Dixie was also sitting back with her eyes shut, but as Janet watched her, she got the feeling that Dixie was listening very carefully to what was being said. When Theodore started talking about the potential advantages of partnering with some company about which Janet knew nothing, Dixie sat up.
“Now you’re into my area of expertise,” she said. “I’ve been working with them for years.” It only took her thirty-six seconds to summarise how she felt about the company, something Janet reckoned would have taken Theodore at least an hour. Janet timed it because she had nothing else to do.
Theodore was still droning on about something when Bobby sat up and opened his eyes.
“That’s a good place to stop for now,” he said, right in the middle of one of Theodore’s sentences.
“I hardly think…” Theodore began.
Bobby held up a hand. “It’s time for some lunch,” he said. “Let’s go and explore a bit of Paris and then find somewhere fabulous to have lunch.”
“I need five minutes,” Lucy said, getting up from her seat. “Come along, Tony,” she added.
“I’m ready to go now,” he countered. “I’ll wait down here with everyone else.”
Lucy frowned and then picked up the sheet of paper on which she’d been writing. She stared hard at Tony as she crumpled it up and tossed it towards the bin in the corner of the room. It missed by several feet. Lucy turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.
“I should powder my nose,” Dixie said as she stood up. “I’ll be back shortly.”
“Janet, I can have someone show you to your room, if you’d like,” Bobby offered.
She nodded. “Yes, please.”
As she and Bobby stood up, everyone else rose as well. Bobby took Janet to the reception desk while the others trailed behind.
“We’ve put Ms. Markham in suite forty-six,” the man behind the desk told Bobby. He handed Bobby a keycard.
Bobby turned to Janet and gave her the card. “Suite forty-six,” he repeated.
“I can find that,” Janet said. She turned and headed for the lifts, suddenly quite desperate to have five minutes to herself. On the fourth floor, she walked along the corridor until she found the right room.
When she let herself in, she gasped. The door had opened into a vast sitting room with huge windows that gave her a breathtaking view of the city outside. The bedroom, with its enormous bed, was only slightly smaller. Janet walked into the bathroom and stared at the selection of lotions and potions that lined the shelves under the mirror. She picked one up at random. It was a body cream in a brand she’d heard of, but not one she’d ever purchased because it was extremely expensive.
Someone had unpacked her things for her, so she quickly brushed her hair and touched up her makeup. After washing her hands, she couldn’t resist squeezing a bit of the cream into her hand. As she rubbed her hands together, she inhaled the scent.
“It smells expensive,” she muttered. “And it feels wonderful,” she added with a sigh as the cream soaked into her skin.
Back down in the lobby, everyone else was waiting, aside from Lucy.
“How’s the suite?” Bobby asked Janet as she joined them.
“Lovely,” she replied.
“Put all of the toiletries in your suitcase before you go out tomorrow,” Dixie advised her. “They’ll give you another complete set.”
Janet flushed. “I couldn’t possibly,” she murmured. Maybe she’d take just that one bottle of body cream, though, as she’d already opened it. The smell had lingered, and Janet felt as if she couldn’t get enough of it.
“I’m here,” Lucy called from the end of the corridor. “I took the stairs because I didn’t think you’d wait for me much longer.”
“Let’s go,” Bobby replied. He rushed out the door with the others on his heels.
Edward dashed after him. A moment later, Janet noticed that Mr. Harrison had joined them as well. He was walking right next to Bobby. Edward had dropped back a pace, walking between Neil and Lucy. Janet deliberately stayed at the back of the group, keeping pace with Dixie, who didn’t appear to be in any hurry.
It wasn’t long before they were caught up in a large crowd of people. To Janet, it began to seem as if dozens of random people were determined to get between her and the others. A group of Japanese tourists, following a stern-looking woman carrying a golf umbrella, suddenly crowded around them. They were approaching a busy and complicated junction. Janet watched the cars whizzing past as she was jostled and bumped from every direction. She held onto her handbag tightly and tried to find Edward in the crowd.
When someone screamed, Janet felt certain that something had happened to Bobby. She pushed her way through the crowd and then gasped. Bobby was lying in the road and there was a car heading straight for him.
Chapter 7
Things happened so fast that Janet could only stand and stare. Both Edward and Mr. Harrison ran into the road. Brakes seemed to be squealing everywhere as cars swerved and tried to stop. The sound of metal smashing into metal made Janet jump. People were screaming in several different languages and, even before Janet’s brain had reengaged, she could hear sirens.
“Daddy!” Lucy shouted over the crowd. She ran into the road and flung herself down on top of her father.
“Come away, darling,” Tony said, taking a step towards her and holding out a hand. “You’ll only be in the way there.”
“In the
