of the sinks. She filled another sink with water and instructed Tommy to wash himself.

‘What with?’ Tommy asked.

Sarah took a corner of the blanket and dampened it before wiping it over her brother’s grubby face. ‘There you go. Now wash your hands too.’

‘I need the loo, Sarah.’

‘Me too, but I haven’t got a penny. We’ll have to wait for someone to come down, then when they come out of the cubicle, we’ll grab the door before it closes.’

‘But what if the door won’t open again and we get locked in ’cos we didn’t pay?’ Tommy asked, looking concerned.

‘Don’t worry, that won’t happen,’ Sarah reassured him.

She had just about finished doing her best to tidy herself up, then gingerly took the bracelet from her skirt pocket and rinsed it under the tap. ‘Keep an eye out and tell me if you see anyone coming down the stairs,’ she said to Tommy.

A moment later, ‘Someone’s coming!’ Tommy said quickly.

Sarah stuffed the bracelet back into her cardigan pocket and began to finger-comb her hair while looking in the mirror. She covertly watched as a middle-aged woman with a scarf covering her hair rollers fished a penny from her purse and placed it in the big brass lock on the toilet door. The woman turned the knob, entered, then closed the door behind her.

A few minutes later, Sarah heard the chain pull in the cubicle. She winked and whispered to Tommy, ‘Now’s our chance.’

As the woman came out, Tommy grabbed the door.

‘Thanks, missus,’ he said, and flashed her a cheeky grin.

That boy could charm the birds from the trees, thought Sarah. He deserved so much more than she could offer. She put her hand in her pocket and fingered the gold bracelet. She thought she’d had a lucky run, first with Mr Sayers’ old shed and then finding the jewellery. Now she hoped her luck wasn’t about to run out.

Chapter 9