‘What was she like?’ said Bailey. ‘This cellmate?’

She suddenly craved some morsel of detail about her deceased friend, something that would momentarily bring her back to life.

Seema shrugged. ‘Never talked to her.’

‘Kept herself to herself,’ said Kay.

‘Bit of a loner,’ added Seema.

‘Just like you,’ murmured Kay, fixing Bailey with a curious stare. ‘Loners don’t always last too long in a place like this. You gotta have mates, y’know. Safety in numbers, know what I mean?’

Bailey nodded slowly, recalling all the different cliques she’d seen around the prison. It felt like a warning. She guessed it was.

‘Ally was nice to Mel,’ said Mel in a quiet voice. ‘Mel liked Ally.’

Bailey looked at Mel. She was staring dejectedly at her feet with a melancholy look on her face.

That figured, thought Bailey. Alice had always been a compassionate person. She was the kind of person who would have had time even for a spaced-out headcase like Mel. She’d had time for Bailey when Bailey had been going through a rough patch, after she’d split up with Mark, and then later also, after that last undercover job had gone so wrong. That’s what friends were for. They were there when you needed them. It was just a shame that Bailey hadn’t been able to be there for Alice when she’d been in her greatest hour of need. Bailey felt like she’d let her down.

‘Can you die from being scalped?’ asked Seema, creasing her brow quizzically.

‘I reckon the shock alone would kill you,’ said Kay.

‘I heard there was blood everywhere. Like, everywhere.’

‘Scalp wounds bleed a lot. That’s because there are more capillaries under the scalp.’

‘But I heard she was stabbed as well. Like, properly carved up. Throat cut and all that. Like a frenzy. Poodle as well. Both of them done the same way. That’s what I heard.’

‘Stop talking about this!’ screeched Mel suddenly, clapping her hands over her ears. ‘Mel doesn’t like it! It’s horrible!’

Bailey recoiled at the outburst. They all went silent and their attention turned to Mel.

Kay smiled vindictively and leaned forward towards Mel and mimed the scalping.

‘Yeah… all ripped off… rrriiiiipppp!!! Blood everywhere!!!! Uuuurrrgggghhhh!!! Cut her scalp right off!’

Mel screamed louder, clamping her hands tighter over her ears, shutting her eyes and banging her legs on the bunk.

Kay collapsed into stitches of laughter.

Mel’s eyes popped open. She snatched the joint out from Seema’s fingers and took a huge drag on it. The tip glowed orange and a big end of ash formed. The ash trembled dangerously before falling squarely in her lap. She didn’t seem to notice.

Bailey tensed, concerned at what she might do next.

Mel turned to stare at her with big bloodshot saucers of eyes. Bailey shivered, transfixed by these twin whirlpools of torment. She wondered exactly what traumas Mel had undergone in her past to fracture her reality so.

‘Stop talking about killing,’ said Mel in a low voice. ‘It makes me paranoid.’