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Park ran the palm of his hand down his face. "If we do this, we need to do it right. I'm not going back to jail."

"We'll be very careful."

"Effie," he said. "You're a lunatic."

"Look who's talking," she said and smiled. "You think we can do it?"

Park weighed McCracken's life against Liz's comfort, and there was no contest. Having a good reason to kill McCracken was a godsend. Shit, even a bad reason was fine. He could do this, no problem. A few tips from Richie and he'd be solid.

"Well?"

He nodded. "But you stay out of it," he said. "I'll handle it."

Effie looked disappointed but she didn't argue. "I'll look into homes for Mum in the morning, then," she said.

***

NEXT MORNING HE'D gone out for a walk in the brisk March air, left Effie to make her calls in peace.

"All the homes are full," she said when he returned. She'd heard him at the door and came to meet him.

"All of them?" He closed the door.

"The nice ones, yeah. There are a couple with vacancies but I got the impression they'd be every bit as bad as McCracken's."

"Bugger that." He shrugged out of his coat. "No point taking her out of that shithole to put her into another."

"Got one that'll take her two months from now."

Jesus. "That long?"

"Best I could do. And they'll need a month's deposit and a month in advance."

He looked for somewhere to hang his coat. The pegs on the back of the door were all used. "Got any good news?"

"I'm just telling you what I found out."

"I know. Sorry. I'm pissed off, though."

"Look, the deposit and all won't be a problem once Savage pays up. So if we look on the bright side, at least this gives us plenty of time to plan how we're going to do this."

"I suppose." He tried to hook his coat on one of the pegs. Couldn't get it to stay there. Tried another. "One thing, though, Effie." He tried the last peg. His coat hung there for a second, then slipped off and slumped onto the floor.

"Yeah?"

He picked up his coat, held it to his chest. "Me and Mum can't stay with you till then. It's just not practical."

She shuffled her feet, head bowed. "You think Martin doesn't want you here?"

He put his coat back on, fighting to get his right arm in the sleeve. "We're already on top of each other. It was crammed when I was staying on my own. But with Mum here too, it's just not going to be workable. Two months of this and we'll be at each other's throats. It's nothing to do with Martin."

She still wouldn't look at him. "You'll take Mum somewhere, get out of our hair. That it?"

The coat was on. He zipped it up. "You think I won't cope?"

Now she looked up at him, eyes big and fiery.

"Effie, don't be mad at me."

"I'm not, Dad. It's just a bit of a shock. You sure you'll cope with Mum?"

He thought about what he'd have to deal with. He'd dealt with the worst of it already. He'd have to cook for her, medicate her, make sure she got some exercise. No problem. Only thing that bothered him was that Liz might fall over, cut herself. He'd be no use to her then.

And then he had a thought that instantly dried out his mouth. He said, "What if she has a period?"

Effie laughed. "She stopped having those while you were inside."

"Then I'll be fine." He put his hands in his pockets. "I've made up my mind."

She nodded, knew him well enough not to try to persuade him otherwise. "Dad, we'll expect to see you and Mum a lot. You have to promise. If you need a break, bring her round here."

"Yeah," he said. "Course."

"Any idea where you're going to go?"

He was thinking, he'd always got along just fine with Yardie's mum and with her son back inside, there was a chance she might like some company again. "If it's okay to borrow the car," he said, "I'll take Liz for a spin, go check something out right now."

***

OLD MRS YARDIE was delighted to see him. She ushered him into the house, all smiles and slow-walking for Liz. Not that Old Mrs Yardie galloped along at a great speed herself, but Liz did like to take her time.

Mrs Yardie led them through the big hallway into her sitting