‘Do you tell me?’ Devlin said. ‘I’m surprised nobody’s stepped in here before now.’
‘It wasn’t New York gangsters who invented cementing dead bodies into new roadways,’ Ryan said. ‘Jack Carver patented that idea. He’s the one who supplied that active service unit with their guns and explosives back in thirty-six. If he had a grandmother he’d sell her to the Germans if he thought there was money in it.’
‘I’m frightened to death,’ Devlin said. ‘Well, Carver is the kind of man who can lay his hands on anything, so if I want a radio..
‘Exactly.’
‘Fine. Where do I find him?’
‘There’s a dance hall a couple of miles from here in Limehouse. It’s called the Astoria Ballroom. Carver owns it. Has a big apartment upstairs. He likes that. Convenient for his brother to pick up the girls.’
‘And himself, I suppose?’
‘You’d suppose wrong, Liam. Girls don’t interest him in the slightest.’
Devlin nodded. ‘I take your drift.’
His hands moved suddenly with incredible dexterity, putting the Luger together. He was finished in seconds and rammed a magazine up the butt.
‘Jesus, you look like death himself when you do that,’ Ryan said.
‘It’s just a knack, Michael.’ Devlin wrapped up the oily newspapers and put them in the bin under thq, sink. ‘And now, I think we’ll take a little walk down by the river. I’d like your opinion on something.’
He went down the stairway to the boat and found Mary still reading. The rain dripped from the edge of the awning and there was a slight mist on the river. Devlin was wearing the military trenchcoat he’d stolen from the Army and Navy Club. He leaned against the rail, hands in his pockets.
‘What are you reading?’
She held the book up. ‘Our Mutual Friend.’
‘I’ve started something.’
She stood up. ‘We’re going to have fog in the next few days. A real pea-souper.’
‘How can you tell that?’
‘I’m not sure, but I’m always right. It’s the smell I recognize first.’
‘And do you like that?’
‘Oh yes. You’re alone, enclosed in your own private world.’
‘And isn’t that what we’re all looking for?’ He took her arm. ‘Your uncle Michael and I are taking a little walk in the rain by the river. Why don’t you come with us? That’s if you’ve got nothing better to do.’
They drove to St Mary’s Priory in Ryan’s cab. He parked at the side of the road and they sat looking at the entrance. There was a Morris saloon car parked outside painted olive green. It said ‘Military Police’ on the side. As they watched, Lieutenant Benson and a corporal came out of the entrance, got in the car and drove off.
‘You’re not going to get far through the front door,’ Ryan said.
‘More ways of skinning a cat than one,’ Devlin said. ‘Let’s take a little walk.’
The strip of shingle he’d walked along earlier seemed wider and when he stopped to indicate the archway there was more headroom. ‘It was almost under the surface this morning,’ he said.
‘The Thames is a tidal river, Liam, and the tide’s going out. There’ll be times when that thing’s under the water entirely. Is it important?’
‘Runs close to the foundations of the Priory. According to the plans there’s a grill into the crypt under the Priory chapel. It could be a way in.’
‘You’d need to take a look then.’
‘Naturally, but not now. Later, when it’s nice and dark.’
The rain increased to monsoon-like proportions and Ryan said, ‘For Christ’s sake, let’s get in out of this,’ and he started back to the steps.
Devlin took Mary’s arm. ‘Would you happen to have yourself a pretty frock tucked away somewhere? Because if you da, I’ll take you dancing this evening.’
She paused, staring at him, and when she started walking again the limp seemed more pronounced. ‘I don’t dance, Mr Devlin. I can’t.’
‘Oh, yes you can, my love. You can do anything in the whole wide world if you put your mind to it.’
Chapter NINE
THE Astoria was a typical London dance hall of the period and very crowded. There was a band on each side of the room, one in blue tuxedos, the other in red, Devlin wore his dark clerical suit, but with a soft white shirt and black tie he’d borrowed from Ryan. He waited outside the cloakroom for Mary who’d gone in to leave her coat. When she came out he saw that she had on a neat cotton dress and brown stockings. She wore white plastic earrings, fashionable at the moment, and just a hint of lipstick.