Grandma reaches out to touch her shoulder. “Your mother didn’t like you going to crime scenes anyway,” she says. “You can still come with me to other jobs, Shelly. Just not these ones. Will you be okay by yourself or should I call someone to come and stay with you while I’m gone?”

Shelly scowls. “I’m fine,” she says. “I’m not a kid.”

Grandma looks like she disagrees.

“Mom’ll look after you, Shell,” Jenny says. “She’d be happy to have you for dinner, you know that. You can play with the cats.”

It’s like nobody even heard Shelly. Or more likely nobody cares about her opinion. “Okay,” she says. “Sure.”

Jenny smiles at Shelly and then her attention is back on Grandma, on what Shelly’s mom used to refer to as Jenny convincing the RCMP to pay an old Native lady to find bodies for them. Shelly can see, now, why her mom didn’t like it. She doesn’t want Grandma to go with them, either.

“I’ll be back before you know it,” Grandma says to Shelly, pressing a kiss on the top of her head. “Mrs. Potts will be happy for you to visit. Don’t let her wring any more mouse exterminations from you.”

Shelly stands in the driveway and watches Grandma leaving her behind. This time, she gets into the back of the police car when they ask to drive her—breaking another one of her own rules. She waves at Shelly as the car starts and then makes a shooing motion in the direction of Mrs. Potts’s half of the duplex.

Shelly waves back until the police car is out of sight then turns around and takes out her key to open the door to their house. She makes herself a peanut butter sandwich for dinner and eats it in the kitchen, alone.

11

Grandma opens the front door all tense—like she’s worried Shelly might not be in either side of the house—and although her shoulders relax, she frowns. “Shelly, I thought we agreed you were going to go next door. Edna said you never came over.”

“I didn’t want to go to her place,” Shelly says. “I’m not a kid. I don’t need a babysitter.”

“You don’t need to be alone, either,” Grandma says. “I’m sorry I had to leave you, Shelly. Rent is going to be due soon. We need the work.”