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was, you see. You can dress it up any way you
like, but I know I did something good.
    They were the neighbours from Hell, and I’d sent them back.
    The cell door suddenly opened and a tall man stooped to enter. He
stood and stared at me for a moment. There was something vaguely familiar about
him.
    “Looks like we’ll be sharing a cell,” he said.
    I nodded.
    “I’m sure we’ve got plenty to talk about.” The man sat down
opposite me. “You can call me, Bob,” he said with a grin.

In Darkness
     
    The clock on the mantelpiece chimed seven times, the sound echoing
around the room. Evelyn Lovelace lowered her Braille book and switched on the
table lamp at her side. Sudden heat warmed the back of her hand and she
withdrew it and picked up her novel to resume reading when the doorbell
sounded.
    Evelyn sighed, closed the book and stood. She took four steps
forward and then turned forty five degrees to her left, her feet following a
familiar path through the doorway into the hall. Six steps brought her to the
door, the slight draught from around which tickled the fine hairs on her arms.
    “Hello,” she said.
    “Ah, hello. I’m sorry to trouble you, but I’ve just moved in next
door and I saw your light come on and I was wondering if you have any tea I
could borrow. Damn if I didn’t remember to buy some before the shop shut.”
    Evelyn listened to the man’s voice, listened to the melodic,
unassuming tone. She knew through experience that you could tell a lot from
someone’s voice, which is why she often wondered how people voted some of those
politicians into positions of power. Didn’t they listen to the way those people
spoke?
    “One minute,” she said as she slipped the security chain. She
started to open the door when she remembered she wasn’t wearing her sunglasses,
and that some people found the sight of her rolling eyes disturbing – a great
way to introduce herself to her new neighbour. Past the point of no return, she
thought it would be rude to close the door again, so she pulled it open. A cold
wind embraced her.
    “Oh,” the man said. “I erm.”
    Evelyn nodded slightly. She wondered what his expression looked
like now that he could see her; wondered if he saw what her mother had seen.
    God blighted you for a reason, child. He chose you. You’re
special.
    “I heard you banging around earlier,” she said, “and I guessed
someone was moving in because you’d make a lousy burglar with all that noise.”
    “Sorry. I mean I hope I didn’t disturb you.”
    She shook her head. “It’d take more than that to disturb me.”
    “Right, right. It’s just I saw the light, and …”
    “Tea, right?”
    “Yes, I can’t survive the night without a cup of tea. Forgot to
pack any.”
    “Well come in a minute. I’m not standing here letting all the heat
out.”
    She heard the man hesitate. “I don’t bite,” she said.
    The man laughed. “I’m sure you don’t. It’s just, are you sure? I
mean I could be anyone.”
    “If you were anyone, I wouldn’t let you in. But as you’re my new
neighbour, you’re not just anyone, are you.”
    “I guess when you put it like that. My name’s Neil. Neil Shore.”
    “Evelyn. Now are you coming in or not? I’ve got goose bumps on top
of goose bumps standing here.” She stepped back to allow the man access and
heard him enter the house, bringing with him the strong, nose tickling aroma of
aftershave. She closed the door behind him. “Sorry, one minute,” she said as
she turned on the hallway light. “You forget about these things.”
    “Do you live on your own?”
    Evelyn nodded. When she realised he might not be looking at her,
she said, “Yes.”
    “It was just, you know, the light. I thought ...”
    “People would be less likely to rob a house with someone inside.
It’s all illusion. Come on, this way to the kitchen.”
    She walked three paces along the hall, then turned forty-five
degrees to her right and stepped into the kitchen with