TOYL

road, a camera around his neck. But at that particular moment his attention was elsewhere, giving her the time she needed.
    ‘Emma!’ Stuart shouted, as she darted across the road. ‘What’s the matter?’
    Emma reached Eric before he had time to react, grabbing the back of his collar using one of her much-practised karate moves.
    ‘Hey,’ he said, flailing around like a fish on a hook. ‘Get off me!’
    ‘What are you doing here?’ Emma demanded, keeping her grip from behind. A couple of pedestrians gave her interested glances as they walked by, but for the most part people dismissed the altercation as just another one of those everyday London occurrences.
    ‘I… I… was –’ Eric stuttered.
    ‘Is this him?’ Stuart said, catching up.
    Emma nodded.
    ‘What the hell are you doing?’ Stuart said to Eric, who now looked genuinely scared. ‘Were you following us?’
    Eric shook his head.
    ‘You’re lying,’ Stuart said. ‘Was it you at Emma’s apartment last night?’
    ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he protested. ‘Please, just let me go.’
    ‘Not before I take this,’ Stuart said, yanking the camera from around his neck.
    ‘Hey, give me it back,’ Eric shouted, trying to grab the camera. ‘That’s worth a lot of money. Be careful with it.’
    Emma glared at Stuart, who was fiddling with the camera. ‘Stuart.’
    ‘It’s okay,’ he said, clicking the camera several times before opening up the back and pulling out the film. ‘Got it. Here you go.’ He handed the camera back to Eric.
    ‘Let me go,’ Eric moaned. Emma let go and realised he was crying. She was shocked and embarrassed.
    ‘If I ever catch you following her again, I swear I’ll kill you,’ Stuart said, jabbing a finger at Eric.
    Eric just turned and ran.

    ***

    ‘You open them,’ Emma said, as they entered the photographers to collect the set of prints they’d handed in for one hour processing.
    ‘You sure?’ Stuart replied.
    ‘If you wouldn’t mind.’
    They gave their details and the cashier handed over the photographs. Stuart waited until he was outside to open them. Emma watched as he shuffled through them, his face not revealing any emotion.
    ‘Are the photos there?’ Emma asked. ‘Of last night?’
    ‘I think we’d better call the police,’ Stuart replied. ‘Right now.’

43

    ‘Afraid of flying?’ the lady asked, turning to look at the young man sitting to her left. She looked to be in her sixties and had a friendly smile.
    ‘Is it that obvious?’ Will answered.
    ‘It’s the way you’re gripping the arm rest,’ she said, nodding towards his white knuckles, ‘like you’re hanging on for dear life.’
    ‘I’m usually okay,’ he said, smiling ruefully, trying but failing to loosen his grip. ‘Didn’t have any problems on the way out. Now, though, I just can’t stop thinking about being so far up. I feel as though if I stop concentrating on the plane being up here, we’ll just crash. I know it sounds really stupid,’ he added, embarrassed.
    ‘It’s not stupid,’ she said. ‘My husband had a terrible fear of flying. Didn’t bother him for a while – he just didn’t fly anywhere. Then my son emigrated to Canada, and he had no choice but to fly.’
    ‘So how did he get over it?’
    ‘I bought him one of those self-help books. It said that the fear comes from a loss of control – the person wants to be in control, but ultimately they can’t control anything, apart from how they react to the situation. So the first step is to accept that you’re not in control of things. You don’t have to focus on the engines, or the wings, or how high the plane is. Just sit back and let the pilot get on with flying the plane.’
    ‘Sounds sensible,’ Will said, considering that piece of advice. He turned and ventured a look out of the window, peering down at the Atlantic Ocean. Again, his mind tried to single-handedly keep the plane from crashing down into the water. But he closed his eyes in an attempt to stop the thoughts.
    ‘The other trick is to use a distraction tactic,’ she said, noticing Will’s continued discomfort. ‘Did you notice that when you were talking to me, you started to relax a little?’
    ‘Not really. But I’m willing to try anything.’
    ‘Good. We’ll talk some more. So is this your first time visiting Canada?’
    ‘Yeah.’ Will turned away from the window. ‘Always wanted to visit the place. My friend lives in Toronto and he’s