‘They’re indigenous to South America, aren’t they?’

‘Yech!’

‘They start with the soft bits – they’d strip your face in seconds.’

Laura looked down again. ‘Really not sure I want to do this after all.’

‘Come on, don’t be a wuss – it’s not the fall that kills you, it’s the sudden stop!’

‘Great. And then the piranhas get to eat you.’

‘I’ll go first and then you can follow if I live,’ Cassie said, grinning, and shot a brief glance over her shoulder, before looking back down at the gorge and inching closer to her friend. ‘Don’t turn around, L,’ she hissed. ‘But Mr Creepy is watching us again. God, he’s weird.’

‘What?’

‘Seriously. He’s on the viewing platform.’

‘The same guy?’

Cassie nodded.

‘The one that was in Guayaquil?’

‘It’s him, I promise you. The one that has no neck. Our stalker.’

‘Let’s go over to him and say hi! Embarrass him!’

‘Not worth losing our place in this queue.’

Laura pulled a handkerchief out of her bag and dropped it on the ground. Kneeling to pick it up, she turned and shot a glance behind her, catching the glint of a lens in the sunlight. Standing up again, she said, ‘You’re right. It is him.’

Cassie pursed her lips. ‘Why’s he taking photographs of us, L?’

Putting on a phoney South American accent, Laura replied, ‘Because we iz ze best-looking broads on the trail!’

Cassie giggled. Then she looked serious again. ‘Maybe we should let him know we’re aware of him?’

‘Or make a real effort to give him the slip?’

‘And how do we do that, with the tour bus waiting for us, L?’

‘Plan B!’

‘Which is?’

‘Haven’t figured that one out yet!’ Then she added, ‘But why’s he following us?’

‘He’s probably on the same tour trail we’re on. It’s the regular circuit, he’s probably just some saddo – got his bedroom walls lined with pictures of girls and lies there tossing off to them.’

‘Gross!’

The queue moved forward. There were now just three people ahead of them. Laura peered down and the gorge looked even deeper and scarier. She wouldn’t admit it, but she was quite glad her friend was going first.

‘Heard from your mum today?’

Laura shook her head and glanced at her watch. ‘Three thirty p.m. in the UK, she’s probably still in court.’

‘Sounds a cool trial, shame she can’t talk about it.’

‘Yep. When did you last hear from home?’

‘Over a week ago.’

‘You’re lucky, not having such a worrier of a mum.’

‘I guess because there’s four of us – you’re all your mum has in the world.’

There was another loud scream as a kid in a bumblebee-striped T-shirt shot down the wire; they moved up another place.

‘Think she’ll find someone else one day and remarry?’ Cassie asked.