49

Amaka heard footsteps. She dropped the diary and pushed the bag under the bed.

‘Food is ready,’ Tom said from behind the door.

She adjusted her hair in the mirror on the dressing table and waited until he had left. Then she picked her phone from the floor by the bed and walked out of the room. She tucked it into the strap of her skirt behind her back. It vibrated silently. She knew it was Guy calling back but she couldn’t answer it. She had come so close to being caught.

The Chinese man walked ahead of her down the stairs. Had he seen her getting up from beside the bed? Amadi was standing at the bottom with a man whose back was to her. He smiled at her and the man turned. It was Inspector Ibrahim. Amaka held the oak banister for support.

‘Amaka, come and meet my friend,’ Amadi said.

Ibrahim looked straight into her eyes.