Page 45 of The Dead Ex

‘If you don’t start behaving, you’ll end up in the same place yourself. Do you get what I’m saying?’

Not really, but it seemed safer to nod. And after that, they just sat and waited as the clock ticked by.

‘Scarlet!’

It was Camilla, the social worker with the shaggy fringe who had taken her to Mrs Walters’ house.

‘Know this kid, do you? Caught her nicking stuff. An oldlady got her ankle sprained.’

There was a sigh. Then Camilla whispered something to the policewoman, but Scarlet managed to hear. ‘Her mother’s on remand, and she’s under an interim care order. Poor kid’s in emergency foster placement with the Walters.’

‘So there’s nothing we can do about it apart from giving her a bollocking and sending her back to this family.’

‘It might change if the mothergoes down.’

Scarlet looked up. The man three flats away had ‘gone down’. Mum had told her that meant he’d be in prison for a long time. Fucking good riddance, too, she’d said.

‘I want to see her! Can you take me?’

‘Promise you’ll be good in future?’ asked Camilla.

‘Yes. Honest.’

Anything just so she could have Mum’s arms around her again. Feel the softness of her cheek. Bury her face in herneck and feel Mum stroke her hair and tell her that she was her ‘best girl’.

‘Because if you break the law when you’re older, the judge can send you to a juvenile offenders’ unit.’

Kieran at the Walters’ had been in one of those!

‘I’ll be good. Honestly. I won’t play the game any more.’

‘This is no game, Scarlet. It’s real life. So if someone tries to get you to do something bad, you’ve gotto say no. Do you understand?’

She nodded. ‘Can I see Mum still? I miss her so much.’

The policewoman sighed. ‘They don’t learn, do they?’

Camilla patted her arm. She had long red nails. Mum’s were very short with yellow stains on her fingers that wouldn’t come out when she scrubbed them.

‘I’ll try and sort it out, Scarlet. But please. Rememberwhat you’ve been told. We’re just trying to doour best for you. Really.’

Shaggy-Fringe was as good as her word. The next day, she took Scarlet to see her mum as arranged. The Aitch Em Pee had a very high wall around it with curly metal loops above. Camilla’s hand tightened over hers as if she was scared too.

‘Where are the windows?’ asked Scarlet as they went past a sign that said ‘V–I–S–I–T–S’.

‘On the other side. There aren’t any here.It’s all part of security.’

They were going through a big door now, where a man on the other side of a glass screen told her to sign her name. A woman in black uniform and a green dragon tattoo on her wrist made her lift up her arms. Then she ran her hands up and down the rest of her body. It tickled. But the dragon did the same to Camilla, and she didn’t seem to mind too much.

‘This way.’

The door bleeped when they opened it. It went into another room, and there was a second door followed by a third. It was like going down a really long school corridor.

‘You said there were windows here,’ whispered Scarlet.

‘There are,’ said Camilla, squeezing her hand. ‘Just not in this bit.’

Then they went into this huge room that stank like someone who didn’t wash. In it were loads of tablesand chairs. Scarlet’s chest did a little dip as though it was going to fall out of her body with disappointment. Mum wasn’t there!