An Air That Kills
Page 24
“None at all. Justin and I saw it happen.” They had got down to the dock in time to see Caspar’s car swept away. The lifeboat had been called out, but they hadn’t yet found the car or the body.
“In any case,” Katie went on, “how could there have been any future for him? Even if he’d somehow managed to get out of the UK and reach a country where they don’t have an extradition treaty, what kind of a life would that have been? He’d lost everything.”
“What happened in the Congo was bad, but if he’d owned up to that –”
“Yes, Gemma wouldn’t have had a hold over him. But that was just what someone with his ego couldn’t do. The damage to his reputation and losing face in that way – it was simply too much.”
There was something else that Katie found harder to put into words. Caspar had failed in a deeper and far more important way. He had turned out to be a Gawain, not a Galahad. And perhaps in spite of his self-justification, he had come to understand that.
There was a pause, and she guessed that Lyle was making up his mind whether to say something.
“Out with it, Lyle. What’s on your mind?”
He said, “I don’t suppose I can ask you to stay on and complete the project?”
“Lyle!”
“No, no, of course not. Sorry! Forget I asked. I just thought – now that Claudia’s turned a corner and she seems likely to make a full recovery...”
Katie relented. “I will write up the work, but not yet. Now that quarantine’s been lifted, Justin and I are going away for a week. We’ve got a last-minute booking at a hotel in Gran Canaria.”
Katie was all packed and ready, and there was still an hour before they needed to leave for the airport. Justin suggested that they take advantage of the sunny day and go for a walk.
As they stepped outside Katie was aware that something had changed. There was a brightness in the air and the sound of birdsong. Spring came earlier here than in the north where she had grown up, and these were the first stirrings of it. Bill’s moth, the spring usher, would be arriving any day soon.
They didn’t talk much as they walked through the woods to the headland. But as they stood there gazing out across the glittering water to the Welsh coast, Katie said, “All the questions have been answered. Except for one. That series of mishaps in the insectary – could that have been down to Claudia? From what Minnie said it looks as if she had form in disrupting other people’s work.”
“Or maybe it was just one of those things,” Justin said. “A run of bad luck.”
“We all have those,” Katie agreed.
“In any case Claudia’s not likely to own up.”
The sun was warm on Katie’s face.
She’d never forget Tarquin singing “Monster Mash”. It struck her that there had indeed been a monster – of sorts – in the lab. But that was in the past now. Perhaps Tarquin’s peregrine falcons would be returning soon to raise another brood of chicks. In spite of everything that had happened, she was almost sorry she was leaving Debussy Point.
“There’s still one more question that hasn’t been answered,” Justin said.
“Yes?”
He didn’t go on. She turned to give him a questioning look. His face was so serious that she felt a pang of anxiety. What was the matter?
He took both her hands and looked into her eyes. They held each other’s gaze and he squeezed her hands.
“It’s the most important question of all,” he said. “At least it is to me. I was planning to wait and ask you over a romantic dinner or strolling on a beach at sunset. But now, well, this seems to be the right place and the right time.”
She caught her breath. Surely he wasn’t going to...
But he was.
“Katie, will you marry me?”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Icouldn’t have written this book without the help of a number of people who generously shared their expertise with me.
Heartfelt thanks are due to the following (I should add that they have saved me from many a blunder, but any that remain are all my own):
Dr John Olsen, scientific advisor and friend, who discussed how Claudia’s research could be carried out and how Katie could discover if it were fraudulent. Our conversations and his helpful comments on a draft of the novel improved it no end.
Dr Gareth Lycett at the School of Tropical Medicine, where I spent a fascinating afternoon visiting an insectary and learning how a Category 3 lab works. Gareth was endlessly patient in answering my subsequent questions and commented on a draft of the novel. He also provided me with a good joke, which I managed to include.
Russell Dacombe at the School of Tropical Medicine, for sparing time for a number of conversations that helped me to understand how a Category 3 lab works and for arranging for me to visit the school.
Dr Paula Bolton-Maggs, haematologist and lovely sister-in-law, who gave me medical advice and put me in touch with Professor Irene Roberts.
Professor Irene Roberts, for kindly providing information about transplants for children with DBA.
Dr Sandrine Soubes, for a very useful discussion about my fictional research centre.
Dr Helen Crimlist, for putting me in touch with Dr Emma Aarons.
Dr Emma Aarons, for an illuminating conversation about which category of lab would best suit my nefarious purposes.
Lisanne Radice, for helping me to hammer out my plot.
Everyone at Lion Fiction, especially my endlessly supportive editor, Jessica Gladwell, and a special mention for my scrupulous copy-editor, Rachel Ashley-Pain.
Last, but very far from least, Sue Hepworth, cherished friend, whose support goes far beyond reading my drafts.
* * *
A final word: every thirty seconds a child dies of malaria. As a thank you to the School of Tropical Medicine I have made a donation to the Against Malaria Foundation, which provides long-lasting insecticidal nets to populations at high risk of malaria.
Local Legend
Death bonded them. Life divided them.
It was him, Graham was sure of it. He might not have seen him for years, but no one forgets their oldest friend’s face. But as much as he tries to get Adi Varney’s attention, the local football legend stares straight through him.
Why had Adi ignored him, and why had Graham seen him in the company of an American businessman reputed to be involved with the Mafia? Convinced that something is very wrong Graham is determined to work out what has happened to his friend and quickly discovers Adi is in well over his head.
Will he be able to save his friend’s life again, like he did when they were kids, or will the local star finally be snuffed out?
ISBN: 978 1 78264 277 0 | eISBN: 978 1 78264 278 7
Benefit of the Doubt
He fled, danger followed.
It was a warning. Back off. Stop helping the addicts. Stop undercutting demand. He had believed they would be protected. But they took her - the girl in the raspberry beret - and by the time they were done he was broken. So David Hidalgo flees Spain for his native Edinburgh. Now he must work out how to live again and lead others when his faith has been ripped away and all that’s left is doubt. In Edinburgh David finds friendship, disturbing and unlooked for romance, and respite from the pain. That is, until a young girl is abducted and it becomes clear that it’s not so easy to leave the past, or danger, behind. David knows he must set aside his doubts and act. But what will the cost be this time?
ISBN: 978 1 78264 251 0 | eISBN: 978 1 78264 252 7
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