Page 33 of The Dead Ex

I’m definitely striking a chord there. I learned that in my old life. Find something thatmakes others sympathetic. It’s the first chink in the armour. Then you start to get in there.

But has this man foundmychink yet?

There’s nothing for it but to wait and see.

10

Scarlet

13 March 2007

The next morning, Scarlet woke to find Dawn prodding her in the ribs. ‘Get up. Quick. Mrs W is going mental. She wants us out early.’

Yesterday began to float back to her. The DVDs in the shop. The man they’d sold them to. The ginger-haired boy in Dawn’s bed. Still, thought Scarlet with a fresh spring of hope, maybe they’d let her see Mum today.

‘We’re going to haveto go to school,’ said Dawn. ‘Or they might get suspicious. But we’ll do a sick note first and pretend it’s from Mrs W.’

‘Won’t they check it with her writing?’

‘They’re too busy to bother. You do it. My spelling’s crap.’

‘After school, will you help me get to see Mum?’

Dawn was pulling up her tights now. They had holes in the knee. ‘She’s banged up. Didn’t get bail, according to what I heardMrs W say.’

‘What’s bail?’

Her new friend’s voice softened. ‘It’s when they let you out before the trial. But they won’t give it you if they think you’ll run off or are dangerous.’

Dangerous meant the man in the flat next to their old home, who had beaten up his son. Dangerous meant cars that drove too fast, like the one that knocked over a kidfrom their block last Christmas. Dangerous meantone of the uncles who had offered her some white powder ‘as a joke’. Mum said she’d bloody well kill him if he didn’t get out there and then.

‘My mother wouldn’t hurt anyone.’

Dawn was pulling up her skirt now. It didn’t cover the holes in her tights. ‘Then count yourself bleeding lucky. Mine tried to strangle me once when she was pissed.’

‘That’s really bad.’

‘No, there’s worse than that.’Dawn had a weird look on her face. ‘My brother stopped her. It was the next bit that was shit.’

Scarlet said nothing. This was something she’d learned from Mum. Sometimes you had to wait to get someone to give you an explanation.

But Dawn was silent for a bit as though there was something in her mouth that she didn’t like the taste of. ‘Anyway,’ she said at last. ‘It don’t matter now. Someonetold on him and then the authorities got me.’

Told on him? Who? What had her brother done, wondered Scarlet. But she didn’t like to ask.

‘You done that note yet?’

‘Shall I tell them we all had a stomach bug?’

‘Can you spell stomach?’ Dawn frowned. ‘I’m not sure I can. We need to get it right or they’ll know we wrote it ourselves.’

‘S–T–O–M–A–K.’

‘You’re clever, Scarlet. I’ll say that.’

Then Scarlet got dressed in the same clothes she’d worn the day before because there weren’t any others. Her knickerswere still damp from where she’d got scared in the shop and they rubbed against her skin. It didn’t feel – or smell – nice.

‘Bloody hell, you’ve wet the mattress again. You’ll get it from Mrs W like last time. Get some toilet paper to soak it up. Quick.’