I squeezed behind a row of stinking waste bins, staying low until it had passed. It didn’t make sense. It was the boy who had led me to Hamidi. Why had he done that if he was working for him? I ran back to the bus stop, furious with the boy and furious with the small stubborn part of me that still wanted to trust him. When I got back to the hotel, Sandra and Tracy were both there and my mother was sitting on the edge of the bed with a shawl around her head, holding her handbag on her knees, ready to go out. ‘Where have you been?’ Tracy said, crossly. ‘For a walk. I needed air.’ She didn’t believe me. I didn’t care. ‘I’ve had a call from Inspector McGill.’ Every muscle in my body tensed. ‘He says I can take you and your mother to visit your brother. Sandra will stay with Mina.’ ‘Oh.’ My eyes watered. I wiped them dry. ‘Did Behrouz wake up?’ ‘Yes.’ I sank on to the bed, expecting a rush of joy. What I felt was the hollow trembling exhaustion of waking from a nightmare.
