Michael nodded his agreement. ‘I have no intention of ever getting divorced from my Josephine, Mum, so you can rest easy about that much anyway. And I will see the priest and apologise to him, so wind your neck back in, will you? He shouldn’t be so fucking touchy anyway. I put more than enough poke into his bin, as you know yourself.’

That was true. Her son gave a lot of money towards the Church’s charitable causes. He was more than generous and, until now, Father Riordan had been very vocal in his praise of her son’s contributions to the parish.

Hannah was almost placated, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of worry. The marriage was going ahead, and she had no option but to accept it. It was out of her hands, and her son had made his opinion very clear about that. He was besotted with the girl, and Josephine Callahan – soon to be Flynn – was as besotted as he was. Hannah should be pleased that her boy was settling down. If only her future daughter-in-law didn’t irritate the life out of her.

The doorbell rang and she watched as her son nearly broke his neck to answer it. She could hear Josephine’s voice in the hallway – it was like nails on a blackboard to her – but she plastered a smile on her face, and prepared to greet her son’s intended with as much warmth as she could muster.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Lana Callahan had heard the talk about the Barbers’ untimely end; she knew enough about the Life to understand that, for the Costellos, the talk about the men’s violent deaths could only enhance their reputation.

It was common knowledge that the Barbers had brought it on themselves; everyone knew that their bodies were never going to be found – not in this lifetime anyway, if ever. They were long gone, but the story of their demise continued to be whispered about. The police might have their suspicions, but there was nothing concrete for them to pursue – not that they would feel comfortable accusing the Costellos of anything anyway. Considering the Costellos paid the London Filth very generously to be left in peace, it wasn’t in anyone’s interest to rock the boat. Even the Serious Crime Squad had expressed little or no interest in the Barbers’ sudden disappearance. Ultimately, they had wanted them off the streets and they weren’t in the least bit bothered how that had come about.

But Lana was now finding herself becoming increasingly worried about her daughter’s beau – and wondering exactly what he was capable of. She liked Michael Flynn a lot and she knew that he loved her daughter, but she couldn’t help wondering how much her daughter really knew about the man she was marrying.