‘I don’t really know, they aren’t rolling in it. They were buying their council house so I expect her death has paid off the mortgage. He’s not working though, and as she worked at the wine bar for extra money for Christmas I shouldn’t think he earns that much anyway. Especially with three children.’

Kate saw Patrick’s jaw clench. She knew it was the motherless children that affected him the most.

‘I’ll send my brief round to see the mother. I’ll pay for the funeral for them. I’ll pay for the Butler girl’s as well when the time comes.’

Kate was silent. She didn’t like to say that maybe the Butlers wouldn’t want him to pay for something so personal, but she knew it was a salve to him. In his mind he was making amends and actually doing something. More than anything, she knew Patrick Kelly was only happy when he was sorting out things. She knew that in his own way he was trying to take the responsibility from other people, trying to make things easier for them.

She wasn’t really sure if this was a good thing. After all, he wasn’t God.

‘Do you want to go out, Kate?’

‘Not really, Pat, but it’s up to you.’

He hugged her close again. ‘Good. I’ve had Mrs Manners make up a nice bit of dinner for us. We’ll eat in and have an early night. What do you think?’

He tried to smile at her, but Kate was aware that his heart wasn’t in it. But she would go along with him; she had a feeling that he needed her tonight for more than the usual reasons. Even if they didn’t make love, she knew that having someone beside him through the night would mean a lot to him.

‘That sounds great. I could do with an early night, I had a hard day myself.’

‘Good. I’ll go and make the arrangements.’

As he left the room, Kate could not help but notice the slump to his shoulders and felt a rush of love for him. She sat back in the settee and sighed. She wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. But she knew that she liked the feeling.

George was watching Elaine. Since the night of the tiepin and his euphoric relief at finding it, the marks on his wife’s neck had been bothering him. He watched her shove a Ryvita with a scraping of low fat cheese on it into her mouth. She was definitely a lot thinner and, he admitted to himself grudgingly, getting quite attractive for her age. She had toned down her eye make-up, and had taken to putting kohl pencil on the inside of her bottom lashes. This small act had opened up her eyes and given them a mysterious look. He gritted his teeth.