‘Thanks, Ted. They’re the important ones, really. If you know what I mean.’

‘You don’t have to excuse yourself to me, Kelly; I do this every day, and my priorities might seem callous to those who don’t understand. Sorry I haven’t more to tell you. Looking at this lot, I’m frankly flabbergasted that one survived the impact.’

‘Yeah, the AAIB reckoned he must have been cushioned by something, perhaps upholstery. Also, they told me that where he was sitting would have been significant when the thing came down. Luck, I guess.’

‘How’s he doing?’

‘Not good. I’m on my way up there now to meet the family. It’s not just the impact trauma to his skull that’s worrying the docs; he’s brain-damaged too, but they can’t tell to what extent yet.’

‘Dear God, it makes you question if you’d want to survive something like that.’ He said what she was thinking.

‘I suppose you’ve read the papers?’ she asked.

‘What, about my superstar daughter, and Ian Burton’s jail term?’

‘No, Dad, about Lord Reilly’s connections with Bartholomew Kennedy-Craig.’

‘I’m playing with you. Of course I have. Politics and money. The oldest toxic relationship. I don’t envy you piecing this one together. Climate change activists? Surely they don’t have the resources to pull this kind of thing off?’ he said. ‘It’s not their style, is it? They usually egg people and set off fireworks.’

‘True. It would help if I knew who the target was: Lord Reilly or Kennedy-Craig.’

‘Or both. Or neither, if the pilots were the worse for wear.’

‘Yes, it’s a mess.’

‘Well, Kelly, I don’t envy you this one.’

‘Thanks, Dad. I’ll pop in to say bye before I leave, if you’ve time for a cuppa?’

‘I’ll see. This is only half of them; the others have gone to the university hospital in Carlisle,’ he said.

She left him to it and took off her overalls as she went through the swinging metal doors leading to the changing rooms. She took a deep breath and inhaled Vicks. She rubbed it off with her hands before washing them, trying to rid herself of the stink of body parts.

Chapter 33

‘Look, Fabian, I know you’re angry…’