Then the air hostess came out of the cabin. She looked very different now because
she had a machine gun in her hand. She stood at the front of the plane and watched the
passengers carefully.‘Here we are, madam.’ The big black car stopped and a police officer opened the
black door.
‘Thank you.’ Helen Sandberg smiled at him as she got out. Another police officer
opened the front door of her house.
Inside the house it was quiet. Her daughter was reading. She put the book down.
‘Hello, Mummy. You’re late. You said you’d be home by ten o’clock. I wanted to talk to
you about my homework, remember?’
Helen sat down. ‘I’m sorry, Sarah. I did remember, really. But I had very busy day.
Anyway, I’m home now. What’s the problem?’
‘it’s this book,’ said Sarah. ‘I have to write about it at school on Friday, and I don’t
understand it.’
‘All right,’ said Helen. ‘Bring the book into the kitchen and I’ll look at while you make
me a cup of coffee.’
They sat in the kitchen and talked for nearly half an hour. Then Helen looked at her
watch. ‘OK, Sarah, that’s enough for now. It’s nearly midnight, and I must be up at six
tomorrow. I’m going to bed. Goodnight.’
Alone in her bedroom, she undressed and got into the big empty bed. She was very
tired, she closed her eyes and three minutes she was asleep.
The phone rang at 12.15 a.m.
Helen groaned, and picked it up.
‘Hello… What?… Who?… Do you know what time is it?’
She ran her hand through her hair and turned the light on. ‘What, now? I don’t believe
it. Are you sure?’
The voice on the telephone explained carefully. Helen groaned again, and sat up. ‘I
hope it is serious. If it isn’t, somebody is going to be in big trouble… yes… All right… Send
the car in fifteen minutes, then. And bring me some coffee! Goodbye.’
She put the phone down and got out of bed. Outside the tomorrow she could hear a
strong wind blowing.
Twenty minutes later she was sitting in the back of her big black car, drinking a cup of
coffee and talking to the Chief of Airport Police on the car telephone. It was raining heavily.