Now, if she remembered rightly, Sidney Simmonds’ shop was along a bit and then down a side road. She’d be glad to sell the last of the stolen items. There were a couple of metal fruit dishes that might have real gold on them and the necklace similar to the one she’d seen in that antiques shop in Blackpool where the man had grabbed her after she’d pocketed the brooch.

It was raining quite heavily by the time she saw the familiar three golden spheres. She gathered her courage and went in.

Behind the counter was a woman only a few years older than herself, wearing an unusual combination of clothes: a cream satin dress with a low waist, such as Gina had seen in wedding photographs dating from the 1920s, with a black tailcoat over it. On her head was a headdress made out of feathers set into a jewelled hair slide. The effect was odd but strangely attractive.

‘Good morning. Can I help you?’ asked the young woman. She looked closely at Gina.

‘Yes, please, I wonder if you’d be interested in buying a few little items I have here.’

The woman leaned over the counter in the dimly lit shop and fixed her eyes on Gina’s face. Gina took a step back.

‘I’m sorry,’ said the woman, hastily straightening up. ‘The light is poor today with this rain and I’ve left my glasses in the back. I’ll just go and get my father, Mr Simmonds, to help you. Please take a seat. He won’t be long.’ She hurried away through a door at the back of the shop, closed it behind her, and Gina, her sore knees stiff, perched herself on the high stool beside the counter and waited.

Mr Simmonds was taking rather a long time to appear. Gina wondered whether to just go, but she remembered he had been very kind to ‘Mrs Travers’ when she’d come in in February with a pair of pearl earrings, and she wanted to get rid of the dishes and the necklace without any fuss. James had been impressed with the amount she’d been given for the earrings so Gina was hoping her luck would be in today. She really did need some good fortune. It had been a very bad couple of days …

How much longer is he going to be? Is that woman suspicious? She did look at me a bit oddly but she said she hadn’t got her glasses. Mebbe she wasn’t wearing them when she got dressed either …

A few more minutes passed. Gina wondered again about leaving but the rain was tipping down now, running in torrents off the sill above the door outside and splashing noisily into the street. Even the umbrella would be of little use in this weather.