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suddenly. When he had been looking around the room earlier, bored out of his mind, he had come across the little red safe, nestled into one of the desk drawers. And idly, he had flicked it open. It had been completely empty.

Chapter Three
    WHEN THEY ARRIVED back at Amsterdam airport, it still felt like night despite the weak dawn struggling through the heavy clouds. They had gone to bed after dinner, restless and headachy from a day spent cooped up in just one room doing nothing but eating and watching TV, had found it hard to get to sleep and even harder to get up in the early hours again. However, they were all excited at the prospect of another, hopefully more promising destination. The day before, Louis had been trying to work out which flight could necessitate a stopoff in Amsterdam. It could be anywhere, really.
    Inside the almost-empty terminal, Millie did her rubber-ball act at the end of Papa’s arm while they waited to check in. Max and Louis went off to scour the departure screens to try and guess which flight wastheirs. When they got back, Papa and Millie were hurtling down towards the exit. Louis and Max broke into a run to catch them up.
    â€˜Hey, what’s going on?’
    Papa swung round. ‘Where
were
you?’ he almost shouted.
    â€˜Checking out the departure boards,’ Max replied. ‘Where d’you think?’
    Papa let go of Millie’s hand and grabbed Max and Louis by the arm. ‘Don’t go wandering off without me! I told you we had to stay together at all times! It’s not safe, do you hear?’
    Louis was surprised by the strength of Papa’s grip on the top of his arm. Max pulled away angrily. ‘All right, keep your hair on!’
    They boarded the plane in silence. Even Millie was quiet. Papa’s face was pale and a thin film of sweat had broken out across his forehead. Louis began to wish they were staying in Amsterdam. On the plane, Max let Millie have the window seat without a word and they all sat down. A few other passengers trickled on, but the aircraft was almost empty. Then, as the plane taxied out onto the runway, the pilot’s voice came over on the loudspeaker. ‘Welcome aboard this Boeing seven-four-seven on flight three-oh-six to London Heathrow.’
    Max turned to Papa in amazement. ‘We’re going to England?’
    Papa smiled at long last. ‘Yes.’
    â€˜Oh, wow!’ Millie exclaimed. ‘Are we going to see Big Ben? Are we going to see the Houses of Parliament? Are we going to see the Queen?’
    Papa allowed himself a brief chuckle. ‘Yes, I’m sure we’ll get round to doing all that eventually, Millie.’
    â€˜Cool!’ Max and Millie exclaimed together.
    Papa looked at Louis. ‘You’re very quiet, my Louis. What are you thinking?’
    Louis managed a smile. ‘I think it’s great, Papa.’
    During the flight, Papa dozed. He looked very tired and old suddenly. The air hostess brought Millie some colouring things. They ate breakfast off plastic trays and left Papa to sleep. A large middle-aged lady in the seat across the aisle engaged Max in conversation – initially in Dutch, but when Max pulled a face and laughed, she switched to English.
    â€˜Where do you come from?’ the lady asked Max.
    â€˜France,’ Max replied.
    â€˜Paris?’
    â€˜Yes.’
    â€˜And what are you doing on a flight from Amsterdam to London?’
    â€˜We’re on holiday,’ Max replied. ‘It’s some kind of surprise.’
    â€˜Is your dad English?’
    â€˜No, he’s Irish. Usually we go to Ireland to visit our grandparents. We’ve never been to England before—’
    Suddenly, Papa woke up with a start. ‘Max!’
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜I need to talk to you,’ Papa said. He looked pointedly at the Dutch lady until she turned away uncomfortably.
    â€˜I’d prefer it if you didn’t talk to strangers,’ Papa