‘Okay, but no,’ said Jamie. ‘Pythons don’t stop eating in order to prepare themselves to eat small humans. That is snake scarelore. It’s a total myth. Anyway, he couldn’t eat me. He’s a small non-venomous python. It would be physically impossible for him to swallow a person, even if he wanted to. He’s about as thick as three of my fingers.’

‘You will need to say goodbye to Louis,’ said Sophia.

‘Anyway, I think he’s stopped eating because he doesn’t like the frozen mice I buy him. I’ve tried five different sizes: large, hopper, fuzzy, pinkie, and half-pinkie.’

‘Frozen fucking mice!’ said Sophia. ‘Where are they?’

‘What’s a hopper mouse?’ asked Emily.

‘A little bit fuzzy, but not large,’ said Jamie. ‘I keep them under the bed in a bowl that I fill with ice cubes at night. But the bowl isn’t cold enough. I think the mice are turning and Louis knows that.’

Sophia said: ‘Right, you’ve brought a live snake and dead mice into someone else’s home. If Nicole discovers these creatures she will suggest we leave. She doesn’t like animals. She’s scared of dogs. She’s not a nice person.’

‘You said she was doing us a favour.’

‘Charitable people can also be horrible,’ said Sophia. ‘Don’t be fooled.’

On the main road they passed a shoe factory, a row of dusty, shuttered warehouses for importers of food, and a bunker-like building covered in pebblecrete, which was the sewage treatment plant where Sophia had worked. Emily turned off the highway onto uncrowded streets; she drove around a yawning man on a bicycle, a pair of girls on rollerskates. Nicole’s house, grey brick and brown roof, stood on a corner, on a street in which the driveways were almost touching. Next door: a long, flatbed truck, empty except for a few bags of cement.

‘Here’s how this is going to work: we go in and get the snake and the thawed-out mice without Nicole seeing,’ said Sophia.

‘And without harming Louis II,’ said Jamie.

‘Are you afraid of snakes?’ Sophia asked Emily.

‘Maybe a little,’ she said.

‘Why would you do this?’ said Sophia, shaking her head, turning to Jamie. ‘You’re a smart kid.’

‘I’m interested in reptiles, Mum,’ said Jamie. ‘I saw one for sale and I went for it.’

‘I’ll take Louis away,’ said Emily, and they all got out of the car and Sophia led them to the front door, turning the key, calling out to her host. ‘Hi, Nicole! I’ve brought a friend back with me. Five minutes and we’ll be out of your hair.’