Perfectly Reflected (30 page)

Writing a second book has been a much less lonely journey than the first: I have been surrounded by people who are hugely encouraging and supportive, especially all the people at Nosy Crow. Kirsty has done sterling work helping me to whip the manuscript into shape, Camilla has been fabulous with her input to lyrics, Imogen magically gets things done, and Kate remains an inspiration. Thank you all.

I must also thank all the friends who donated their names, especially those in L4L – you know who you are! Finally I want to thank my family for their ongoing support, even when they haven’t seen me for days. I know Dad would have been very proud.

The story concludes in

Read on to find out what happens next…

I could feel the sweat prickle on my forehead as the man in uniform glared at me. “Just go back through and put all your jewellery in there, please, Miss,” he repeated, nodding towards the small plastic tray. “All of it, like it says on the instructions,” he emphasised, seeing my hand hesitate over my wrist.

“I … I … I just need a minute,” I stuttered. “Callum!” I hissed under my breath. “I need you now,
quickly
!”

“Come on, please. You’re holding up the line.” The security guard was getting annoyed. Ahead I could see my parents, picking up their belongings from the other side of the X-ray machine. They hadn’t noticed that I’d stopped. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t thought this through, that I hadn’t realised that the amulet
would set off the alarm on the metal detector. Where
was
Callum?

The security guard picked up the tray and thrust it towards me. I couldn’t help looking around me, knowing full well that I wouldn’t be able to see Callum, but searching for inspiration to explain my odd behaviour. I was clammy with fear. “Callum!” I hissed again, as loudly as I dared.

“What’s the hold up here?” An officious-looking man in a suit was pressing up behind me, desperate to get through and on to his flight. I looked wildly between the two angry men, and swallowed hard.

“There’s something not right here. I’m calling the police,” announced the guard, taking in my obvious discomfort. He pressed a red button on the side of the metal detector. Within seconds, armed policemen converged on the spot, their guns conspicuously at the ready.

“Really, there’s no need for that,” I said as calmly as I could. “It’s just that my bracelet is very tight, and it hurts to take it off, that’s all.” I smiled at him as sweetly as I could, trying not to look at the machine guns. They hadn’t pointed them at me yet, and I really wanted to avoid that happening. On the other side of the detector my parents had noticed the commotion and were heading back towards me.

“Can’t you just examine it where it is?” I asked, trying not to sound too desperate, hoping that I could avoid a confrontation between Mum and the guard.

“That’s not possible. All jewellery has to be removed so you can go through the scanner without setting it off.”

“Alex? What’s going on?” called my mum. “What’s happening?” she asked the guard pointedly. “Why won’t you let my daughter through?”

“Stand back, please,” said one of the policemen, stepping in front of her.

“Look, I’m just taking it off now, OK? Then I’ll come through the machine.” I put my finger under the bracelet and eased it off my wrist, making sure that I kept my finger inside for as long as possible. “Come on, Callum, get here now!” I muttered. I was just about to drop the amulet into the tray when there was a welcome tingle in my hand and a familiar voice in my head. “Go, I’ve got everything covered here. You’ll be fine.”

Heaving a sigh of relief I slipped the amulet into the little tray along with my watch and necklace. “OK, shall I come through now?” I asked the guard. His colleague at the X-ray machine picked up the tray and lifted the amulet out with the end of a pen. Trying not to look at what they were doing, I took a tentative step towards the metal detector. “Is it OK to go ahead?” I asked, catching the eye of one of the policemen, not daring to take another step until he had finally nodded. Mum had wisely kept silent as soon as she had seen the guns, but one glimpse of her tight-lipped ashen face told me that she wasn’t finished.

I stepped carefully through the threshold of the detector, which remained mercifully silent. They weren’t done with me, though. A female guard stepped forward and gave me a thorough pat-down, and all the while I was trying not to look at what the guys by the machine were doing with the amulet. Finally the guard declared me safe, and I turned towards the conveyor-belt to retrieve my belongings. Dad had picked up most of the stuff, but the guard holding my amulet was clearly waiting for me.

“This yours?” he asked, dropping the amulet from his pen into a separate tray.

“Yes,” I nodded. “Can I have it back, please?”

“It’s been randomly selected for further testing,” he announced, sounding bored.

I tried not to panic as I thought about what Callum was having to do to keep me safe, and how much longer he could keep it up. Desperately trying to keep my fear contained, I smiled at the guard. “Oh, I see. What does that mean?”

I was trying to talk to him as luggage from the people behind me started to pour through the X-Ray machine and down the conveyor-belt. The man in the suit brushed me aside impatiently so that he could retrieve his laptop case, and I could feel him radiating disapproval.

The guard continued in his bored tone. “It’s got to be tested for traces of explosives.” He placed a small cloth in some special tongs and started to wipe the bracelet with it, being careful not to actually touch it himself. I bit my lip.

“What are they doing now, Alex? What’s the hold-up?” Mum was at my side, bristling with indignation.

“They seem to think that my bracelet might be dangerous, that’s all,” I answered as calmly as I could, wondering if at any second Callum might lose the fight that was no doubt raging around us. If he was beaten I would be as good as dead within moments.

Sue Ransom, the author of
Small Blue Thing
is a senior
head-hunter
, but on the way to work and in the evenings she’s a writer: she wrote
Small Blue Thing
, her debut novel, as a birthday present for her daughter, and she composed it mostly on her BlackBerry. Serendipity led her to Nosy Crow, and she’s now busy finishing the third book in the trilogy. She lives with her husband and two teenage children in Surrey.