Free Dark Spaces by Helen Black

in a tank full of them and they nibble off all the dead skin and that. Proper gross if you think about it.
    The man arrives with the food and plonks it down in front of them without a word.
    ‘Eat,’ says Feyza.
    Gem tries to eat as slowly as she can. She doesn’t want Feyza to think she’s a pig with no manners. But she’s so hungry, it ain’t easy.
    Feyza pours some sugar into her tea and stirs it slowly. Round and round. Then she brings the cup to her lips. But she don’t drink. She just lets it hover there, her mouth millimetres from the dark brown liquid, watching Gem.
    ‘You in care?’ Feyza asks.
    Gem shakes her head.
    Feyza frowns and puts down her cup. She still ain’t even taken a sip. ‘But you need money?’ she asks. ‘You need to earn money, yes?’
    Gem swallows her last chip. She was right. Nobody gives something for nothing, but earning it is different. ‘You’re offering me a job?’ she asks.
    The woman gets up and makes her way to the counter to pay. She hands over a ten-pound note. ‘You won’t speak to me, but you take my money, hey?’ she asks Mick.
    He grunts and slams down her change.
    ‘You are prick,’ Feyza tells him and slides the coins into her purse.
    She doesn’t go back to the table, but makes for the door. For a second, Gem thinks she’s going to leave without her, but then she turns and puts one hand on her hip.
    ‘Come,’ she says to Gem. ‘I show you what we do.’
     
    The warmth of Lilly’s blushes evaporated, replaced by a chill that made her shudder. ‘Dead?’ she asked.
    ‘You’re shaking,’ Harry said. ‘Come and sit down.’
    Lilly allowed Harry to lead her to the nearest bench and flopped into it.
    ‘What the hell happened?’ she asked. ‘Did she kill herself?’
    A place like the Grove would be careful. Suicide was something about which they were mindful. All drugs were carefully locked away. Belts were removed. Yet for patients as damaged as Lydia, there was always a way.
    ‘We don’t know what happened,’ said Harry. ‘The police are at the unit now. I should be there, but I thought you needed to know and I wanted to tell you in person.’
    ‘That was kind,’ said Lilly.
    He gave a rueful smile. ‘I wanted to get out of there too, so not entirely selfless.’
    Lilly nodded. Harry was clearly dedicated to his patients. A failure like this would be painful.
    ‘You can’t blame yourself,’ she told him.
    He gave her hand a squeeze, then left without another word. Lilly watched him go, knowing there was nothing she could say to make it better. Today another young life had been wasted.
    Back in court, Mr Manchester was waiting for Lilly with a grim expression. ‘I trust the vital information that could not wait has been passed to you, Miss Valentine.’
    Lilly sighed. She didn’t have the energy for more fighting.
    ‘I trust also that while you had your client’s doctor here, you obtained written confirmation that she is unable to attend court.’
    Kerry stood. ‘As should have been provided beforehand.’
    Lilly didn’t rise to it. The stuffing had been knocked out of her.
    ‘Perhaps you’d like to hand it over.’ Mr Manchester held out his skeletal fingers.
    ‘No.’
    Mr Manchester let his hand fall with a slap. ‘No?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Miss Valentine, there had better be a very good explanation for your behaviour because you are very close to being put in the cells for contempt of court.’
    Lilly closed her eyes. People like Manchester and Kerry had no idea. They sat in their little ivory towers making judgements about the lives of others, but what did they know? Their lives were bound up in this tiny corner of the universe, light years away from whatever tortured a child like Lydia until she felt there was only one escape.
    ‘Miss Valentine,’ the magistrate bellowed. ‘You are this close.’ He held his thumb and index finger a centimetre apart.
    Lilly opened her eyes. ‘There is no point in providing anything to the