I caught her arm and pulled her in, kicking the door closed behind her. I removed the Tesco bag she was carrying, and then her little backpack, and put both aside. I helped her out of her coat and hung it over mine. She kicked off her battered sneakers and stood there for a moment with her eyes closed...
"Welcome to our home," I said. "Beth's lurking with the telly..."
"Am not," Beth announced, sticking her face around the corner. "Hello," she added. "You must be Sue. Lovely to meet you; Mandy's been telling us all sorts of things about you."
"All bad, I hope," Sue murmured. She shot me a glance. "She's..."
"Mandy," Beth agreed.
We ushered Sue to the kitchen table, then Beth gave me a wink and snuck off to her room. I got Sue seated, filled her glass, then scrutinised the Asian-style
