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she headed for the bathroom.
    Lou suggested they take her car to the funeral so they could pick up not only the flowers but three dozen flip-flops, assorted sizes.
    â€˜Knowing these kids,’ she said as Laura sat beside her in the car, ‘they’ll be in and out of the water all day. Their shoes will get ruined.’
    For a moment they chatted about everyday things, especially arrangements for the stay on the island. Then, when they pulled up at the red stop light and they both had a clear view of the hearse containing Maureen’s coffin in pale brown wood, they fell silent. Laura knew that Lou must be thinking about Maureen, too. The usually happy-go-lucky Jamaican woman sighed; a tear ran down her cheek. Laura didn’t like the silver handles on the coffin. The way they shone seemed far too bright. Nothing had the right to glitter cheerfully on a day like this.
    As the cortège pulled away, Lou shook her head. ‘Maureen was younger than me. Married to the job like you and me. Remember to learn from our mistakes.’ After a pause Lou spoke again. ‘They’re burying her in that dress she liked so much. Remember the one at the Christmas party? Electric blue. Whoa, girl, I told her. Wait until I get my shades before you go exposing that dress to the public. That fabric’s giving the Christmas tree lights an inferiority complex.’
    Laura tried to sound as if she was making conversation, but when she asked the question Lou shot her a surprised glance. ‘Pardon?’
    Laura repeated it. ‘Do you ever visit Tod Langdon? He’s at that secure unit on the other side of town, isn’t he?’
    Lou clearly wondered why Laura was so suddenly interested in one of their – let’s face it – failures. ‘From time to time. Since they committed him six months ago.’
    â€˜Does he know who you are?’
    â€˜Not really. One of the nurses there said, “You’ve heard the term brain-dead? Well, he’s mind-dead. Does nothing. Doesn’t interact.”’ Lou shot her a probing look. ‘Why the sudden interest in Tod?’
    â€˜Oh . . . I found myself thinking about him this morning.’
    â€˜Because Jay did that thing? Repeating his name, just like he did with Maureen then – pop. Bad thing happens out of the blue.’ She pressed her lips together, annoyed with herself. ‘Pay no heed, Laura. I’ve been thinking a bunch of nonsense about Jay. Huh, I’ve found myself surfing the Internet looking for stuff about curses, prophecies, portents of doom.’ The funeral cortège crossed a railway bridge. ‘In the end I helped myself to a glass of gin with sugar in it. My grandmother always said if you add sugar to booze then it’s medicine not liquor.’ She read Laura’s expression. ‘What happened to Tod is bothering you, isn’t it?’ She gave a world-weary sigh. ‘Have you ever been to the secure unit?’
    For a moment Laura nearly poured her heart out about the nightmare. All about seeing Maureen in the bright blue dress, the medical team making whoopee at midnight, the dour corridors, the cells with steel doors all firmly in lockdown. Instead, she gave a tiny shake of the head. ‘I’ve seen it from the outside. Razor wire. High walls. It looks grim.’
    â€˜Yup, it’s no sweeter on the inside. All the walls are painted green, a dull, dull green. I used to go along with Maureen to visit Tod. We always feel responsible for our charges. Success or failure. We could do nothing for the boy, but we couldn’t let go. Story of our lives, huh? They locked Tod in his green cell, all so damped down with tranquillizers he could barely move. All he did was stare at nothing. Maureen hated the idea of him staring at a blank wall so she bought a poster. A huge one. Once it was up there on the wall it could have been a big picture window on the outside