She looked at the man as he gestured to the mortuary assistant to cover George’s face again. Suddenly she felt very old and frightened.

‘Ma’am, I have some more distressing news for you.’

‘What? What could be worse than this?’

‘We have been notified by the British police that your brother had murdered seven people, including his own wife and a young child. It seems the British cops were waiting for him to return to Britain to arrest him.’

Edith realised she had known this inside all along. She still read the English papers, knew all about this Grantley Ripper. Deep down in her heart she had known it was her brother. She looked into the policeman’s sympathetic face.

‘Joss, please take me home.’

He pulled himself wearily from his seat and took his wife’s arm. In their car Edith spoke.

‘I know what George did was wrong and I’ll regret his coming here for the rest of my life. But, Joss, only I know why he was like he was. And knowing what I know, all I can do is pity him.’

Her husband said nothing.

If the whore who had done it would come forward, Joss would shake her by the hand.

Joseph Markham and his wife watched the news in stunned silence. Both looked over to Nancy and saw that her face was grey and drawn.

Lily was the first of the three to come to herself. ‘How will we ever live this down?’ she shrieked. ‘Your brother, the Grantley Ripper!’

‘Oh, be quiet, Lily. George was always a stupid fool. All my children were useless,’ snapped Nancy. ‘Look at him.’ She flicked her head at Joseph. ‘He sits there like a big lummock. His brother is a murdering rapist and he just sits there. At least George had some life in him.’

‘We’ll have to sell the house, I can’t live here now. The neighbours will be laughing up their sleeves. Every time we leave the house people will be pointing at us, talking about us.’

‘I knew there was something wrong with George, I told the policeman that the other day. My sons are spineless nobodies. All my children are. Not one of them inherited a thing from me. They’re all like their father. He was just the same.’

Joseph Markham listened to his wife’s high-pitched voice and his mother’s deep-throated tirade and finally, after thirty years, he spoke up.

‘SHUT UP, THE PAIR OF YOU!’

Nancy and Lily both stared at him in shock.

‘You,’ he pointed to his mother, ‘are going in to that home, first thing in the morning. I can’t wait another week to get shot of you.’

She opened her mouth to speak and Joseph raised his hand menacingly.

‘I told you to shut up, woman.’

His wife’s mouth dropped open.