She was sitting in a stuffy little office at the front of the museum above the main doors, next to where Justin lived. She and Maeve were representing the Holloway kids, and Brooke, Justin and Robbie were representing the museum kids. Robbie was meant to be in charge of security, but with his wounded leg he was next-to-useless. It had been him Samira had been trying to help last night when she’d gone missing. That’s why he was here, rather than lying down, resting his leg. Maxie guessed he felt responsible. He also obviously felt bad that he hadn’t been able to help on the night of the attack on the museum. He kept saying he should have been there, and that he shouldn’t have let Samira go to the Darwin Centre alone. He was a little bit feverish still, repeating himself.

All Maxie thought was that he shouldn’t be up and about like this, even if they had found him a wheelchair to get about in. He looked grey and his skin was greasy with sweat.

The five of them had been sitting here for what felt like hours while the museum kids trooped in and took it in turns to sit on the other side of the table and answer their questions. The idea was that they were going to find out who the traitor was. That’s what they were calling him or her – the traitor.

Only they hadn’t got anywhere, had they? Big surprise. It was the same every time. Nobody knew anything, they’d all been together the evening of the big attack, nobody liked to go anywhere alone, they were too scared … ‘I was with so-and-so, we went there together, I helped such and such a person when the sickos came …’

Maxie supposed it was quite a good way to get to know people, but after a while, as she got tireder and hungrier, the kids all began to merge into each other and become the same person.

One single frightened child.

Unless they were the greatest actors in the world, not one of them seemed capable of opening those doors, letting the sickos in, watching their friends get attacked and killed. Not one of them had a motive.

She wished Blue was there. He had a good bullshit detector. Maxie had grown up trusting people, believing them when they told her things, thinking the best of people. Blue was the opposite. He didn’t believe anyone, didn’t trust anyone, thought the worst of people. You had to prove it to Blue when you said something. He’d have surely worked out by now who the traitor was.

If there even was a traitor.

All Maxie had to look forward to was a long afternoon interrogating the rest of the kids.

‘Can we have a break?’ Maeve asked. ‘Robbie looks knackered.’

She was looking at the boy. Wasn’t too happy about him being here either.