Olivia was light so I was able to haul her onto the bed. I covered her with the bedcovers then perched on the edge of the mattress and took off my tights. My letter to my parents dropped onto the floor and I hoped my parents would never need to read it.

I was unable to rid my head of the hideous sound of Mother’s laugh. I still couldn’t believe she’d laughed. It was like she’d enjoyed her sister’s pain.

My jaw clenched. I tried to focus on that laughter and how only an evil person could laugh like that. Only an evil person could do all of the things she had done. She had hurt other people but she had also hurt me very badly and I would stop her from doing anyone any more harm.

I slipped my right hand into the sock part of my tights, then wrapped the tights round my four fingers as many times and as tightly as I could. Easing myself off the bed so as not to rock the mattress and disturb Olivia, I shuffled my way back to the steps. Beneath my bandaged feet the ground was gritty with dirt and who knows what else, but I didn’t focus on that. I found the steps quickly now that I was getting to know my way around.

In my mind’s eye I pictured the place I’d seen the nail. It had been in the wall on the left of the door in the ceiling. Buried deep in the brick, but not in completely. I needed that nail. It had been a big, long one – the longest, thickest nail I’d ever seen – and covered in rust, but it would do the job. If I could get it out of the wall.