Clara scrabbled around in her glove compartment for her copy of You Too Can Fly.

123

“Why has this caller been put through?” asked Edward. “Why are we taking calls?”

“I don’t know,” said Tamy. Tamy usually got to select the callers. She wondered who was in charge. Probably that upstart receptionist, she’d been angling for more responsibility.

“We’re in a bit of a crisis situation here, caller, have you got anything constructive you’d like to say?” said Penny.

122

Tamy wanted to look into the eyes of the bleeding man beside her. Tamy thought she had nice eyes. She thought if he saw her eyes he would find it harder to do anything bad to her. Especially on her birthday.

121

“Can I ask Ali Bronski about something else?” asked Samuel Thorn.

“Yes,” said Ali Bronski.

“Were you with Kirsten Henderson when she died?”

“Oh.”

120

There was a pause in the studio.

119

Someone tried to enter cab 3345. “Koh. Me pawocheo,” said the driver; he was listening to the radio.

118

The ex-government agent told Penny that though the conversation had moved on to death, she shouldn’t feel worried and that as far as he was concerned, he thought it was all going fine.

Penny didn’t think it was going fine. “So, John, where did you learn magic?” she said.

117

Ali Bronski’s eyes lost focus. And in that moment Ali Bronski is in a hotel in Islington and her eyes are filling. She is sitting by the side of a bath and stroking Kirsten’s hair as the bath fills and she is making a silly little joke about rubber ducks and Kirsten is laughing a little bit and gripping Ali’s hand and Ali is saying that perhaps Kirsten should put on an eye mask so that it’s nice and dark and Kirsten is saying that she would rather keep her eyes open until they close of their own accord and Ali is saying that’s okay whatever she wants and she’s thinking of a song to sing but nothing is coming so she just hums a bit but that seems okay and Kirsten starts to go a bit sluggish and she says to her that she’s glad that Ali isn’t an old friend and Ali is saying she is too, otherwise it would be a much worse moment than it is, although secretly Ali is thinking that this is as bad as it can possibly get . . .

116

“What’s the matter?” asked Edward.

And Ali hasn’t answered.

“It’s just you’re on the inquest tape,” said Samuel Thorn.

“Oh . . .”

“And some videotape of the sitcom she was in.”

“Oh . . .”

“What’s the matter?” asked Edward.

“And I wanted to know . . .”

“Ali?” said Penny.

115

Tamy’s father wanted to know what the hell was going on. Why weren’t there stormtroopers all over the station?

114