Free Fighting Back by Cathy MacPhail Page B

was surprised. ‘Why?’
    ‘To tell him about Sandra.’
    ‘What’s the point of that, Mum? She’ll only say she fell.’
    She straightened. ‘I’m going to tell him everything. That we saw Ma Lafferty leave the house. At leasthe’ll have to question her.’
    ‘But Mum, that might get Sandra into even more trouble.’
    She shrugged her shoulders. ‘Why should Sandra get into trouble? I’m the one talking to the police.’
    And nothing I could say would make her change her mind.
    The lift was broken again that morning so I had to walk down the stairs. Ming was sitting on the fifth floor, staring into nothing. He didn’t even hear me come down.
    ‘Is everything OK?’ I asked him.
    He didn’t even look at me. ‘Oh, brilliant,’ he snapped. ‘My maw looks as if she’s done five rounds with Rocky, but everything’s brilliant.’
    I sat down beside him on the stairs. ‘Why don’t you go to the police about it?’ I knew the answer to that one. Ming only glared at me, as if I was stupid.
    I wondered if I should tell him my mother intended going to the police, but decided against it. He looked depressed enough, and he would never understand her motives.
    ‘How can you bear it, knowing she did that to your mother?’
    He turned on me then, and I realized just how ashamed he was. ‘How do you think I feel? I could … I could …’ He jumped to his feet and kicked the steps angrily. ‘But Maw says not to do anything. I hate them, Kerry. I hate them! I wish we could get rid of them.’
    He looked at me then, for a long time, before he spoke.
    ‘What is it?’ I asked.
    ‘We saw them that night – the night of the fire.’
    ‘You saw the Laffertys?’
    He nodded. ‘The two boys. Me and my maw saw them through the letterbox.’
    ‘And you wouldn’t tell?’
    ‘My maw was in enough trouble with them, Kerry. She made me promise. I thought I was protecting her, but now, after what she did … I’m telling you, so you know, but I’ll never tell the police. The Laffertys might take it out on my maw – so don’t ask.’
    ‘We could have been killed. And you wouldn’t say.’
    He tutted. ‘How do you think the fire brigade were there so quick? We phoned them right away!’ He said it as if I should thank him. I was so angry at him I could have kicked him.
    ‘And then you pretended to think my mother startedthe fire herself. How could you do that?’
    He pulled at my jacket. ‘My maw said we had to let the Laffertys think we hadn’t seen anything. Honest, Kerry, I wanted to tell you.’
    I pulled away from him and began hurrying down the stairs. ‘My mum’s right. I’ll never understand you, any of you. You don’t deserve any sympathy.’
    His face was white. He took a deep breath. I turned away.
    ‘Kerry!’ he shouted at me, and I stopped. ‘I’m going to tell you something, but you have to pretend you found out yourself … I didn’t say a word. You’ve got to promise or I’ll never tell you.’
    ‘I promise.’
    ‘On your mother’s life?’ he asked.
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Say it. Say it then.’
    Ming was serious. What had he seen?
    ‘On my mother’s life. Now … tell me, Ming. Tell me!’

Chapter Twenty-Three
    I decided to go at once to the police. After what Ming had told me there was no time to lose. I met Mum on her way down the steps from the police station. She had wasted no time getting there either. She looked grim.
    ‘What’s wrong?’ I asked her.
    ‘What’s wrong?’ she said. ‘Never again, Kerry! Do you know what they said?’ She looked ready to explode. ‘That they had heard I was asking questions and I was to leave police business to the police!’
    I could understand why she was angry. So far the police had done little for us.
    ‘Well, I won’t go back to them, no matter what! And I told that horrible Sergeant Maitland that!’
    ‘Even if you found out something important?’
    ‘Even if – ’ she began, and then looked at me thoughtfully. ‘What do you