Petticoat Lane Market, June 1827 Sarah Valentine was seven-years-old; she looked up at a clear blue sky, not a cloud in sight. She was reasonably turned out for a young girl in the East-End of London, even having worn, but matching, shoes on her feet. A dark shawl was draped round her and a pretty bonnet sat on her head; exactly as Mary Barker wanted her. She pushed a strand of her long dark black hair out of her deep brown eyes and glanced round her; the market was in full swing. Then she spotted him; he was a smartly dressed gentleman, a new expensive coat was open in the warm air revealing a jolly waistcoat with gold pocket watch. He was strolling idly between the stalls, not really concerned with the wares on display, clearly just ‘taking the air’. Sarah looked across at Mary Barker; she merely nodded back and gestured across to Billy. Sarah moved forward casually towards the gentleman. …show more content…
She never worked alone, that was far too dangerous. Indeed these days she did not get her hands dirty at all. Her young followers took all the risks; that included young Sarah Valentine. Her pattern was not unique, but well tried and tested. One person would distract, the 'mark'. At that point another would pick his pockets, or 'dip', rapidly passing the goods to a third, who would 'collect' and beat a hasty retreat. That way, even if the original perpetrators were caught, no incriminating evidence would be found. If necessary, Mary herself, who would have taken no part in the activity, could claim to be an independent witness to the fact that it was someone completely different who committed the