Callum took a ciggie stump out from behind his ear and pushed himself back into a cut-out in the wall. ‘We don’t have those look-the-other-way bizzies any more, do we, Jerry?’

Jerry shook his head. ‘We don’t. Frank the Skank grassed on them, and what intrigues me is why the Skank is now stood, guarding the gangway, whilst the Morry sails in and no one is batting an eyelid. Something is going on down there and I have no idea what it is. But I intend to find out.’

*

Cindy pushed back the long tails of the brightly coloured fly curtain.

‘Who’s there? I’m closed,’ she said as she flicked the light switch back on. ‘Oh, Mary. Heavens above, I didn’t expect to see you here.’ Cindy smiled at the girl. ‘What can I do for you, Mary? I’m closed.’

Mary wanted to run out of the shop, but the money in her pocket burnt into her hand. ‘I’m sorry, Cindy,’ she said and her voice was so low Cindy could hardly hear her. ‘I’ve been saving up and I was going to come in on Saturday, but Malcolm is busy and I can’t and, well, I just wanted to look nice.’

Cindy smiled. Alice had warned Cindy to expect Mary when she’d finally made it to have her own hair done.

‘Mary has a special fella in mind, Cindy,’ she’d said. ‘She’s only young and she needs a bit of a confidence booster. I’ve told her to start here with you; I said there was much she could learn from you and that she needs to be more like you and less like me.’

Cindy had seated Alice under the dryer and had fetched them both a cup of tea. ‘I’m up for that, Alice. I think we should try and help her or that poor girl is going to be washing dishes and peeling spuds for the rest of her life – and, of course, there’s Deirdre to deal with. She’s always seen Mary more as free help than a daughter – and that dreadful brother of hers, Malachi, is treated like God in that house, can do no wrong. Leave Mary to me, this sounds like a bit of a project that’s just up my street. Who’s the fella?’

Alice raised her eyebrow and through a sardonic smile said, ‘Jimmy O’Prey’ and no sooner had the words left her mouth, than the tea left Cindy’s.

*