‘All very well for you to say but something is going on, I tell you. I saw two women leave here, thought maybe they were squatting, but they’ve gone into a house down the road and we can’t hide the money in the copper boiler here if there’s women in and out.’

Heartfelt walked closer to the window. ‘I think the Dohertys are back; I saw Tommy Doherty going into the Anchor with Jerry Deane. Don’t worry, though, I’m evicting the Nolans from the house next door on Friday morning and you can have that one, although if I were you, I’d be off and forget about Margaret. No one is going to suspect you – and Tommy Doherty coming back is going to look very suspicious. It won’t be difficult to point the finger of blame up the steps towards this house. Come to the administration building in the morning and I’ll set the alert off at about ten.’

Frank looked around the kitchen; it would have been perfect for Margaret, so much nicer than the present tiny house they lived in, but still, as long as she had a house his conscience would be eased and she wouldn’t even notice he was gone.

Maura heard footsteps. They were leaving! Praying that the wash-house door was open, she rushed in on tiptoe and closed the door behind her, peering through the gaps in the wood.

‘I’m off down to the docks,’ said Frank the Skank. ‘The Morry is in and I reckon they will be trying for a haul any time now.’

‘Why worry?’ Heartfelt asked. ‘You don’t need the bother. Concentrate on getting your Margaret in next door and then plan what you are going to do with the money. We didn’t clear the docks of bizzies so that you could go lifting collars, we did it to give us a free run, remember that. Don’t go looking for enemies. If Tommy Doherty is back, he’s not a man to be messed with, we need to be careful tonight.’

Frank sounded concerned. ‘They reckon down at Whitechapel that it was him who murdered the priest; they just had nothing to nail it on him.’

‘Aye, maybe,’ Heartfelt said. ‘Who knows? But that priest was a baddun and I believe there’s more to that than we know about. It’s all the more reason to take care,’ he said and was away down the entry.