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that afternoon. A series of names plus lines and arrows and several brief sentences were written in her neat hand. She knew the diagram didn’t add up to much, but she found it a useful way of working through a problem, putting a thought down, discarding it and moving on. On her desk were two packets of sandwiches, a piece of fruit cake wrapped in cellophane, a bottle of water, a banana and a bar of chocolate - not a feast considering the quantities of food she put away during periods of concentration. She ate one of the sandwiches distractedly and turned to the papers propped against her computer screen and on the floor around her feet. These were printouts of web pages showing the landing and take-off times for planes that passed through Terminal Three the day before - a timetable that varied considerably from the published schedules, she noted.

    She didn’t expect to prove anything conclusively; it would be enough to show that Rahe’s disappearance was important, though he clearly had no role in the shooting of Norquist. She now knew for certain that he had not got off KU102 in Kuwait. Half an hour before, a clear head-shot had arrived of the man travelling on Rahe’s passport, taken in Kuwait City airport before the individual flew on to the United Arab Emirates. By this time he had disposed of Rahe’s clothes and adopted the local white jellabah. However, the Kuwaiti Intelligence service, al-Mukhabarat, were certain it was the stand-in.

    She emailed the picture to Heathrow security and asked them to go through CCTV film to see if he’d come from London or arrived on another flight. Her belief was that he’d flown into Heathrow that morning, which was why she was trying to match possible suspects’ names with passengers who had ended up in Terminal Three, a forlorn task if ever there was one. Still, she liked the solitary purpose of working late and was buoyed by the idea that while the rest of the Secret Intelligence Service was absorbed by muffled agony over the killing of Norquist, she was at least making some positive steps to unravel the events at the airport.

    As she talked on the phone to a security officer named George, she looked out of the window and into the streams of traffic moving along the north bank of the Thames. Her focus drew nearer, to her reflection in the window, which she examined without reproof or anxiety. She looked good for thirty-two, although the lights made her appear haggard and - God - she had to get some new clothes!

    George still had nothing for her. She put the phone down and went back to the watch list, thinking that Manila was the perfect place for the stand-in to embark. Just then she noticed a movement behind the glass panel in the office wall and saw Richard Spelling, deputy head of MI6, and his side-kick, Harry Cecil.

    Before she had time to compose herself or her desk, Spelling was inside the door. ‘Mr Cecil here says you’ve got something good.’

    ‘That would be a bit premature of Mr Cecil,’ she said, smiling at Cecil without affection.

    ‘Well, you must have something if you’ve been asking favours of our friends in Kuwait City.’

    ‘I was checking on the man who took Rahe’s place on the Kuwait flight. As you know, I told Thames House yesterday afternoon, but I think they’re rather tied up at the moment and nobody has got back to me about it. So I thought I’d do some ground work.’ This was weak. She knew she was going way beyond her role of walk-on part in the surveillance of Rahe.

    Spelling sat down on the other side of her desk and indicated to Cecil that he was dismissed. ‘I’ll say the Security Services are tied up!’ he said.

    Herrick cautioned herself not to say too much. She nodded.

    ‘It doesn’t get much worse than the President’s special envoy being killed before his meeting with the Prime Minister. I mean, how bad does that make us look?’ He gave her a despairing look and then exhaled heavily, which caused his lips to