‘I love it, Mr Skillen. But I’d love it even more if we had better wages, enough food in our bellies and the right to vote. We’re cruelly exploited, that’s the truth of it. Sir Roger were trying to make our lives better.’

‘He’ll be sorely missed.’

‘When people know what happened to him, there’ll be a lot of tears shed. We’ve nobody to take his place.’

‘What’s the first thing you need to do?’

‘I have to spread the word as soon as possible,’ said Hooper. ‘After I’ve told Win, my wife, that you’ll be staying the night, I must go out again to start knocking on doors. I’m sorry about that, Mr Skillen.’

‘Don’t apologise. In your position, I’d do exactly the same.’

‘Will you excuse me?’

‘You don’t need my permission,’ said Peter. ‘If I may, I’ll keep you company. I’ll be interested to meet all your friends and – since I’m involved in hunting down Sir Roger’s assassin – they might be glad to meet me.’

‘Oh, they will. You can bank on it.’

‘That’s good to hear.’

‘You’ll be welcomed as a friend,’ said Hooper, voice filled with emotion. ‘I can’t tell you how grateful I am to you, Mr Skillen. When I came to that shooting gallery, I were in despair. You and your brother lifted me out of it. I know we can put our faith in you.’

‘We’re not miracle-workers, Mr Hooper. Be aware of that. What we can bring to this investigation, however, is a capacity for hard work and an unflagging tenacity. We simply never give up. Also,’ Peter assured him, ‘we’ve had experience of chasing and catching villains. My brother is staying in London because that, in all likelihood, is where the assassin resides. For my part, I’m eager to find his paymaster who may, I fancy, live much closer to where we are standing right now.’

Harry Scattergood knew the importance of careful preparation. Born into a life of crime, he had quickly learnt the tricks of the trade from his parents. When they died, he’d branched out on his own. Most of his early success came from opportunism, spotting a chance of stealing something, seizing it instantly and haring off in the certain knowledge that nobody was fast enough to catch him. As time passed, he learnt to plan his crimes with care, choosing more profitable targets and leaving nothing to chance. His latest scheme was an enticing one.