She stared at him, her eyes unblinking. It was a clear, honest gaze and it made him feel even more ashamed than he already did. Celeste could do that, she could make a person feel they were in the wrong with a look, a look that was more powerful than a politician’s maiden speech. He knew it was because of her and the way she lived her life. Straight as a die was his Celeste. Decent, honourable. He had thought he was honourable too, once. Now, with the flak coming at him from all sides, he knew that word would never be used about him again, ever.

Jimmy’s death had caused him a lot of problems. Men were wary of dealing with him now. A thief was acceptable, though not a gas-meter bandit or a robber of council houses or sheltered accommodation. But an honest to goodness blagger – a bank robber – was respected for the time and effort that went into such an enterprise. Liars were never welcome. Liars were dangerous people you avoided at all costs, because eventually their lies caught up with them, and everyone around them was tarred with the same brush. Even the Bible had a section about liars, as it did about adulterers.

Many people had guessed about Jonny and his sister-in-law – the delectable but definitely off-her-rocker Cynthia – and they had not voiced their opinions, not in public anyway. After all, it was Jonny P they were talking about.

But Jimmy topping himself had left a bad taste with all and sundry. Suicide was not something the criminal world embraced – unless it was a grass, of course. They were expected to do it; it was a much easier death than if they were found by the people they had grassed. But that was beside the point. Since Jimmy’s death, people had began to question Jonny P’s other activities, the general consensus being if you were capable of something that sleazy you were capable of anything. To add fuel to the fire, there were a few new kids on the block and they were not helping by questioning the integrity of Jonny Parker.