Others who liked, feared or respected Vinny and Roy, also backed them up.

‘Why don’t you go home, Freda? Jack don’t need all this nonsense you’ve created,’ said Ronny Tobyn.

‘Yeah. Go home, Freda,’ shouted another man.

‘Bollocks to the lot of ya then,’ Freda bellowed, as she stomped off down the road.

Minutes later, the search for Peter began. Vinny put an arm around his brother’s shoulders. ‘See. Told you it would be all right, didn’t I?’ he whispered in Roy’s ear.

That was the first time Roy actually wondered if Vinny was mad. It wasn’t all right at all. They were about to spend the next however many hours searching for and talking about a lad whose dead body they’d slung in the Thames.

Later that evening, Queenie guessed that Viv hadn’t been home since the funeral and was still around their mum’s house. She’d let herself into Viv’s after getting no answer again and could see no sign of her funeral outfit or Lenny’s smart black suit.

Queenie walked towards her mother’s, thinking about her lunch with Freddie. He was such a nice man and she was pleased he’d found love with a new lady. He and Sheila Ricketts had never been well suited and her advice to Freddie had been to leave the miserable cow and start afresh with his new love. ‘True love is hard to find, Freddie. I should bleedin’ well know. Your kids aren’t little uns any more. They’ll be able to visit you whenever. You deserve to be happy,’ Queenie had told him, thinking of Daniel O’Leary.

Queenie knocked on her mum’s door. The lights were on, ‘Viv, it’s me. You in there, love?’ Queenie had wanted to speak to her sister in person, rather than on the phone.

Lenny opened the front door. ‘Hello, Auntie Queenie. Me and Mum have been sorting all Nan’s clothes out to go in the church jumble.’

Viv was sitting on the living room floor, surrounded by boxes. ‘Oh, it’s you.’

‘I was worried about you. Have you not been home since yesterday?’

‘Lenny popped home at lunchtime to get us both a change of clothes. I wanted to get Mum’s stuff sorted. Not like I’ve got a sister who’ll help me, is it?’ Viv snapped.

‘I’m sorry about yesterday. You were right; I shouldn’t have left you at the wake. I just hate this house, Viv, and all the bad memories it holds. I would’ve helped you sort Mum’s things out though. You shouldn’t be doing this alone. Let me give you a hand.’

‘No point. I’m nearly done. It’s not just you who has bad memories of this house, ya know. I grew up here too.’

‘I know and I’m sorry.’

Viv delved inside her handbag and handed Queenie a letter. ‘Mum left us one each. I’ve already read mine.’

Queenie stared at the envelope as though she was looking at her mother’s ghost. ‘What did it say, yours?’

‘Just said how much she loved me and Lenny, and how proud of me she was for kicking Bill out and raising Lenny alone. She also said she wished she’d had my strength and kicked our dad out so our childhoods could have been happier.’