There was no time to be lost. I struggled back to the surface along with numbers of others who had made the same decision. It was still raining and there were no free taxis anywhere near the tube, nor outside Harrods. I gave the address and sat back and concentrated on keeping my face composed and my breathing inaudible. Closing the eyes has always helped me to cope with anxiety, but now I waited two minutes by my watch before allowing myself the luxury.
Timing is the key to control, and control is the key to concealment.
The driver, if he glanced in his mirror, would think it strange if his passenger were dozing too soon. We made it with twelve minutes to spare. I was still gasping a little as I went down to the basement. The shed had a smell too, dust and hot creosote and the rank weeds that grew against the boards outside. Smells are more intense for solitude and remembered more intensely, as every lonely person knows.