Lois Spence was lying on the concrete by the air towers.
I jumped to the front door.
“Wait,” I said to Clair, threw off her restraining hand, opened the door.
“No!” she cried. “Don’t!”
I slipped out, waved her back, reached Lois as she struggled to rise.
Her face was ghastly with terror. A red-blue mark showed on her face where she had been struck.
“He’s lit a fuse to the gas dump,” she mouthed at me. “Get me out of here! My God! We’ll be blown to hell! The stinking rat double-crossed me! Get me out of here.”
She grabbed at my pyjama jacket. I wrenched free, leaving a strip of material in her hand.
“Clair!” I yelled frantically. “Quick! Come to me! Clair!”
I dashed towards the house, saw Clair in the doorway, yelled to her again.