Suddenly Jack was swamped with guilt. A guilt that tore at him like so many claws. What kind of man was he, he asked himself, to treat Molly in the shabby way he had done, ever since the day he had taken her virginity? In all that time he had not been a proper provider; nor had he shown himself to be a good father. He recalled the last occasion when he had deserted Molly, and his shame was like a weight inside him. How could he have done such a thing, when only hours before she had given birth to his son? But then he reminded himself that the boy was a cripple. A cripple! He could not come to terms with anything so grotesque. He was too shocked by it. Too repulsed. Suddenly, his guilt and shame were smothered by the spiral of horror that rose up in him. He wanted nothing to do with that incomplete being. He could never belong to it; never truly acknowledge it. So, he had done right to leave, and it was likely that he would never go back. But what of Molly? Molly, whose strong black eyes had the power to melt him, what of her? How in God’s name would she cope? His sorry heart was squeezed inside him at the thought of how Molly seemed born to suffer. Softly, the guilt began creeping back. No! He mustn’t let it. It was no good, because he would never change, however much he adored her. He was a loner; a man born to wander.

As the redhead urged him onwards, turning to the small, cheaper rooms on the ground floor, Jack wrapped his arm round her, laughingly squeezing her narrow waist. ‘Mind you cheer me up, sweetheart,’ he told her, ‘’cause I’m feelin’ a bit miserable, d’you see?’ He quickened his step, propelling her along with him. He had not forgotten that the Justice was upstairs and, drunk or sober, he was a powerful enemy. Jack believed it was in his own interest to leave that place as soon as he could. Oh, but not before he’d tasted the delights of this here redhead. Not before then!

In the darkest hours before the dawn, the redhead saw Jack from the premises. ‘Take care o’ yourself, darling,’ he told her merrily. ‘Keep yourself warm for the next time I’m feeling lonely.’

‘Any time,’ she replied with a suggestive wink, ‘any time at all.’ When the door was closed and bolted, she leaned against it for a moment, all manner of schemes running through her mind. The night was almost gone, and soon the various clients would begin to creep away under cover of darkness, to scurry home before the daylight fell on them. The Justice would be among them.

Stealthily the redhead made her way towards the kitchen. Once there, she paused for a while, gathering her thoughts. Uppermost in her mind was her intention to make the Justice pay for what he had done to her.