ROBIN. PENG. THE SNAKE. The Coyote. They all raced around  my mind. There was too much going on. Too much to let sleep take over.

As daylight started to creep in I checked my phone.

An update from Hattie had come in during the night. Peng was alive and well. No after-effects from the mild allergic reaction she had had at last night’s dinner. She was spending the morning at the Embassy and going to the Christie’s auction this afternoon before catching her flight back to China tonight as planned. At the hospital Hattie had successfully replaced the two EpiPens held by Ling Ling and the bodyguard with brand new ones. The two they had held were currently being tested. We’d get the results back in a few hours. Jake was still watching Peppa, and Cameron had followed the mystery woman from the playground back to a house that seemed to belong to her boyfriend. She was waiting for her to come out. If we could confirm Peppa as the Snake we had a chance of getting Tenebris shut down by the end of the day. We had no other leads. No other trail back to them.

It was only 6.15 a.m. I had time for a run before Gigi woke up and before Will left for the airport. Maybe I’d bump into Rochelle, wave a smug hello as I sped past her. I changed into my running gear, closed the bedroom door on a gently snoring Will and left the house.

I set off at a slow jog. I knew I would be right. Those EpiPens were going to be positive for poison. It couldn’t be a coincidence. How did they manage to switch them over? The Coyote must have someone in the delegation.

I upped the volume on my iPod and kept a fast pace through the quiet streets of Chiswick.

I was meant to be thinking of work. But Will kept creeping in. As long as I was at Eight the lies and secrets would never end. How could I stop them hurting us? How could we be a team when he didn’t know the game?

I shook it off. We had no choice. I wasn’t quitting my job. I wasn’t quitting my marriage. I had to find a way to make it work.

Work. That’s what I needed to think of. Would the Coyote dare to strike again? What if Peppa wasn’t the Snake? Peng was flying out tonight. If the Coyote and Snake went quiet we lost our only link to Tenebris. They’d carry on posting jobs. They’d carry on recruiting more Snakes. And the Security Services would be permanently compromised. Platform Eight would be on permanent shutdown.

I ran along the river before circling back and heading towards home.

I got to the start of Fisher’s Lane and saw Frederick on a bench in the playground up ahead.

Frederick.