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  The lorry in front of Sebastian inched its way forward allowing it to draw up alongside the lorry that was still on the inside lane. Sebastian checked his rear-view mirror again, and began to feel nervous when he saw that the lorry behind him appeared to be closing in.

  Bruno swung round and waved his arms furiously at the man driving the lorry behind them, while shouting at the top of his voice, ‘Get back!’

  The expressionless driver just leant on his steering wheel as his lorry continued to move closer and closer, despite the fact that the lorry in front still hadn’t quite overtaken the one that remained in the inside lane.

  ‘For God’s sake, get a move on!’ screamed Sebastian, pressing the palm of his hand firmly on the horn, although he was aware that the driver in front wouldn’t be able to hear a word he was saying. When he looked into the rear-view mirror again, he was horrified to see that the lorry behind him was now no more than a few inches from his rear bumper. The lorry in front still hadn’t progressed enough to move back into the inside lane, which would have allowed Sebastian to accelerate away. Bruno was now waving frantically at the lorry driver on their left, but the driver maintained a constant speed. He could easily have taken his foot off the accelerator and allowed them to slip into the safety of the inside lane, but he didn’t once glance in their direction.

  Sebastian tightened his grip on the steering wheel when the lorry behind him touched his rear bumper and nudged the little MG forward, sending its number plate flying high into the air. Sebastian tried to advance a couple more feet, but he couldn’t go any faster without running into the front lorry and being squeezed between the two of them like a concertina.

  A few seconds later they were propelled forward a second time as the lorry behind them drove into the back of the MG with considerably more force, pushing it to within a foot of the lorry in front. It was only when the rear lorry hit them a third time that Bruno’s words Are you certain you’re making the right decision? flashed into Sebastian’s mind. He glanced across at Bruno who was now clinging on to the dashboard with both hands.

  ‘They’re trying to kill us,’ he screamed. ‘For God’s sake, Seb, do something!’

  Sebastian looked helplessly across at the southbound lanes to see a steady stream of vehicles heading in the opposite direction.

  When the lorry in front began to slow down, he knew that if they were to have any hope of surviving, he had to make a decision, and make it quickly.

  It was the tutor of admissions who was given the unenviable task of having to phone the boy’s father, to let him know that his son had been killed in a tragic motor car accident.

  ALSO BY JEFFREY ARCHER

  NOVELS

  Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less

  Shall We Tell the President?

  Kane and Abel

  The Prodigal Daughter

  First Among Equals

  A Matter of Honour

  As the Crow Flies

  Honour Among Thieves

  The Fourth Estate

  The Eleventh Commandment

  Sons of Fortune

  False Impression

  The Gospel According to Judas

  (with the assistance of Professor Francis J. Moloney)

  A Prisoner of Birth

  Paths of Glory

  Only Time Will Tell

  The Sins of the Father

  SHORT STORIES

  A Quiver Full of Arrows

  A Twist in the Tale

  Twelve Red Herrings

  The Collected Short Stories

  To Cut a Long Story Short

  Cat O’ Nine Tales

  And Thereby Hangs a Tale

  PLAYS

  Beyond Reasonable Doubt

  Exclusive

  The Accused

  PRISON DIARIES

  Volume One – Belmarsh: Hell

  Volume Two – Wayland: Purgatory

  Volume Three – North Sea Camp: Heaven

  SCREENPLAYS

  Mallory: Walking Off the Map

  False Impression

  My thanks go to the following people for their invaluable advice and help with research:

  Simon Bainbridge, Robert Bowman, Eleanor Dryden, Alison Prince, Mari Roberts and Susan Watt

  First published 2013 by Macmillan

  This electronic edition published 2013 by Macmillan

  an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited

  Pan Macmillan, 20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR

  Basingstoke and Oxford

  Associated companies throughout the world

  www.panmacmillan.com

  ISBN 978-0-230-77147-5 EPUB

  Copyright © Jeffrey Archer 2013

  The right of Jeffrey Archer to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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  You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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