Patrick grinned again and Lil noticed Lance was smiling as well. She wondered how she had existed with him so near to her; his whole attitude, his stance and even his voice made her want to scream.

She put the money on to her lap and watched as Pat gave Annie a few hundred quid. She saw the old woman's thrilled expression and her relief that she had a few bob in her bin and could have a spend-up in front of her neighbours. Annie Diamond would never change while she had a hole in her arse.

'Thanks, son.' The gratitude was in her voice and in her eyes.

'Lance was with me, Mum, it was a joint effort.'

They were laughing together then and she knew they had smoked some pot; the joint pun was the giveaway. She smiled at Lance and he busied himself getting beers out of the fridge, unable to look her in the eye.

Pat watched them both; he had been observing the way they danced around each other for years and he knew that it would never be any different. They lived under the same roof but they could have been on different planets for all the contact they actually had with one another.

Christopher and Colleen burst through the front door. They were both talking at once and neither was making any sense whatsoever until Patrick eventually hushed them both up.

'What the fuck are you on about? One at a time.'

He pointed at Christopher then. 'Tell us what is going on.'

'There's Old Bill all over the show, all over the flats…'

'What for? What have you heard?' Lance's voice was high. He was frightened and it was apparent to everyone in the room, even the youngsters. Patrick knew his fear was that they had been grassed by someone and that the filth were on their way to arrest them.

Colleen picked up a piece of cake and bit into it before saying, 'They found a baby. A dead baby over in the flats. It was in the bin; someone heard a crying sound but by the time the police and that got there it was dead. Mrs Jones said that it was because someone had emptied their rubbish down the chute and it had landed on the poor thing.'

'Oh my God, how terrible.' Lil was shocked to the core and Annie knew that if she was pregnant this occurrence would affect her more than usual. Dead babies or dumped babies were not that uncommon where they lived.

'Fucking hell. Are you sure that's the truth?'

Colleen and Christopher both nodded vigorously.

'We saw them carry it to the ambulance. It was only small and they had wrapped it in a white blanket.' Colleen's dramatic nature was now to the fore and she was milking the fact that she was the centre of attention, as always.

The boys were relieved. They had both thought for a few moments that the filth were after them and were going to raid the house.

'Well, that poor baby saved our bacon tonight. Lance thought it was the filth coming for us!'

Lance was annoyed then. 'No I didn't. But for the same token, we both got the wind put up us.'

Lil saw Kathleen walking slowly down the hallway.

'You all right, love?' Her voice was low and full of compassion for this daughter of hers who was so easily hurt and who would suffer for the rest of her life because of it.

'Did I hear you say that a baby was dead?' Everyone nodded.

'That's terrible! So bloody awful…'

Kathleen was crying but then she did cry all the time over the slightest thing. This time though her eyes were even sadder than usual and she was sobbing into a tartan tea towel she had picked up off the draining board. She sounded so distraught it was upsetting the younger kids just listening to her.

Lance went to her then. Turning her around, he placed his arm around her shoulders and walked her slowly back up to her room. He was talking softly to her and calming her down. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when she disappeared from view.

Annie started putting her coat on then and Lil and the boys looked at each other in exasperation.

'Where you off to, Nan?' It was Colleen who, as always, asked the pertinent question.

'I said I would pop over to see Gladys. Might as well get it over with, you know what she's like.'

They all grinned then, glad of the light relief.

'You get over there, Mum, in case you miss something.' Annie pursed her lips in anger but she didn't say anything. She knew that for all their talk they would be relying on her to find out what had really happened.

It was freezing outside and as Annie walked along the road towards the flats, she wondered at a young man like Patrick who had brought about such a change with his release from prison. He was going to make everyone sit up and take notice, she was sure. He had that kink in his nature that his father had possessed. She only hoped that it didn't turn out to be the death of him.

Chapter Twenty-Two

'Come on, Lil, let's be having you!'

Jimmy Brick's voice was as miserable as it had always been but seeing Lil had put a measure of pleasure in it that was hard to detect unless you knew the man very well.

Lil turned in her seat to face him and she saw immediately that the years had not been kind to him. After Patrick's murder he had been on the scene for a while and then he had just seemed to drop off the face of the world. No one seemed to see him or hear about him. He had just disappeared. He wasn't in clink, she knew that much. It seemed he had sold up and moved on.

Jimmy looked what he was, an old bruiser; someone who was displaying all the characteristics of an old fighter. He could still hold his own and he certainly looked capable of causing a row on a whim.

Lil's face had lit up with pleasure and that pleased him no end. He had seen her from across the pub and he had recognised her immediately. Even though she was older she had not really changed that much. In fact, he was amazed at how little she had changed since the last time he had seen her. He pushed that from his mind. If Lil brought it up, he would discuss it. Otherwise he would leave well alone.

Life in Spain had finally got to Jimmy and he missed London more than he would ever have believed. He had ended up hating it out there. It was filled with has-beens, wannabes and grasses. He had been called back to England like many others, through missing the weather, the women and the opportunities it afforded men like him. As he sat in the Crown and Two Chairmen pub in Dean Street and looked at Lily Brodie the past seemed so recent and yet he knew that was only because the memories were so vivid. If he lived to be one hundred years old he knew that day would be as fresh then as it was now.

'Bloody hell, Jimmy. Long time no see.'

Jimmy smiled. His balding head that he now shaved bald, rather than have the thinning hair on show, made him look old and yet his tanned skin and expensive clothes appealed to Lil and she told him that. 'You look bloody well, Jimmy. Where have you been?'

Jimmy pulled up a chair and, as he sat beside her, he caught her distinctive scent; a mixture of Estée Lauder perfume and Revlon lipstick.

'You look good yourself, girl. I've been living in Spain. I'm over for a while and maybe back for good. I ain't made me mind up yet.'

'I bet that's a lovely place to live.'

Jimmy sat back in the uncomfortable wooden chair and surveyed her. Lil knew he was making a production of the look, but that was Jimmy. He had always had a soft spot for her.

'Spain is a glorified shithole, Lil. No one would live there permanently unless they were in serious danger of getting their collars felt. I suppose it's all right if you have a family or whatever, but on your Jack Jones it's no good.'

She grinned and Jimmy noticed her even teeth. She had a lovely smile and the best of looks, as far as he was concerned.

'You couldn't settle anywhere else. You're a Londoner like me and we can't seem to settle elsewhere.'