‘Careful not to take your eye off the ball, though, sis. I’ve told you before, you can’t trust anyone inside. You might think things are going OK but you never know who’s scheming behind your back.’

‘Thanks for the warning,’ said Adele, but she was only half listening, still preoccupied with how Peter had obtained the money to set up a tanning salon.

Chapter 21

‘Y’know,’ said Adele, looking over the rim of her cup of tea at her friend, Caroline, ‘after all these weeks, Anna’s only just told me how bad it got with Shazza. It’s no wonder she did what she did.’

‘Really?’ said Caroline.

‘Oh, yeah. Shazza was worse with her than anyone. She was taking nearly all her cigs and drugs as well. Apart from that, there was the verbal and physical abuse. She used to do sly things like pinch her stomach while making nasty comments about her weight. Then, when they were on their own, she’d thump her in the stomach until she was winded, and laugh at her.

‘But what really pushed Anna over the edge was that Shazza was going to get her to smuggle heroin in.’

‘That’s terrible,’ said Caroline, her face full of concern. ‘She didn’t do it, did she?’

‘No, that’s why she tried to commit suicide – so she wouldn’t have to do it.’

‘Shazza was a bit like that with me,’ said Cheryl. ‘Only she didn’t take my stuff as often and she only hit me once… She just threatened to do it again if I didn’t give her what she wanted.’

Caroline tutted. ‘Some people are just born bloody evil, if you ask me, and I think she’s one of them.’

‘Yeah, you can say that again,’ Adele responded. ‘I don’t know whether she gave Anna such a hard time because she looks so intimidating. Maybe it gave Shazza a kick to have control over someone like Anna.’

‘Who knows how the mind of someone like Shazza works?’ said Caroline. ‘She doesn’t think like the rest of us. Anyway, I’m just glad for Anna’s sake and everybody else’s that it’s over now, and at least we can go about our business without having to watch our backs all the time.’

‘Me too,’ Adele and Cheryl chorused.

*

The following day Caroline was in the association area with Adele, Cheryl and Anna when Shazza and her friends passed them on their way out. Shazza and Denise made a show of saying hello to them, as they had been doing since Anna’s suicide attempt. They all returned their greeting but something about Shazza’s face alerted Caroline. Her eyes seemed to hover over Adele and there was a slight sneer, which hadn’t been there during the past few weeks.