Uncle whips around like he’s just remembered I’m sitting there. ‘And if you do you’ll deal with your mother and then me. Got it?’

My eyes get really big and I nod. Uncle likes to think he’s scarier than Mum; me and Laney play along to make him feel better. Mum knows it too. Her lips twitch before they both throw their doors open and march up to the house. A few dogs bark from inside. Rolling down my window, I lean forwards, not wanting to miss a second. While the adults take the stairs of the big old Queenslander, my eyes keep flicking over to Troy’s car. I can’t shake the image of Laney hiding under it, feeling those hands close over our ankles. Goosebumps flood my body. I look back as Mum starts banging on the screen door.

Edna Dennis comes storming up as if she didn’t hear us the second the car pulled into her driveway.

‘What do you want?’ Our mobs have never liked each other much, but it isn’t the inter-generational war we have with the Millers.

‘We want to talk to Troy. We just wanna know where Laney is.’ Uncle is better at pretending to be calm than Mum.

‘My boy doesn’t know anything about that girl and he don’t wanna know. She’s the one who got them into this in the first place!’

‘Bullshit!’ Mum yells in her face. ‘Laney wasn’t in any trouble like this before. Now bring the little bastard out here so he can tell me what he’s done with my daughter.’

In horrified fascination I watch them square off through the flyscreen.

‘That girl’s nuthin but a troublemaker—’

‘Because your son’s so fuckin innocent?’

‘Don’t you run my son down! Get off my fuckin porch!’

With all that going on I should be transfixed, but my eyes keep sliding back to Troy’s car. I could swear there’s something moving under it and isn’t that spooky as hell? My goosebumps grow worse.

Mum must’ve hit the screen door because a bang brings my attention snapping back and next minute Uncle has Mum by the shoulders. The four-letter words are flying now.

‘Listen ere ya dog, you better get off my fuckin property before—’

‘Before what, Edna? Before your sleaze of a man grabs another knife? Come ere and—’

‘Eyah! Knock off you two! Al, we didn’t come ere for this!’ Uncle keeps trying to talk sense, but it has as much effect as Mum telling Laney to go to school.

It’s the day for my jaw to flop around unhinged. It isn’t so much the foul words that shock me as hearing Mum say them. Laney would’ve loved this, if only to tease Mum later about rinsing her mouth out with soap.