Shadow of the Hangman(28)

‘There’s a problem,’ said O’Gara. ‘I can only scribble and Moses can barely write his name. If we draw up a list of our demands, nobody will even bother to read them. Our report has to look neat enough to attract attention.’

‘Can you write proper, Dermot?’ asked Dagg.

‘No,’ replied the other. ‘I’m all fingers and thumbs and Mary’s had even less education than me. What you need,’ he went on, turning to his cousin, ‘is a scrivener, someone who’ll write out everything in a fine hand.’

O’Gara was worried. ‘That would cost money, wouldn’t it?’

‘I know someone who might do it cheap.’

‘Can we trust him, though? If he learns that we’re on the run, he’ll be tempted to turn us in and claim the reward.’

‘I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen,’ said Fallon, tapping his chest. ‘If he breathes a word about the pair of you, I’ll poke his eyes out and cut off his balls, so I will.’ He chortled. ‘That should help to keep his gob shut.’





When he returned the keys to the owner of the house, Micah Yeomans assured him that the property had been kept under surveillance day and night and that nobody had gained entry to it. He received full payment from Everett Hobday then exchanged farewells with him before stepping out into Upper Brook Street. As soon as the Runner set off home, Alfred Hale fell in beside him.

‘What did he say, Micah?’

‘He congratulated us on doing our usual thorough job.’

‘It wasn’t thorough enough,’ said Hale. ‘We were made to look fools.’

‘There was no need for Hobday to know that. In any case, Simon Medlow was the real fool. I’d a mind to leave him dangling there. It would have been no more than he deserved.’

‘You said he was the finest confidence trickster alive.’

‘I was wrong.’

‘The Skillen brothers saw through him at once.’

‘That was Ackford’s doing, I fancy. Anyway,’ said Yeomans, irritably, ‘let’s hear no more of our last encounter with them. We have to plan the next one.’

‘Will you use Medlow a second time?’

‘I’m not stupid, Alfred.’

‘He might be keen to get his own back.’

‘Medlow is no match for them and I’ve no wish to see him trussed up naked for the second time. His prick looked like a diseased turnip. The sight turned my stomach.’

Lost in contemplation, they strolled on for some while. Both were well known in criminal quarters and more than one person slunk away when he saw the Runners coming. Yeomans enjoyed the power he had to frighten people. It was a mark of his status. It also separated him from Peter and Paul Skillen. They might have their random successes but it was Yeomans and his men who represented law and order on the streets of London.

Not daring to nudge his companion out of his reverie, Hale kept pace with his long stride and waited for him to break the silence.

‘I have it,’ said Yeomans at length.

‘I’m listening, Micah.’

‘It’s an idea to get back at those vile brothers.’

‘The last one failed miserably.’

‘We’ll be more careful this time. We have to find their weak spot.’

‘They don’t have one,’ complained Hale.

‘Everyone has an Achilles heel and so must they. Yes,’ said Yeomans, as he thought it through, ‘we should have done this before. Find a man’s weakness and we can exploit it. That’s your task, Alfred.’

‘What must I do?’

‘Follow one of them. Learn everything you possibly can about him.’

‘Which one must I go after?’

‘It would be pointless to trail Peter Skillen. He’s a man with no apparent vices. At the end of each day, the only thing he wishes to do is to go home to that beautiful wife of his. In his place, I’d do the same.’

‘What about Paul?’

‘He’s your man. He’s an inveterate gambler and has an eye for the ladies.’

‘I wouldn’t hold that against him.’

‘No more would I.’

‘Why should I watch him?’

‘Paul is more likely to make a mistake and do something we can use to our advantage. Follow him, Alfred,’ urged Yeomans. ‘Cling to him like a limpet. Sooner or later, he’ll give us the ammunition we need.’





The talk with Charlotte had been at once uncomfortable yet heartening. While taking care not to reveal Hannah’s name, Paul had revealed the depths of his feeling for the actress. Speared on the horns of a dilemma, he could not even begin to contrive his escape. Because she knew nothing about the character of his inamorata, Charlotte had been careful not to give him specific advice. She had merely suggested that he should allow time to pass before he saw her again, giving the lady in question time for her ire to cool. Every close relationship, Charlotte reminded him, involved concessions on both sides and he had to be prepared to give a certain amount of ground. Paul was glad that he’d confided in her. Simply talking it through with his sister-in-law had had a calming effect on him and he was grateful for that. Once he left the shooting gallery, however, he began to doubt the value of a period apart from Hannah Granville. For both their sakes, he needed to be with her and, importantly, be seen with her in order to keep his rivals at bay.