Necropolis

thin and very distant. "I didn't want to do this to you.
    But things have happened… I don't want to explain until I see you."
    "But you've got to tell me!" Scarlett protested. "Is Mom all right? Are you?"
    "We're both fine. There's nothing for you to worry about. It's just that there are times when a family has to be together, and this is one of them."
    "How long am I staying with you?"
    "A couple of weeks. Maybe longer."
    "Why?" There was silence at the other end of the line. "Can't you tell me anything?" Scarlett went on.
    "It's not fair. It's the middle of term and I'm going to miss the school play and all the parties and everything!"

    "Look — I'm just going to have to ask you to trust me. You'll be here in twenty-four hours, and I want to explain everything to you face-to-face, not over the phone. Can you do that for me, Scarly? Just wait until you get out here…and try not to think too badly of me until you arrive."
    "All right." What else could she say?
    "I've booked you into business class, so at least you'll be comfortable. Make sure you bring lots of books. It's a long flight."
    After they said good-bye, Scarlett stood there, holding the receiver. She was feeling resentful and she couldn't stop herself. This wasn't fair. She was being bundled onto a plane and flown to Hong Kong as if she were a parcel being sent by FedEx. She was fifteen years old. Surely she should have some control over her own life?
    The taxi came at noon. Scarlett's flight was leaving Heathrow at half past three. Mrs. Murdoch helped carry the suitcases out and load them into the back. The housekeeper was coming with her as far as the airport and would then return to the house alone. It was a gray, overcast day, and the weather reflected Scarlett's mood. She twisted round as they pulled away and watched the house disappear behind her. She knew she was going to be abroad for only a couple of weeks, but even so she couldn't escape a strange feeling. She wondered if she would ever see her home again.
    They reached the bottom of the street and were turning left onto Half Moon Lane. And that was when it happened. A car crash. Scarlett only saw part of it, and it was only later that she was able to piece together what had happened. A car had been driving toward them — it had just come from the main road
    — and a second car, a BMW, suddenly pulled out in front of it. Scarlett heard the screech of tires and the smash of impact and looked up in time to see the two cars ricocheting off each other, out of control.
    One of them had been forced off the road and was sliding down a private driveway. She could make out at least three people inside.
    "London traffic!" The taxi driver sniffed. He completed the turn, and they picked up speed.
    Scarlett twisted round and looked out the back — at the crumpled hood of one of the cars, steam rising into the air, glass scattered on the road. A bus had been forced to stop, and the driver was climbing down, perhaps to see if he could help. The accident was already disappearing into the distance behind them, and she supposed it was just a coincidence. It couldn't mean anything.
    But even so, it made her uneasy. It reminded her of the moment — two years ago, and just a short distance away — when she had almost been killed. And that made her think of the man who had contacted Aidan, wanting to meet her at the restaurant that had been blown to pieces before she could arrive. Scarlett sank back into her seat, feeling anxious, unable to control what was happening to her.
    Mrs. Murdoch gazed out of the window with no expression on her face.

    They parted company at the airport. Scarlett was flying as an unaccompanied minor — what the airline called a Skyflyer Solo. She had to suffer the indignity of a plastic label around her neck before she was led away. She said good-bye to Mrs. Murdoch, hugging her awkwardly. Then she picked up her hand luggage and headed for the departure gate.

    ***
    It had been so close. None of them would ever believe just how close it had actually been.
    Matt Freeman had landed at the same airport earlier that morning. There had been a uniformed chauffeur waiting for him and the others, and soon they were sitting in the air-conditioned comfort of a new Jaguar, being driven to their hotel. Richard was dozing in the front seat. He had spent much of the flight working on the diary and had barely slept at all. Jamie was looking out for his first sight of the city. Matt could see