‘She lives with me on the Broadwater Farm.’ Emma turned away from her sister and looked at Jane. ‘While I was in the sorting office she told me the same two men were in the cafe this morning.’

*

Driving Rachel and Emma to Broadwater Farm, Jane knew that Teflon and Cam would think she was mad going there on her own and was worried about parking her car on the estate. But she knew that every time the sisters left their flat, they risked verbal or physical abuse, and if they didn’t let it stop them going about their business, neither would she.

As Jane approached the estate, Emma told her it might be best if she left her car in a side street and they walked to the flat.

‘Your car’s really conspicuous and it might get damaged or stolen if you leave it on the estate.’ Emma pointed to a street on the right. ‘Your car will be safe down there.’

‘As it happens, my boss thinks my car looks like a custard tart,’ Jane remarked.

Emma laughed, turned to Rachel and repeated what Jane had said, but she didn’t smile.

Jane checked the rear-view mirror and could see Rachel was frowning and looking out of the window. She looked forward as she spoke to Emma.

‘Can Rachel talk at all?’

‘Being deaf she can’t hear what she says, so her voice is very monotone and sounds like she’s got a really bad throat. At first she tried speaking, but got fed up with people looking at her as if she was mentally ill.’

Jane wondered if Rachel wasn’t born deaf but felt awkward asking Emma, as if she was talking about Rachel behind her back.

Jane felt nervous walking through the estate, but thankfully there were only a few people about, who didn’t pay any attention to them. The lift door at Tangmere House was still stuck open, and although the pool of urine in it had dried out, the smell was still overpowering. Rachel pinched her nose and pulled a face, implying how bad it was.

‘Sorry about the state of the lifts,’ Emma said.

‘It’s not your fault. Is there no caretaker to clean or repair them?’

Emma sighed. ‘They’ve been advertising for a new caretaker for months, but no one wants the job. The engineers do come now and again to repair the lift but as soon as they have, the kids break it again.’

Jane shook her head sadly. ‘I can understand why you want to move away from here.’

‘The flats have been poorly maintained by the council, there are water leakages, damp and electrical faults. We recently had an infestation of cockroaches and me and Rachel had to deal with it ourselves. The walkways that connect the blocks are dangerous. They provide easy escape routes, so people often get robbed on them.’