Fragile Minds Page 0,124

me.

‘You can’t go in there, love,’ he said, and I thought I could smell burning in the air. ‘Whole area’s sealed off.’

‘I work at the Academy. Just round the corner. The ballet school on Berkeley Square.’ I checked my watch frantically. I had a knot in my stomach that said I was late. Too late. Though it was still only 7.41.

I had to meet Tessa. I couldn’t remember why or where she was, but I was sure she had asked for my help.

‘I have to get to work,’ I cried. ‘It’s vital.’

‘I don’t care where you work, madam, you need to turn around now. The police cordon is being extended as we speak.’

A group of angry pedestrians had gathered behind me, and were starting to push and shove, and I was at the arrow-head of the crowd, and suddenly I found myself slammed into the policeman’s serge chest.

‘Easy, love.’ His arms went around me for a moment and I felt strangely safe, like I could just stay here and see out the storm we were caught in, but then he was pushing me back, and depositing me beside him. ‘Get back,’ he bellowed at the crowd, and now other officers were appearing, and a loudspeaker was being used.

‘We need everyone to evacuate this area immediately. Please leave the area, calmly and quietly. There is no need to panic,’ said a woman’s voice, but by now quite a lot of people were panicking.

‘It’s just like bloody 7/7,’ a young Asian man with long hair and a saggy red jersey said mournfully. ‘This is what happened that day.’ And people picked up on that, and ‘7/7’ went rippling through the crowd. A woman screamed and a couple of children started crying and I thought, something is very wrong, but I couldn’t think what. My head was throbbing so badly, and I just kept thinking of Tessa waiting, and I had a sudden surge of energy. I tried to break through the crowd with some vague idea I’d make it through the cordon, but I tripped and went flying over someone’s briefcase, and I fell awkwardly on the pavement, my cheek scraping the ground painfully, making my eyes water. Or maybe I was crying.

A couple helped me up, and asked if I was all right; and I felt wetness on my cheeks, blood or tears I didn’t know, and a band of iron was tightening around my chest and I realised if I didn’t get out of this crowd, I would start screaming.

I put my head down and held my bag in front of me like a shield, and I managed to push my way out, away from the cordon, away from the smell of diesel fumes and the burning. When I was a bit further away, down by John Lewis, I turned round and looked in the direction of Berkeley Square and I saw a dark plume of smoke feathering up into the air over the rooftops and my stomach clenched again.

I tried my mobile phone. I would phone Tessa to explain, or Mason, and find out if everything was OK in the Academy – but there was no network, everyone was on their phone and the lines had all gone down.

I started to run. I ran straight into the path of a frenetic cyclist at the junction of Regent Street. And then I was not running any more.

TUESDAY 25TH JULY KENTON

Kenton was sweating profusely when she reached the hospital reception.

‘Claudie Scott.’ She could hardly speak, she was so desperate. ‘Just brought in by ambulance.’

‘Are you family?’ The blank-eyed receptionist gazed at Kenton, tapping bejewelled pink talons on the desk before her.

‘No, I’m police, and I have reason to believe her life might be in danger. I need to find her NOW.’

But by the time Kenton reached Claudie Scott’s room, Helen Ganymede was nowhere to be seen and Claudie Scott was sleeping.

‘Stop everyone leaving the building,’ Kenton instructed the policeman who had been stationed outside Claudie’s room – but she knew it was too late. She sent Tina Price to check the hospital CCTV, but she knew that Ganymede – aka Rosalind Lamont – would be long gone.

Natalie Lord arrived as Kenton tried to reach Silver; he didn’t answer. Kenton went into the little room where Claudie was asleep.

‘I can’t wake her.’ Natalie was holding her sister’s hand, which was entirely limp, her broad brow furrowed with concern. ‘She seems very deeply asleep.’

A middle-aged nurse with exhaustion written all over her face