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Mrs Morgan. ‘You’re always welcome here, as your granddad knows, and you can even stay the night, if your mum agrees. And it looks like your granddad might be able to get me a TV too, though I don’t want to know how he does it and I’ve insisted on paying, haven’t I, Archie?’ she finished sternly.
    The fact is, Mrs Morgan likes electrical things the way other ladies like shoes, and has everything you can think of that you can switch on and off. Her pride and joy is an Electrolux vacuum cleaner that was presented to her last year when she retired as Electrolux’s book-keeper. She’s as brainy as hell, and much brainier than the nuns at school, who couldn’t tell you anything about comics, film stars or singers. Every now and then, Mrs Morgan gives me a comic — always new — and it nearly always turns out to be the latest Century . I always have a feeling it’s Granddad who’s really choosing them, but I’m pleased that she wants to do it.
    â€˜Vera, I told you, a bloke owes me a favour.’
    But Granddad wasn’t kidding anyone. Mrs Morgan’s TV was probably going to fall off the back of a truck, and stillarrive at the door in mint condition. She knew it just as I knew it. Her money was no good with him. It was true that when it came to women, he could be a charmer — that’s what Mum always said. But something told me he didn’t have to be. He was just as good at being a friend.
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    I dropped my stuff off next door, at Granddad’s, then decided to go back to the Murder House to get my bag, Granddad’s special bag, but knew I’d have to wait until it was dark. I spent the in-between time drawing on my map.
    Everyone I knew got a mention, or at least their houses did, and where a place didn’t fit, like the City, I just drew an arrow on the edge of the map, showing where you’d have to go to get there. Mrs Morgan was so interested in the map she went and got an old street map she had and showed it to me. It was not a map of Melbourne, but of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, so it was pretty useless. Except for one thing: it had something called a legend at the bottom, a little space full of symbols. I was so excited I immediately pinched the idea for my own map.
    Pretty soon I had symbols for railway stations, tram stops, churches, doctors and pubs. I also invented a symbol for the homes of people I knew, and for dogs I’d spotted. I made a black dog symbol for dogs that were dangerous, and a yellow dog symbol for dogs I liked, though there weren’t many of those. I also marked some of the places where Tom and I had had adventures. They included the Gala picture theatre, the Richmond Baths, and a back yard from which Tom had pinched a chook one afternoon. We took the chook to the pictures and let it loose during Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy. And they say crime doesn’t pay.
    The other thing Mrs M’s map had was a large arrow showing the direction of north, which was at the top of the sheet. I loved that idea so much, I pinched it too, only my north was off to one side.
    After dinner — fish and chips that Granddad and me went for down the corner — I waited until they were enjoying something corny on the radio, and wandered casually to the front door.
    â€˜Where d’yer think you’re going?’ yelled Granddad.
    â€˜Just goin’ for a walk around the block,’ I yelled back, not waiting around for the next episode of Granddad and The Kid .
    I jumped on a Prahran tram and rode on the running board for a few blocks, until the clippie collared me and hauled me inside like a trout. Then I went a few more blocks until we got near Kipling Street and I pulled the tram’s cord to let the trammie know I’d had enough of his rotten driving. When I got off I walked a bit further down, to the lane, and turned left. The lane had no lights in it, and was as dark as Sugar