Dan looked at her incredulously. ‘We just out-ran a bomb and you remembered your handbag?’
Sarah shrugged. ‘I couldn’t leave it behind – it’s got all Peter’s notes in it. Hang on.’
Dan waited while Sarah reached into her bag and brought out her phone. She held it up to Dan.
‘Should I?’
It continued to ring. Dan took it from her and answered it. ‘Hello?’
‘Lucky escape,’ the voice said. Then the line went dead.
Dan spun round to face the containers stacked opposite the warehouse as the sound of screeching tyres sounded across the complex. A large sedan powered its way through the arc lights and sped away along an exit road, its tail lights shining in the distance. Dan handed the phone back to Sarah.
‘It was the guy with the glasses, wasn’t it?’ she asked.
He nodded.
Sarah put the phone back in her bag. ‘I think I’ll skip breakfast.’
‘It’s okay, we’ll get something to eat at the airport,’ said Dan.
‘Airport?’ asked Sarah
He looked down at her and nodded. ‘It’s time to get you home. This has become too dangerous here. Let David and his team deal with it.’
She shook her head. ‘Unbelievable. You really think after all I’ve been through, I’m just going to walk away?’
Dan pulled her out of the alleyway and pointed at the burning wreck of the car.
‘You very nearly didn’t get the chance.’
Sarah felt her knees weaken. The car wasn’t recognisable. It looked like a wrecking ball had landed on it, sending the doors, windows and wheels in all directions. Debris littered the dockside. She looked behind them – the blast had sent broken pieces of metal and shards of glass several metres down the road past them. Splinters of metal protruded from the front of the warehouse.
Sirens sounded in the distance. Voices could be heard from the dock, figures pointing at the wreckage. Across the harbour, a motor boat was being launched and started to make its way towards them, a blue light flashing on its stern.
Sarah turned to Dan. ‘Get me out of here.’
He nodded. ‘Let’s go.’
They walked for several miles, exhausted, before Dan deemed it safe enough to stop and flag down a taxi without arousing suspicion. When they reached the hotel, Dan paid the driver and then ushered Sarah through the foyer to the elevators, ignoring the receptionist. As they rode up to their room, Dan issued instructions.
‘Pack everything. We’ll leave immediately. Don’t phone anyone. Don’t answer the phone. We’ll sort out flights at the airport – just tell them there’s been a family emergency and we’re going back early.’
Sarah nodded, not saying anything.
The elevator doors opened.
‘Give me the room key,’ said Dan.
Sarah watched as he unlocked the door and checked the room. She stepped in after him. Dan walked into the bathroom then out again. ‘Okay. All clear. You pack first.’
Sarah began throwing clothes into her suitcase. She tore shirts off hangars, swept cosmetics off the bathroom shelf and piled them into the suitcase. No time to fold anything. She glanced around the room, checked she hadn’t left anything then locked the case.
‘Got everything?’ asked Dan, leaning against the door.
Sarah nodded. ‘Yes.’
Dan straightened up. ‘Okay – my turn.’
Same procedure. He threw his clothes into his bag. They checked the room one last time and closed the door behind them. They carried their bags to the elevators and rode a car back down to reception.
Sarah paid the bill while Dan used the receptionist’s phone to order a taxi. Ten minutes later, they were on the kerb, a blue taxi pulling up next to them.
Forty minutes later, they walked into the international terminal and arranged flights back to the UK.
Dan rested his elbows on his knees, trying to get comfortable on the hard airport lounge seat. He looked up as Sarah approached and gratefully took one of the takeaway coffee cups from her.
She sat down next to him. ‘Only an hour to wait.’
He grunted in reply. He hated being dependent on schedules and timetables and was eager to be in the air as soon as possible.
Sarah shifted in her seat and turned to look at him. ‘Dan, was it the right thing to do, to go to Brisbane? I mean, we put Hayley in danger didn’t we?’
Dan eased back in his seat, and stretched his legs before answering. ‘We wouldn’t have found out half as much as we have if we’d stayed in England. Hayley knew what she was doing, same as you. I’m sorry she’s gone, really I am, but without her help, we’d have achieved nothing.’ He paused, sipped the coffee and grimaced before he continued. ‘Besides, we might not have found Mitch – he was the last person I would have thought to have asked for help – I just wouldn’t have known where to start looking for him.’
Sarah didn’t say anything. She watched the crowd changing before them, people rushing to last-minute flight calls, pacifying children, checking departure information for boarding gates and times. Dan watched her out of the corner of his eye.
‘Don’t feel guilty, Sarah. Everyone has a choice. You’d have done the same for her. If you want someone to blame, then blame Delaney.’
Sarah stood and dropped her coffee cup into a nearby trash can. Turning back to Dan, she shrugged. ‘You’re right, I know. I just wish I’d realised sooner how real a threat Delaney is. I mean, until that point, it was still conjecture he’d been responsible for Peter’s death. It’s a shock to find out there really are people out there who would go to such lengths to protect themselves.’
‘Nothing surprises me about anyone any more,’ said Dan, draining his coffee.
Sarah smiled. ‘Are you really that jaded about the world?’
‘Yep.’ He stood up, threw his coffee cup away and stretched, looking around the airport crowd, instinctively checking the faces at random, looking for any familiar ones in case they were being followed.