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hung,
    unable to loosen either hand for fear of losing her grip entirely and
    falling. She closed her eyes, gritted her teeth so hard it hurt her jaw,
    and with a supreme effort unclenched her right hand.
    The world swung around frighteningly and the strain on her left arm
    was enough to make her cry out, but she was soon latching on to the

    drain with her right hand like a hook of steel, then she was going
    down, hand over hand, until the ground was at a reasonable distance
    for dropping. She let go with both hands, landed at a crouch, turned
    and picked up her knapsack, and was out into the street with a huge
    spring.
    The whole manoeuvre had taken perhaps a minute and a half.
    She saw a yellow battered car bearing a taxi emblem on its hood
    turning on to her street, down the block, and she could have laughed
    at the wonderful timing. It was the first thing that had gone right that
    day. She raced down the street, confident that Carridine couldn't see
    her as her living room window was on the opposite side of the house,
    her bathroom window being towards the back. At her frantic wave,
    the taxi slewed over to stop beside her. She briefly looked over her
    shoulder, then she was opening the back door, of the car and saying
    breathlessly, 'Thank God you're here! I told you the wrong time, and I
    might miss my plane! Could you step on it, please, and get me to the
    Municipal Airport as fast as you can haul it?'
    'Sure enough, sweet thing,' the cabby said, winking. He was a heavy,
    good-natured man who looked to be in his forties or so. He cheerfully
    stamped on the gas pedal and the car shot forward with a jerk that sent
    Dee back into her seat. She squeaked and ducked down as the taxi
    shot by Mrs Gordon's house. She sincerely hoped that Carridine
    hadn't been looking out of the window. Everything had happened so
    incredibly fast, though, he was probably still standing worriedly at
    the bathroom door. If he was suspicious, he would surely be knocking
    and calling to her instead of gazing outside, so she rather thought she
    was safe. Still she couldn't assume it, and would have to go on the
    hunch that he had seen the taxi. When he found her gone, he would be
    able to put two and two together, but he still wouldn't know where she
    had gone. She estimated that she had a fifteen- minute lead, if that.
    And she was feeling pretty desperate.

    As the cab driver pulled to the kerb just outside the airport building,
    Dee stuffed a bill into his hand and told him shortly to keep the
    change, and she was out of the car and into the building before he had
    finished his thanks. Once inside, she took stock to the right and then
    to the left, and she caught sight of a flight plan posted to the left.
    Running over, she sent a quick eye down the flights. The next one
    would be leaving in half an hour, and it was an airline she wasn't
    familiar with. She got quick directions from a girl in a nearby candy
    shop, then she was rushing through the huge open walkway, passing
    slower people and elbowing her way around standing groups. Her
    heart was thumping madly from her swift pace and from the sheer
    exhilaration of being on the run again, using her wits, dodging
    discovery. Adrenalin was sluicing through her. She could feel it in her
    heightened awareness, the swift ticking of her brain.
    Catching sight of the airline's counter, she ran over. 'Could you tell
    me if there's an empty seat by any chance on your flight to
    Washington D.C. in a half an hour?' she asked breathlessly, thinking,
    what the hell? I've always wanted to go there. The girl at the counter
    frowned.
    'I don't really know,' she replied, glancing through some things
    behind the counter. 'The list isn't here. Let me go and get someone
    who can find out for you.' She disappeared in the back while Dee
    concentrated on getting her breathing steady, looking cautiously
    around her.
    It was just plain luck that she saw Carridine before he saw her. He
    entered the building with long,