Patrick shook his head. ‘Not at all. I’ve just got out after a long stretch. Only got out a couple of months ago. I was sorry to hear about your dad,’ he said. ‘I just wanted to pay my respects and see what the old place looked like. I spent a lot of my early twenties in here.’ Taking a sip of his pint, he looked around him. ‘It looks exactly the same.’

Grace smiled. She’d worked hard over the past two years to ensure that the pub was restored to its former glory. Nathan had almost ruined the place. Milking it for every penny, allowing the place to become run down and letting his mates have free rein. As a result, they had lost all of their regular custom.

‘I appreciate your condolences, Pat.’

Grace watched him drinking his pint for a moment. He looked a little younger than her dad would have been. He was tall, with dark hair, greying at the temples and brown eyes. He must have been a hit with the ladies in his younger days. Probably still was.

‘So what are you up to now that you’re out?’ she asked him. By the looks of his suit, he was doing well for himself.

‘This and that.’ He shrugged. ‘And how about you? Is that husband of yours behaving himself in the nick?’

Grace laughed. ‘I doubt that. And I told you, I have no idea what he’s doing in there. I have nothing to do with him now. At least I try not to. If only he would bloody leave me alone.’

‘Oh?’ Patrick raised an eyebrow at her. ‘Giving you a hard time, is he?’

‘That would be an understatement. I’m sure that man lives to torment me.’

‘Well maybe there’s something we can do about that, Grace?’

‘I can handle him,’ Grace replied. She didn’t want to be in Patrick’s debt, as nice as he seemed, she really didn’t know him at all.

‘Look, Grace,’ he said with concern in his eyes. ‘Your dad was a good friend of mine. He helped me out of a few sticky situations. I know he left this life behind, but I always respected him for that. If there is a way I can help his daughter out, then it would be my privilege to do so. Besides, my lads were given hefty sentences because of Nathan Conlon’s inability to keep his trap shut, so any chance to give that greedy bastard his comeuppance would be a bonus for me.’

‘I’ll think about it,’ she said to him.

He nodded. ‘You should. You seem like a woman with her head screwed on and I bet you know what makes that fucker tick better than anyone. I’m sure you could fix your problem all by yourself, but sometimes it’s good to have a little help.’