41.

By the time I reached the hotel my face was slick with sweat and my T-shirt was sodden. I thundered through the lobby to the pool area and stopped dead. This was probably wise, since the security guard had already swung his gun in my direction. But that wasn’t what drew me up short. The sight of Amelia sitting on the edge of the pool did that. Relief flooded through me like iced water. My burning lungs emptied entirely. I thought I might collapse. The image of her there, unharmed, was as welcome a sight as I’d ever seen.

She spotted me, stood up and said, ‘You took your time.’

‘I couldn’t get across the square. It took ages. The cordon …’ I petered out.

‘You carried on? Well, that makes zero sense.’

‘Why?’

Infuriatingly patient, she replied, ‘If you were swimming the Channel and got cramp a quarter of the way across, you’d swim back to England rather than continue to France, wouldn’t you?’

‘The Channel? What are you on about?’

‘When we got split up, I went back the way we’d come without too much trouble.’

I felt like an idiot but didn’t care. We were both here.

‘Then I caught a taxi, also easily enough.’

‘Why didn’t you call me?’

‘My phone’s dead. Or was. I put it on charge before jumping in the pool. The maps app is a nightmare battery-wise. GPS software always –’

‘Shut up about software!’ I said and – I couldn’t stop myself – I grabbed her wet shoulders with both hands and pulled her to me.

She was stiff in my arms for a second, but she didn’t pull away. She let me hold her. If anything, she relaxed. She smelled of sunscreen and chlorine. Quietly, into my ear, she said, ‘Pretty sketchy afternoon. But hey, we’re OK.’

Over her shoulder Xander hobbled out to the poolside. He didn’t smirk or wink or say anything, but the fact of him brought me to my senses.

‘I’ll fetch Marcel’s number,’ I said, stepping back from Amelia.

‘Possibly have a shower while you’re at it, or a swim?’ she said.

Reaching us, Xander said, ‘Before you head off, you might want to hear my news.’

‘What news?’ I asked him.

‘Don’t look so worried,’ he said. ‘It’s good, possibly, no … probably, I’d say.’

‘Has your dad come up with a way –’

‘Nothing to do with him, no,’ he said.

He appeared quietly pleased with himself, much like I’ve seen him look at school when he’s effortlessly persuaded a teacher to extend a homework deadline, or smooth-talked his way out of a detention.

‘Who then?’ I asked, trying to keep a lid on the hope bubbling within me.

‘I’ve just got back from paying your uncle a little visit, and I think I may have persuaded him to change his mind,’ he said.

‘How?!’

‘After you two went off I had a bit of time to think, and I realised we’d missed a trick. No disrespect to Langdon, but the most important thing in his world is his precious mining business, yes?’

I nodded.

‘And he’s not keen on the environmental protections your parents are lobbying for, is he?’

‘Not particularly.’

‘Red tape – that’s what he called it.’

‘The phrase rings a bell.’

‘Well, I pointed out that the only way to stop your parents becoming martyrs to the environmental cause – and drawing massive attention to it – is to secure their release. If we don’t pay and the kidnappers do what they’ve said they will, which I’m sure is an empty threat but still, the eco-warriors will say Nicholas and Janine were silenced because of what they were trying to achieve. The publicity for their cause would blow up globally, making it far more likely to succeed. But if they’re released, the story goes away.’

‘You told him that?’

‘More or less. I wrapped it up nicely by suggesting we’re far more likely to catch the kidnappers if we engage with them. ‘

‘True. Probably,’ said Amelia.

Xander shrugged: ‘And of course I made the whole thing seem like it was probably what he’d planned to do anyway. People love it when they think they’ve come up with a good idea themselves.’

‘Amazing.’

‘It seemed to work, as I say, but there’s no guarantee.’

Xander was trying to be understated, but I could tell he was optimistic. I know first-hand how persuasive he can be. Particularly with adults. He has this knack of making them feel good about themselves. I’ve mentioned it before, the way he is with my parents, asking them questions and listening to the answers, looking like he’s really interested. They’d do anything for him. Langdon’s a tough nut to crack though. Making him think selfishly was a stroke of genius by Xander. It could definitely have changed his mind.

‘How did you leave it?’ I asked.

‘He agreed it would be wise to have the money ready just in case. If the situation hasn’t changed between now and the deadline, at least then we can choose whether or not to pay off the kidnappers; without the money we won’t have that option. Again, I made it clear he’d no doubt thought of that and sourced the cash already, making it easy for him to say of course he had.’

‘He could have,’ said Amelia.

‘Sure,’ said Xander, suppressing a smile.

Realising I was bouncing on the balls of my feet, I let out a long breath and steadied myself. ‘We’ll see,’ I said.