In the morning when I awoke, I could hear Lassoo scratching at his front door. I had plenty of time before I needed to go to work, so popped next door to offer to take him for a walk. I knocked on the front door and could hear Lassoo pacing up and down the hardwood flooring while letting out the occasional half-arsed bark. Grace didn’t answer so I tried the door and it opened. I called out her name but there was no reply. Lassoo was acting like a nutcase, running up and down the hallway and climbing on and off Grace’s sofa. I knocked on her bedroom door and called out her name again. There was still no reply. I slowly opened the bedroom door and saw that she was not in her bed. She wasn’t at home. As I stood in her lounge I noticed that her laptop had gone and that someone had rifled through the drawers of her workstation. Some of the books in her bookcase had been tossed on the floor. It appeared that the flat had been lightly searched. Her smartphone was on the floor smashed by a heavy boot or some such. I felt an overwhelming certainty that whoever had done this was looking for the corn cob dongle. This was my fault.

15

Emily

I loved being on my own and away from my father.

I loved being independent. My bedsit was grimy, with peeling wallpaper and mould spots all over the shower ceiling. The bright crimson carpet literally crunched under your feet and the windows were painted shut. The hot water tap dribbled rather than flowed and the cold water tap spewed its contents out like a horse that’s been caught short. Seagulls stamped and sang on the roof just above my bed, often waking me up at 5am. The central heating radiator creaked and groaned as it warmed up and cooled down. Despite all its efforts, it never got much hotter than a Labrador’s belly.

I had never been happier.

My waiting job at Cactus Barrio Mexican Bistro and Bar also suited me. My shift was from 6pm till 2am, though I often didn’t get home until four or five in the morning.