Free Web of Lies by Beverley Naidoo Page A

study that photo now. Oh, Iyawo, I wonder if we’ll ever get to look at our albums again?
    I hope she won’t be embarrassed to talk about Mama. Apart from our family, she is the only person here in England who knew her! Sometimes I feel ashamed when a whole day passes and I haven’t thought of Mama. When we first came here, her voice was in my head all the time. Like she was advising me, taking care of me. Our counselor, Mimi, said it was my way of holding her close to me. She said Femi should let himself hear Mama’s voice too. But maybe it was too painful for him. He used to look blank or turn away when I asked him if he remembered things Mama said. I was beginning to get worried that I could forget as well—until Papa brought Mrs. Wallace home! He hasn’t brought her again since then, thank goodness. I can’t wait to meet Mama’s friend. Papa says I used to call her Auntie Hannah. I’m going to ask her to tell me everything she remembers.

14
One of the Brethren
    The solid gray brick houses in Errol’s road looked bigger than those in Aunt Gracie and Uncle Roy’s road, but some had peeling woodwork and a few had front gardens with pieces of broken furniture and other junk scattered among the shrubs. Even from the corner, the air vibrated with a heavy bass line pulsing out from a house halfway down the road. Femi felt a spring in his step, striding along with James and the gang. The morning had been successful. With Dave, Jarrett, and Gul, he had collected a batch of new CD cases from two different record shops. His stomach had still been knotted, but his head had been much clearer than last time. Today he had been able to predict each move. He also told himself that he didn’t need to be so worried. After all, they were only taking empty plastic cases.
    It was a warm day and the door to Errol’s house wasopen, letting the music surge out. Two small boys were chasing each other between the entrance and the pavement. When they spotted James, they came tumbling up to him. He ruffled their hair and pretended to spar with both of them at the same time. They looked like twins. They danced around James, laughing as if he was their captive, not allowing him to enter the house. However, as soon as Errol appeared at the door, they pulled back and dashed away to the pavement.
    Errol showed none of the tension Femi had seen earlier that week. From his shades to his shoes, once again he was dressed in black. This time there was a matching silver stripe down the side of his jacket and trousers and diagonal silver stripes on his shoes. Each time Femi had seen him, Errol was wearing different clothes. His den at the garage was shabby, but he always took pride in how he looked. He wasn’t wearing a cap today, and the zigzag of tiny plaits reminded Femi of what Sade had called him. Lizard Eyes. But why did she pick on his eyes? You could hardly see them behind the slender dark glasses. Surely it was his hair that was like the amazing pattern of a lizard skin!
    They followed Errol into the hallway, with the music pounding down the stairs, and into the sitting room. Errol pointed to a cream leather sofa and armchairs. As Femi perched next to Dave and Jarrett on the settee, his eyes sneaked around the room. It was smart. The television looked almost twice as big as the one Papa rented. A neat silver stereo system sat on fancy steel-and-wooden shelves, next to a stack of CDs. A large gold clock tickedon the mantelpiece with a row of china ornaments on either side. Everything looked as if it had been bought new—unlike the second-hand furniture that Papa had bought or been given for their flat.
    Errol explained the plan. They needed to clear out all the furniture into a small porch at the back. The ornaments were to be put upstairs, in his mother’s bedroom.
    “My mum likes to keep the place nice. I don’t want her freaking out when she comes back, right.”
    “Did you tell her? Hundreds of people raving in her house, man!”