As Luck Would Have It by Edward Dyson

Bob began to find himself in a most unenviable position. He had a nest of criminals on his hands, and the matter of disposing of them was becoming increasingly difficult. He could not deal with them himself, even though he had a very considerable score to wipe off, and he could not hand them over to the law without involving Miriam and her mother.

Whatever their deserts he could not reconcile himself to the idea of being instrumental in sending the women to prison for a long term of years. Now there was Shuter's old mother, and Olivia's beseeching eyes were not making plain duty easier for him.