He walked through, slamming up the flap of the wooden counter noisily and walking through to the back of the shop. He emerged with a girl of about eighteen. She had thick black hair and a large nose. Dubronsky’s daughter Ruth, the likeness was unmistakable.

‘Leave my daughter be, Tommy, she’s only a child helping her father.’ Tommy detected the worry in his voice. Jimmy was well known for his vicious ways and his non-existent brain. Dubronsky knew that if Tommy nodded, Jimmy would just batter the girl without a second’s thought. But Tommy was piqued that the man thought so little of him.

‘I wouldn’t hurt your daughter, you should know that. I want to hurt Willy Bolger. I don’t want to fall out with you or anyone else for that matter, but I will if needs be. Bolger has upset me, and now he has to pay the price. If you protect him, I’ll raze this fucking place to the ground! I mean it. So you give him a little message from me. Tell him I’m looking for him, and I’ll find him eventually. So he can make it a lot easier on himself if he makes a point of coming to see me. If I have to look for him, it will be worse on him and any of his so-called friends. Do you understand me?’

‘Perfectly. Now if you don’t mind, I have work to do.’

Tommy stared at the man for a few seconds, battling the urge to attack him. It seemed that whoever was behind Bolger was a bigger fish than he’d first thought, otherwise why would Dubronsky be so cavalier? Walking around the counter, Tommy grabbed the little man by the scruff of his neck and frog-marched him out to the back of the shop. Kicking open the toilet in the yard, he pushed the man’s head down the pan, using all his considerable strength. The toilet, though well used, had not seen soap for many years. The smell of dank urine and mould hung in the air. Someone had used it a while before and the urine was deep orange, an oily film floating on it. He held Dubronsky’s head under until the man’s body began to sag, then he dragged his head up and threw him on to the ground outside the toilet door. He proceeded to kick him ferociously, concentrating on the chest and back.

Dubronsky lay on the ground heaving. Eventually he turned on his side and a trickle of blood-stained mucus came from his mouth. Tommy knelt beside him and grabbed his face, squeezing it.