“I said what’s that, Maggie?” She nodded at the tea-towel bundle.

The scones.

Course she couldn’t see the trellicillin. Course she couldn’t.

“Oh, that. It’s just some scones. From Mrs Weather.”

“I see.” She let go of my arm. “You all right, Maggie? You seem a bit jumpy.”

“No, Mayor Anderson. I mean, yes, I mean—” I should tell her. About Una and her dad. After all, they’re wanderers, and look what the wanderers had done – they’d killed Mr Wetheral’s whole family. “The thing is, on Monday I—”

Hold on.

I didn’t have any evidence yet.

She wouldn’t believe me.

And Una’s dad hadn’t got the antibiotics. He was still sick. It wouldn’t be fair to hand him in just yet.

And I sort of wanted my second ear-wiggling lesson too.

“I mean, yes, Mayor Anderson. I’m fine. I was just, um, running up to the butterfly fields. Trig left his jumper there.”

It was all I could think of.

“Youngests, eh? Hopeless.” She winked. Smiled her upside-down smile. “Listen up, Maggie. Tell your mother I’ll have something for her on Saturday, after I’ve taken your Jed to camp. I’ve been promised some bananas. First time ever. I’ll be setting some aside for her.”

“Oh, OK. Thank you.”

“Thank you, what?”

“Thank you, Mayor Anderson.”

“S’more like it. Go on then, get off after your brother’s jumper.”

I skidded away in the direction of the butterfly fields. Not the right way for the cemetery, but I’d cut across, once no one was looking.

I touched my pocket as I ran.

Bottle was still there.

What did Mayor Anderson say she was bringing back on Saturday?

Bananas?

Those yellow things.

I’d seen pictures of them in books.

CHAPTER 11

I peered through the thinnest part of the hawthorn, its tight red berries hanging close to my cheeks. The forest spread out beyond.

“Una? You here?” I did that loud whispering thing, so Una might hear but it wouldn’t carry far. “Una?”

“Here. Over here.” Just five rulers away from me Una emerged out of the hawthorn – like she’d magicked herself up from the leaves and the branches. She tucked her hair behind her ears. It fell straight back out – again. You’d’ve thought she’d stop bothering to tuck it back in the first place by now.

She smiled, but only a small one. “I knew you’d come, Maggie.” Her eyes were red. Wet.

“You OK?” I said.

“Yeah, course.” Her mouth moved into a grin shape, and her gap showed and everything, but it wasn’t a proper smile.

“You don’t seem OK,” I said.