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anything.
    He had cancer.
    Oh, sweetheart. I had cancer once. Well, I thought I did. Terrible time. Terrible. Turns out it was just a very big boil.
    My mum will be here.
    Right on my neck. Right here. Terrible time. What? Of course. Sweetheart. Of course she will.
    A phone rings in Helen’s pocket. Helen jumps to her feet and answers it.
Yes. Yes. She’s right here. Of course, yes.
She hangs up.
Oh, darling. They’re coming for you.
    Who?
    Child Services. They’re so fantastic with abandoned children.
    Abandoned?
    They’ll give you another mum and dad for a little while. Until they find yours.
Through the doorway, Helen watches Stan laugh with a young female staff member.
    But Mum said to wait here.
    I know, darling. I know. But.
She sighs and walks to the door, putting her hand on the doorframe and watching Stan.
Some people don’t always say what they mean.
    Millie grips her Book Of Dead Things tightly behind her back. Helen whips around to face Millie. Her body wobbles under her shirt. The button people claw desperately at the cliff edge.
Oh, don’t worry, darling. They’ll love you. You’re adorable. Now, darling, just wait right here. Yes? Promise? Yes?
She pauses and they stare at each other.
I’ll bring back juice. And cookies. Yes?
Without waiting for an answer, she walks out the door.
    Millie watches Helen walk away and out of sight. She wants to throw up. A kid walks by the open office door with his mum and screams,
But I wanted the blue one!
Millie wants to scream in his face,
But I want my mum!
    Millie rips off the Matchbox cars from the bottom of her gumboots and climbs down from the chair. She grabs her bag and puts the toy cars inside. She takes a quick look out the door. No Helen. No Stan. She takes a deep breath and runs as fast as she can in the direction of the café. Her bag slides upand down her back. Down the aisle with the brooms and cloths and mops in bright colors. Past the photo lab, people flicking through photos on bright screens. Past the CDs and phones and electrical gadgets. Millie hides behind a cardboard cutout of a famous singer when she sees Stan coming. He flicks through the DVDs and mumbles to himself.
Got it, got it, don’t want it, got it
, he says. His phone rings.
Yeah? Yeah, yeah, I’ll be there.
He walks right past her and doesn’t see her.
    At the café, Karl is in his usual spot. Millie hides behind her usual potted plant. She spies Helen at the counter.
    Ba-boom. Ba-boom. Ba-boom.
    Just a small bit of cake, please
, Helen’s saying to the girl behind the counter.
The carrot cake, please. Yes, just two pieces, please. Yes, please, that one. Great, thank you, just the three pieces, that’ll be fine.
    Karl
, Millie whispers.
    Karl sits up and turns toward the potted plant.
Um
, he says.
Yes?
    It’s Millie.
She pokes her head around the fern leaves.
    Just Millie? Where have you been?
    From the cover of the potted plant, Millie gives him a rundown of events since she last saw him.
First the mannequin saved my life. Then I stole a key. Then the security guard was locked in. Then we had dinner. Rambo was there. And the hobby horse. And the Guess Who? people. And the mannequin. I’ll introduce you later. And then I asked the mannequin if he was aDead Thing. And then I tried to help Mum. And then Helen offered me juice and cookies, but I didn’t get either. And then my new mum and dad were coming. And then I escaped. And then I found you. Are you going to eat that?
    Karl hands her his muffin.
That’s all?
    That’s all
, she says, her mouth full.
    Escaped from who?
    Her
. Millie points and ducks as Helen, no more than twenty meters away from them, talks to a customer.
    They’re not for me
, Helen says.
I’m on a diet. The North Beach one? Kate Moss uses it. You can hold all the food you like.
    Karl looks the other way as Helen walks past them and back toward the office.
An escape, you say?
He stands.
Okay.
    Okay?
Millie says.
    We’re getting you out of here. Right