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something that looked suspiciously like a toasting-fork. He stuck it inside the back and there was a sudden spark and a distinct smell of burning.
    ‘Ah-ha,’ he murmured.
    ‘Is that it fixed now, do you think?’ Mum asked hopefully.
    ‘Almost,’ he said. Then he added, ‘I think I’m going to have to get more tools for this one.’
    ‘Where did you find him?’ I laughed, as soon as he’d gone. ‘Yellow Pages? Or should I say,’ I giggled, ‘Yellow Tooth Pages.’
    Mum was not amused. ‘That’s cruel, Kerry. He’s having a whole new set fitted shortly.’
    ‘Well, he’s certainly not a television mechanic,’ I told her. ‘He almost set the TV on fire.’
    ‘He’s not a television mechanic, no,’ Mum said. ‘But he’s very handy. He can fix just about everything.’
    ‘He told you this, did he?’
    ‘Yes. I met him in the lift.’
    ‘And you believed him?’
    ‘Why would he lie about a thing like that?’
    At thirteen, even I knew why. Tommy Telfer couldn’t take his eyes off my mum.
    ‘Oh, come on, Mum, you must know that!’
    I could tell by the way she looked blankly at me that she didn’t.
    ‘He fancies you. Goodness, he was almost drooling.’
    To my utter astonishment, she looked pleased.‘Was he? Does he?’ she asked.
    ‘You can’t be flattered, Mum. He’s ugly.’
    She dismissed that with a shake of her head. ‘You’ll understand when you’re older, Kerry, but it’s nice when a man notices you.’
    Now I was shaking my head. ‘No. I’ll never understand that.’
    ‘Especially after what I’ve been through. I’ve aged these past months … ’ Oh no, she was off again. She turned to the mirror. ‘Look at me.’
    ‘Listen, Mum,’ I said seriously, determined to change the subject. ‘I’ve got something to tell you. I saw Ma Lafferty’s sons today.’
    She turned from the mirror as soon as I said it. Alarmed.
    ‘They told me to be careful, that there were a lot of bad people around here. They scared me, Mum.’
    She stamped her feet. ‘Right, that’s it. We’re going to the police tomorrow.’
    That was the last thing I wanted. ‘No, Mum. Let’s leave it. I don’t want any more trouble. Please.’
    But she wasn’t listening. ‘What kind of people are they? They’ve given us nothing but trouble since we came here. No, Kerry, tomorrow we’re going back tothe police. They’ll soon sort them out!’
    She wouldn’t listen to my protests. She never did. And I knew if we went to the police again, she was only going to make the whole thing worse. Why hadn’t I kept my big mouth shut?

Chapter Twelve
    The next day was Saturday, but Mum had me up early anyway.
    ‘We’re going to see that Sergeant Maitland,’ she said.
    I tried to put her off all through breakfast, but she was like a dog with a bone. Nothing was going to make her let it go.
    The Sergeant smiled as we came into his office. And Mum immediately launched into the story of Ma Lafferty’s visit, and how her sons had threatened me.
    ‘They didn’t exactly threaten,’ I corrected her. But they had. And I told him exactly what they’d said.
    ‘I’ll speak to them, to all of them. They think they’re being very smart, you see. Mrs Lafferty had no legitimate reason for calling on you. I warned her not to do that.’
    ‘Did they break into Ali’s shop?’ I asked him.
    His answer was immediate. ‘Of course they did. But we’ll never prove it. Plenty of people ready to swear they were somewhere else entirely at the time.’
    ‘Do they always get people to lie for them?’ Mum asked angrily.
    ‘People who owe them are scared not to.’
    ‘I’m getting out of here,’ Mum said firmly. ‘I don’t want Kerry brought up like this.’
    The Sergeant was shaking his head. ‘Most of them are decent, hardworking people. What they need is a common cause to help them band together against the Laffertys. If we could get them out of the estate, it wouldn’t be such a bad place, you know.’
    Mum would