The Girl by the Thames by Peter Boland

shoving frightened Jews into cattle trucks. His nose twitched. “What is that stench?”
    “Like I just said, I’ve been down in the river, with the whale.”
    “That figures, you smell like shit.”
    As Tanya turned to leave him to his miserable viewing, she noticed a brown box shoved against the lounge wall. “What’s this?” she asked.
    Her dad sprang out of the chair and was beside her in a second. She’d never seen him move so fast. He shoved her away and marched her out of the lounge. “You don’t look at that, it’s nothing to do with you. Understand?”
    “Yeah, fine. What is it? Porn?” As soon as the words came out she knew it was a mistake. The slap stung her cheek.
    “That’s just what you’d think, isn’t it? Her dad’s face was close to hers, almost touching. Then he recoiled at the sight and smell of her dirty face. “You’re useless, just like your mother. Whereas I’m doing something important, and it’s nothing to do with you. So don’t get in my way. You touch that box and you’re dead. Now get out of my sight, and take a bath. I can’t stand that stink. In fact, I can’t stand having you around full stop. I want you out of this flat as much as possible from now on. And when you do come back, you ring me first to make sure it’s okay.” 
    “Fine. Why would I want to hang around here anyway?”
    “Good. And another thing. You better start thinking of somewhere else to live too.
    “What, but how? I haven’t got a job.”
    “Exactly, so you better start looking. Now get lost.” He shoved Tanya into the hallway where she stood digesting his words. So he was going to kick her out. Tanya quickly dismissed it. He was always making hollow threats. When it came to it, he was just too lazy to do anything about it. Getting her out would take energy, and that was one thing her dad didn’t have a great deal of.
    The box didn’t make any sense, though. She’d find out what was in it. She’d take a peek when he was asleep or when he was passed out from drinking. A kettle and some steam would get the parcel tape off so he wouldn’t notice what she’d been up to. Until then, Tanya would just have to guess what he was hiding. Knowing him it would be something stolen that he could sell down the market or the pub.
    Tanya went into the bathroom. It was filthy as usual. Her father hadn’t washed it out since his last bath and a smudge of brown dirt encircled the tub. She didn’t have the energy to clean it and stripped off to have a shower. They didn’t have a proper shower, it was a rubber hose that forked into two and then attached to each tap. Tanya pushed each end on and ran her fingers under the shower head to get the temperature right. Tiny fountains of water escaped from cracks along the hose so all that came from the shower head was a weak dribble, but it was enough. No matter how hard she fiddled with the taps it was either too hot and burned her skin off, or colder than a river. Tanya opted for scalding hot as the better alternative.
    She quickly washed her hair and body before the super-heated water turned her skin red. Twisting her hair up in a towel, she wrapped another around her body and stepped out into the hallway. The sudden change of temperature made her feel woozy. Her aching limbs were now giving up and her belly wanted food. The thought of making something to eat made her even more tired. The pull of sleep was far stronger than hunger. She opened the door to her room and fell onto bed like a fallen tree. A couple of seconds later Tanya was asleep.
     
    There were shouts from behind. The thump of heavy-booted feet vibrated along the pavement and Tanya knew instinctively to run. She quickly accelerated into a sprint and allowed herself a swift glance over her shoulder. Experience had taught her it was always useful to know who you were running from. About ten policeman in full riot gear were bundling towards her.
    “She’s a fake,” shouted one of them.
    “Fake,