Saturday was known as Mum’s Night Off, and for the men that meant buying takeaway. Most ordered fish and chips or burgers, but some even bought salad. Occasionally strangers would lob in, couples or groups in fleeces and beanies, people who’d been hiking up in the park. They were friendlier than the locals because they didn’t know Kurt. He treated them the same, and when they fled with their orders Miki knew they wouldn’t be back. That was why she courted the locals with extras. Fortunately there wasn’t much choice for fast food—if you didn’t buy here, it was twenty minutes to the next town. Saturdays, most of the men drank a few beers, and they didn’t want to drive and risk getting caught. Miki had heard the women talking about how the rot set in after the footy. Sometimes it started down at the oval, sometimes in someone’s backyard, sometimes at the pub. The local policemen weren’t very strict—it was common knowledge that a warning was as far as it went. The police had to live in town too, so they let things slide, even when Mooney laid into Liz. Miki wished they would take action on that. But Liz was good at hiding things. And maybe the police didn’t hear gossip. In a way, they were outsiders around here too, just like Miki.

Just as she was thinking this, one of the local policemen strode in: Fergus Connolly, with his boys, Jaden and Callum. He was out of uniform but a hush still fell over the shop. He loudly said hello, and everyone stood aside to let him through. During the week, he smelled of shaving cream and soap, but on weekends Miki always caught beer on his breath. Usually he was strict on his boys, but after a few drinks he stopped noticing their behaviour and the big boy, Jaden, had a tendency to get out of hand. Miki didn’t like the way he pinched and hassled his younger brother.