‘Find out more. Go now. I need to think how to get money. You will benefit from half – you’ll be a rich man. I have the brains and the ideas, you just carry them out. You did well leaving the shawl. I wanted to scare the fecking life out of the lot of them. Like you, the eejits believe in the ghosts and the fairy stories of Bridget McAndrew. If you do as I say, and if there is a rich American Malone in Tarabeg, we will find a way to get money from him. We will plan her kidnap and you will never want for money again. Neither of us will. Can you do that?’ He flinched again.

‘I can,’ said Jay. ‘How much money will it be?’

‘I don’t know.’ McGuffey gasped and waited for the pain to subside. The exertion of walking from the cave to get Jay had made his wound bleed afresh. ‘It will be plenty enough for the two of us.’

Jay grinned. ‘What shall I do now?’ he asked, eager at the prospect of escaping a life of wandering the lanes and fields.

‘Find out if she’s staying at the cottage. Watch it closely. When Bee goes and leaves her alone, come and tell me. We’ll do it in the dead of night, when she’s sleeping. You’ll need to gag her and then drag her down here, to me.’

Jay was a thief and a sneak, he was poor and wretched, but what he was not was brave. An idea came to him and his face lit up. ‘I’ll tie her hands too, that’ll make it easier.’

McGuffey smiled back. ‘Now you understand. Just do what you have to, but get her down here into the cave, to me. Then we’ll need to get a ransom letter to Michael Malone and the American and arrange a drop – they will want her back and will pay up. Once you’ve collected the money, you’ll leave another note telling them where she is, and by that time we’ll be long gone, out there, at sea, where they won’t think of following us. Now go and find me an outboard motor for the boat and bring it here. It all needs to be planned first.’

Jay was filled with a new respect. ‘Anyone would think you’d done this before.’

‘I have. Many times, for the IRA.’

A chill ran through Jay’s body. ‘Did all the people pay the money?’

‘Not all.’ McGuffey shuffled his weight onto his good leg.

‘What happened to them?’ Jay’s eyes were wide.

McGuffey picked up the knife he kept by his side, grinned and made a slicing gesture across his neck. ‘Now feck off,’ he said.

‘Right.’ Jay jumped from the rock. ‘I’m off to get a motor. And then I’ll watch the cottage and come and tell you when she’s there alone.’ He was looking for praise, but he got none.

‘Make sure there’s plenty of petrol in it.’ McGuffey closed his eyes and leant back against the wall of the cave.