Daniel opened his mouth to speak but Briony held up her hand.

‘I ain’t here to argue, boy, I’m here to tell you. No violence, nothing. Let’s get this funeral out of the way first.’

Both boys looked at the desk. The scratched wooden surface suddenly seemed fascinating as they digested what their aunt had said. Briony watched them both, feeling sadness at the way they had turned out, yet no real surprise. They were of her blood, they had the same wants and needs as her. They were indeed more her children than Eileen’s. After what Tommy had told her tonight, she was sorry for this. Heart sorry.

It seemed they were able to terrify the very life out of people and that was wrong. That kind of violence was mindless, and totally against anything she had ever taught them. If she told them about the police being on the alert she knew they would want to take out Davey Mitchell more than ever. They would pit their considerable wits against the police, she knew that as sure as she knew who her own mother was. She also knew it would be their downfall. As Mariah said, where murder was concerned, none of their ‘friends’ would come near them. The carefully nurtured judges, the bent politicians, would leave them out in the cold. And Briony admitted to herself that that was how it should be.

Davey Mitchell was a fool of the first water, what he had said about Rosalee was foolish in the extreme, but it didn’t warrant death. Throughout her life she had dealt with people from every walk of society, and one crucial lesson she had learnt was this: you never did anything unless it gained you something. Useless violence gained you nothing but bad feeling and hatred. She had used violence many times, over the years, but only as a last resort. That was real life. But her boys, her darling boys as she always thought of them, used their muscles and their paid muscles for all the wrong reasons.

She had known deep inside the first time they had asserted themselves that they were gone from her. She only hoped she still held enough weight with them to make them listen to her now.

‘Well? Have you listened to anything I’ve said?’

Boysie looked from the desk to Daniel and their eyes locked. Briony watched them as she had so many times when they were children. Sometimes she thought they communicated without words. That they could see into each other’s minds. They both nodded simultaneously.

‘I mean it, I want no trouble to mar my Rosalee’s passing. No trouble at all. If you defy me now on this, I’ll never forgive either of you.’

Daniel smiled, one of his winning smiles, and took hold of her hand gently.

‘We won’t defy you, Mum. Don’t worry. It’ll all be sweet as a nut.’