necessary arrangements,’ he said. ‘And, Amelia, thank you.’
15
Norfolk International Airport, Virginia. Present day.
It was stifling in the small room. Lou sat on an uncomfortable metal chair bolted to the floor, his legs under a table that had also been bolted into the concrete. There was no
window, and the only light came from a stark bulb dangling from a cord. He had been marched off along a corridor straight to this room, catching a glimpse of Kate as she was escorted to another
room on the other side of the main hall. Glancing at his watch, he saw that it had been nearly ninety minutes ago.
What had happened back there? Sure, he had been tired and he had always had a problem with authority; but why had they been picked on in the first place? And why had the customs people been so
interested in the cylinder? They couldn’t possibly know how significant it might be.
He took a deep breath of stale warm air and wondered if Kate was OK. Had they interrogated her? Was that the reason for the wait? Or had they simply wanted him to stew for a bit, get him really
worried?
Lou got up from the chair and started pacing the tiny room, in tight circles around the table and chair, head down, thinking, thinking, trying to rationalize, work out a way to get things back
on track. He had behaved irrationally, he knew that, lost his cool. Over the past hour and a half though he had pulled himself together, begun to think straight, be logical, be practical. Kate
would certainly have made a better showing, he was sure of that. She was always more analytical than him, always the ‘sensible, cool one’. She had got him out of many scrapes; maybe she
would be able to sweet-talk them. He didn’t mind being considered crazy, just so long as he and Kate could be on their way.
The door opened. Lou tensed up. He was standing behind the chair, hands on its cold, metal back. The man they had seen earlier, the senior officer, Mr Manor, stood at the opening. The door was
pinned to the wall with his leg. He had a closed Manila file in one hand, and gave Lou a frigid look.
‘You may go.’
Lou stared at him.
‘You look as surprised as I feel,’ Manor said blankly. ‘Appears you have friends in high places.’
Lou walked to the door and turned into the hall. From the main room he could hear Kate’s voice. An armed guard stood at the end of the corridor, his machine gun lying diagonally across his
chest. He was staring straight ahead and ignored Lou completely.
Captain Jerry Derham turned, a grim expression on his face.
‘You look pleased to see me,’ Lou quipped.
‘I think you’ve made enough wisecracks for one night, buddy.’
Lou saw Kate. She took a step towards him, looking relieved and ran her hand along his upper arm.
The two junior customs officers stood behind the counter. Derham led the two scientists towards a table close to the exit. Their cases and other luggage lay on top. The bubble-wrapped cylinder
taken from Amelia Earhart’s plane seemed to be untouched. Lou glanced at Kate.
‘You checked it?’
She nodded towards Jerry. ‘We both have. It’s OK.’
‘Come on,’ Derham said. ‘Let’s find a trolley and get out of here.’
*
Outside the main doors to Arrivals, Lou, Kate and Jerry stood close to the pick-up and drop-off point, cabs pulling up and exchanging passengers before drifting off into the
night.
‘So what the hell happened back there, Lou?’
‘Actually, Jerry, can we save the post-mortem?’ Kate interrupted.
Derham let out a heavy sigh. ‘I had to pull out all the stops.’
‘And we both really appreciate it.’ Kate gave Lou a hard look.
‘Jerry, I’m sorry. I lost my cool.’
Derham shrugged.
‘It stinks to me though,’ Lou added, catching Kate’s eye.
‘They seemed to know exactly what to look for,’ she said. ‘That was no random search. We were targeted. They were put up to this.’
‘You’re probably right. They were very hard work . . .
15
Norfolk International Airport, Virginia. Present day.
It was stifling in the small room. Lou sat on an uncomfortable metal chair bolted to the floor, his legs under a table that had also been bolted into the concrete. There was no
window, and the only light came from a stark bulb dangling from a cord. He had been marched off along a corridor straight to this room, catching a glimpse of Kate as she was escorted to another
room on the other side of the main hall. Glancing at his watch, he saw that it had been nearly ninety minutes ago.
What had happened back there? Sure, he had been tired and he had always had a problem with authority; but why had they been picked on in the first place? And why had the customs people been so
interested in the cylinder? They couldn’t possibly know how significant it might be.
He took a deep breath of stale warm air and wondered if Kate was OK. Had they interrogated her? Was that the reason for the wait? Or had they simply wanted him to stew for a bit, get him really
worried?
Lou got up from the chair and started pacing the tiny room, in tight circles around the table and chair, head down, thinking, thinking, trying to rationalize, work out a way to get things back
on track. He had behaved irrationally, he knew that, lost his cool. Over the past hour and a half though he had pulled himself together, begun to think straight, be logical, be practical. Kate
would certainly have made a better showing, he was sure of that. She was always more analytical than him, always the ‘sensible, cool one’. She had got him out of many scrapes; maybe she
would be able to sweet-talk them. He didn’t mind being considered crazy, just so long as he and Kate could be on their way.
The door opened. Lou tensed up. He was standing behind the chair, hands on its cold, metal back. The man they had seen earlier, the senior officer, Mr Manor, stood at the opening. The door was
pinned to the wall with his leg. He had a closed Manila file in one hand, and gave Lou a frigid look.
‘You may go.’
Lou stared at him.
‘You look as surprised as I feel,’ Manor said blankly. ‘Appears you have friends in high places.’
Lou walked to the door and turned into the hall. From the main room he could hear Kate’s voice. An armed guard stood at the end of the corridor, his machine gun lying diagonally across his
chest. He was staring straight ahead and ignored Lou completely.
Captain Jerry Derham turned, a grim expression on his face.
‘You look pleased to see me,’ Lou quipped.
‘I think you’ve made enough wisecracks for one night, buddy.’
Lou saw Kate. She took a step towards him, looking relieved and ran her hand along his upper arm.
The two junior customs officers stood behind the counter. Derham led the two scientists towards a table close to the exit. Their cases and other luggage lay on top. The bubble-wrapped cylinder
taken from Amelia Earhart’s plane seemed to be untouched. Lou glanced at Kate.
‘You checked it?’
She nodded towards Jerry. ‘We both have. It’s OK.’
‘Come on,’ Derham said. ‘Let’s find a trolley and get out of here.’
*
Outside the main doors to Arrivals, Lou, Kate and Jerry stood close to the pick-up and drop-off point, cabs pulling up and exchanging passengers before drifting off into the
night.
‘So what the hell happened back there, Lou?’
‘Actually, Jerry, can we save the post-mortem?’ Kate interrupted.
Derham let out a heavy sigh. ‘I had to pull out all the stops.’
‘And we both really appreciate it.’ Kate gave Lou a hard look.
‘Jerry, I’m sorry. I lost my cool.’
Derham shrugged.
‘It stinks to me though,’ Lou added, catching Kate’s eye.
‘They seemed to know exactly what to look for,’ she said. ‘That was no random search. We were targeted. They were put up to this.’
‘You’re probably right. They were very hard work . . .
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