Free No Mercy by Roberta Kray Page A

only that he was about ten years older than Bo, which meant that he had to be knocking on forty. Not that he looked it, though. He had an ageless kind of face, and he kept himself in shape.
    ‘Go out and see some mates,’ he insisted. ‘Make the most of it. I don’t suppose you get much time to yourself.’
    ‘Maybe I will,’ she said, thinking of Rick Mallory’s invitation. A night out at the Fox could be just what she needed.
    ‘Good. I’ll come over and pick him up at – what, about half nine?’
    ‘Half nine,’ she agreed. ‘I’ll see you then.’
    Alisha came out with a tray of mugs, and Maddie and Solomon shuffled up to make room for her on the step. As she sat drinking her tea, Maddie’s thoughts began to drift again. She hoped she’d done the right thing about Cato. Extra money was hard to come by and she couldn’t afford to lose those monthly cheques. But then again, she didn’t have a clue as to who he actually was. She reckoned that anyone who wanted such care taking over a grave couldn’t, at heart, be a bad person – but what if she was wrong? The words of Delia Shields jumped back into her head.
That bastard! That bastard Cato!

6
     
    Maddie filled two glasses with orange juice, poured out a bowl of cornflakes and placed the bread in the toaster. The kitchen was warm and she opened the door to let in the air. The sky was a uniform blue without a cloud in sight. It was going to be another hot day. The heatwave had been going for over a week and there was no sign of it abating.
    She folded her arms across her chest and gazed out at the small back garden. It was a meagre space compared to what she’d have liked, but at least it was something. She was growing mainly vegetables – potatoes, runner beans, onions, lettuce and carrots – with a display of roses off to the right. The vegetables were a way of saving money on the shopping. The roses were her luxury. She was trying to learn as much about them as possible in the hope that she’d eventually get a permanent position as a member of the gardening staff at Marigolds. If she did that, then she would finally be freed from the drudgery of garden furniture.
    Maddie, hearing the ping of the toaster, turned back towards the kitchen. She was lucky, she knew, to even have this house. It belonged to the Kellston Housing Association and had been rented by her mother when she’d first come to London with Greta. The two-up two-down was in Morton Grove. It had a couple of advantages, one being the relatively cheap rent and the other that it was close to Violet Road, where the Vales lived.
    Maddie had only stayed on after her mother’s departure to Portugal because of the London dig. If it hadn’t been for that, the keys would have been handed back. As it was, she’d been able, as Zac’s main carer, to take over the tenancy and make it a permanent home. And although she wasn’t the most domesticated person in the world, she tried her best. Keeping things tidy, however, wasn’t always easy; living with Zac was like living with a human hurricane.
    No sooner had she thought of him than he was sitting at the kitchen table, reaching for the milk and pouring it over his cornflakes. ‘Maddie?’
    ‘Yes?’
    ‘Can we have a dog, please?’
    She sat down opposite him, putting her elbows on the table. ‘I don’t think so, love. Not just at the moment.’ She felt bad about saying no, but she had to be practical. Money was tight and she couldn’t afford another mouth to feed, let alone any vet’s bills that might come along.
    ‘Kyle’s got a dog.’
    ‘I know.’ Kyle Powers was Zac’s best friend and his partner in crime. The two of them were virtually inseparable, attending the same school and spending most early evenings and weekends together. His mum, Shauna, lived at the end of the road, and although she was five years younger than Maddie, they’d become friendly too. It was a friendship of convenience more than anything else, but over the