‘Oh, and tell your wife, never to walk down the four streets again telling us what we can and cannot do, and that goes for you too. Watch my back,’ he said to Tommy as he bent to untie the sack. Then he counted notes until he had what he wanted and handed the money to Tommy. Jerry tied the sack up again and threw it at Frank’s feet. ‘There you go, there’s enough left to do your runner to Australia, but you had better be quick, before one of us pops in to see your Margaret and tell her what you were up to’ – Frank’s mouth dropped and even in the torchlight, Jerry saw the blood leave his face – ‘Oh, aye, we know everything, don’t we Tommy? And just in case you were thinking of bluffing this one out and think you can still blame us…’ He let out a long whistle and looked up the steps. ‘See that there?’ he said.

Frank looked over to the steps and along the ridge. One by one fifty orange flames illuminated the steps and the ridge along the top at the all-clear to light up. ‘They are all our witnesses – they’ve seen everything.’

Frank the Skank looked as though he were in shock. A rat ran along the dock and stopped, sniffing his boot. ‘See, you even smell like shite! Go – go now,’ said Jerry and, picking up the sack, Frank shuffled off and didn’t look over his shoulder once.

Chapter Thirty

The operation ran for three hours by the time they had finished and almost everything was stored neatly and filled Maura’s wash house and backyard. The rest, despite Malcolm’s protestations, was stored in the Seaman’s Stop.

‘If I end up in prison because of this I will never forgive you. I said so, Biddy, didn’t I? I would not have a drop stored in my establishment.’

‘You did, Malcolm, but you would also hate to see the carnival cancelled because there was nothing to hold it on the back of, wouldn’t you? Now stop your moaning and help stack these crates.’

Malcolm, defeated, did as he was told and grumbled all the way through until the call went out for everyone to assemble at the top of the steps, to break open a crate. Callum passed around the bottles, one to each man who had passed the crates up the steps and helped with the operation.

‘One for now, fellas,’ Jerry said. ‘And would you look at this, the best haul ever and a carnival in just over a week.’

Those who had been unable to help and had bided their time in the Anchor, sauntered across the road to hear Jerry speak.

‘Give a bottle to everyone here, Eugene, we have plenty to go around.’