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Contents (71)
  1. Contents
  2. London—26 October 1940
  3. London—7 May 1945
  4. London—26 October 1940
  5. Bethnal Green—June 1944
  6. London—26 October 1940
  7. Kent—April 1944
  8. London—27 October 1940
  9. London—November 1940
  10. Kent—April 1944
  11. Golders Green—July 1944
  12. London—November 1940
  13. Kent—April 1944
  14. London—November 1940
  15. London—November 1940
  16. Oxford—April 2060
  17. Bletchley—November 1940
  18. Dulwich—Summer 1944
  19. London—November 1940
  20. Bletchley—December 1940
  21. Dulwich—Summer 1944
  22. London—December 1940
  23. Oxford—April 2060
  24. London—December 1940
  25. Saltram-on-Sea—December 1940
  26. London—December 1940
  27. London—December 1940
  28. London—29 December 1940
  29. St. Paul’s Cathedral—29 December 1940
  30. St. Paul’s Cathedral—29 December 1940
  31. Ludgate Hill—29 December 1940
  32. Blackfriars Tube Station—29 December 1940
  33. St. Paul’s Cathedral—29 December 1940
  34. The City—29 December 1940
  35. St. Bartholomew’s Hospital—30 December 1940
  36. St. Paul’s Cathedral—30 December 1940
  37. Croydon—October 1944
  38. London—Winter 1941
  39. London—Winter 1941
  40. Croydon—October 1944
  41. London—Winter 1941
  42. London—7 May 1945
  43. London—Winter 1941
  44. London—Winter 1941
  45. London—Winter 1941
  46. London—Winter 1941
  47. Kent—April 1944
  48. Imperial War Museum, London—7 May 1995
  49. Dover—April 1944
  50. Imperial War Museum, London—7 May 1995
  51. Wales—May 1944
  52. London—Spring 1941
  53. London—May 1944
  54. London—Spring 1941
  55. Imperial War Museum, London—7 May 1995
  56. Kent—June 1944
  57. Imperial War Museum, London—7 May 1995
  58. Kent—October 1944
  59. London—Spring 1941
  60. Croydon—October 1944
  61. London—Spring 1941
  62. London—Spring 1941
  63. London—Spring 1941
  64. Imperial War Museum, London—7 May 1995
  65. London—19 April 1941
  66. London—19 April 1941
  67. Imperial War Museum, London—7 May 1995
  68. London—7 May 1945
  69. London—19 April 1941
  70. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  71. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

“Exactly,” Mike said. “Write it all down, and see if it triggers something. And in the meantime, I want you to make the rounds of the department stores on Monday and fill out a job application at each one.”

“I can ask Miss Snelgrove if they need anyone at Townsend Brothers,” Polly said.

“This isn’t about a job,” Mike said. “It’s so they’ll have her name and address on file when the retrieval team comes looking for us.”

Which must mean the arguments I made to him this morning at Padgett’s convinced him he didn’t alter history after all, Polly thought. But after they’d curled up under their coats on the landing to sleep, he shook her awake and motioned her to tiptoe after him past the sleeping Eileen and down the steps to the landing below.

“Did you find out anything more about Padgett’s?” he whispered.

“No,” Polly lied. “Did you?”

He shook his head.

Thank goodness, Polly thought. When the all clear goes, I’ll take him straight to the drop. He can’t talk to anyone there. He can sit there till I come back from the hospital. If I can get him out of here without Miss Laburnum latching on to us and blurting out something about how awful it is that there were five people kil—

“You said there were three fatalities, right?” Mike asked.

“Yes, but the information in my implant could have been wrong. It—”

“And the supervisor—what was his name? Feathers?”

“Fetters.”

“Said everybody who worked at Padgett’s had been accounted for.”

“Yes, but—”

“I’ve been thinking. What if it was our retrieval team?”

Metal makes guns! Keep your lipstick holder. Buy refills.

—MAGAZINE ADVERTISEMENT,
1944

Bethnal Green—June 1944

MARY FLUNG HERSELF DOWN IN THE GUTTER NEXT TO TALBOT, half on top of her, listening to the sudden silence where the putt-putt of the engine had been.

“What in God’s name are you doing, Kent?” Talbot said, trying to wriggle free from underneath her.

Mary pushed her back down into the gutter. “Keep your head down!” They had twelve seconds before the V-1 exploded. Eleven … ten … nine … Please, please, please, let us be far enough away from it, she prayed. Seven … six …

“Keep my—?” Talbot said, struggling against her. “Have you gone mad?”

Mary pressed her down. “Cover your eyes!” she ordered, and squeezed her own shut against the blinding light that would come with the blast.

I should put my hands over my ears, she thought, but she needed them to hold down Talbot, who was, unbelievably, still attempting to get up. “Stay down! It’s a flying bomb!” Mary put her hand to the back of Talbot’s head and forced it flat against the bottom of the gutter. Two … one … zero …

Her adrenaline-racing mind must have counted too quickly. She waited, arms tight around Talbot, for the flash and deafening concussion.

Talbot was struggling harder than ever. “Flying bomb?” she said, wrenching herself free and raising herself on her hands and elbows. “What flying bomb?”