Nancy shook her head. ‘Not round here.’ She thought fleetingly of the places she’d gone to with Gary, or way back with Stan, but they’d always taken care to avoid the area around her home. Then she consigned such thoughts to the past where they belonged. There was only one matter on her mind now. ‘I trust you. You lead the way.’

Half an hour later, and with her feet aching, Nancy was beginning to lose track of exactly where they were. It wasn’t an area she knew well, if at all. It seemed quiet, almost empty of people, with a lot of bomb damage in evidence. She could still smell the river though. She hoped Tommy knew what he was doing.

Tommy was growing in confidence with every step. This was the right road, he was sure of it, even though he’d been taken here at a completely different time of day. Looking about him at the area, he decided that if he’d wanted to lie low somewhere, this would be ideal. There was nobody around to ask awkward questions – not like where they lived, or down at the docks. You could probably disappear here for weeks and nobody would be any the wiser.

Rounding a corner, he saw the building he’d been looking for. The pub seemed shabbier in bright daylight, even though it had been recently painted. The name was now clear: The King’s Head. ‘That’s it,’ he said. ‘That’s where Alfie conned me into getting drunk. All because he was after Kitty and I didn’t realise.’

‘Then he took advantage of you,’ said Nancy firmly. ‘You mustn’t blame yourself. He picked on you deliberately, so that makes him a coward. You’re worth a hundred of him, Tommy.’

Tommy glowed with the praise, even though he still did blame himself for being so stupid as to be taken in like that. Still, it was good to know Nancy thought well of him. He hadn’t had as much to do with her as the rest of her family, and up till now had assumed she didn’t really know much about him either. He drew back his shoulders. Now he had to live up to the praise.

‘We could keep to the shadow of that wall so they’re less likely to see us coming,’ he suggested, and she fell in line behind him as they proceeded more cautiously now. After a minute, Tommy came to a halt. ‘See there? The pub has a back yard.’ He pointed through a flimsy gate, to a yard with barrels stacked along one side. A few low storage buildings lined two other sides of the square. Parked close to one of their doors was a car. ‘Nancy, that’s it. That’s Alfie’s car, I’m certain of it.’

‘Then we’d better be careful,’ said Nancy, edging forward a little. ‘Alfie could be anywhere.’