Chapters (156)
- A DATE WITH DEATH
- Also by Mark Roberts
- A Date With Death
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- The Past
- 1977
- Day OneWednesday, 1st December 2021CatoptrophobiaFear of mirrors
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- The Past
- 1979
- Day TwoThursday, 2nd December 2021OneirophobiaFear of dreams
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 51
- 52
- The Past
- 1980
- Day ThreeFriday, 3rd December 2021MonophobiaFear of being alone
- 53
- 54
- 55
- 56
- 57
- 58
- 59
- 60
- 61
- 62
- 63
- 64
- 65
- 66
- 67
- 68
- 69
- 70
- 71
- 72
- 73
- 74
- 75
- 76
- 77
- 78
- 79
- 80
- 81
- 82
- 83
- 84
- 85
- 86
- 87
- 88
- 89
- 90
- 91
- 92
- 93
- 94
- 95
- 96
- 97
- 98
- The Past
- 1982
- Day FourSaturday, 4th December 2021ThanatophobiaFear of Death
- 99
- 100
- 101
- 102
- 103
- 104
- 105
- 106
- 107
- 108
- 109
- 110
- 111
- 112
- 113
- 114
- 115
- 116
- 117
- 118
- 119
- 120
- 121
- 122
- 123
- 124
- 125
- 126
- 127
- 128
- 129
- 130
- 131
- 132
- 133
- 134
- 135
- 136
- 137
- About the Author
- An Invitation from the Publisher
‘I’m sorry,’ said Bryony’s mother. ‘There’s been some sort of confusion here. Clearly. Francesca hasn’t been here this evening. She hasn’t been here for at least a fortnight.’
‘Then I’m afraid Bryony’s been lying to me.’
‘What?’ Bryony’s mother sounded like she’d been stung by a wasp.
‘OK, OK, OK,’ said Bryony. ‘She asked me to cover for her. I’m sorry for lying to you, but Francesca asked me to. She’s gone out on a date. I’m not sure if it’s someone from the internet but she’s been doing online dating sites. She said it was a blind date… shit! Oh my God…’
There was an ugly silence before Margaret asked, ‘Bryony, what do you know about the man Francesca’s been out with?’
‘Nothing. She wanted to keep quiet about the date. She asked me to cover her tracks. I’m sorry.’
Francesca’s mother replaced the receiver as the balloon within her swelled by the moment and threatened to swamp her vital organs.
She picked up her car keys and hurried from the house.
54
0.10 am
Savage pain woke her up; a deep throbbing pressure down in the stem of her brain. She felt something cold, metallic and heavy on her stomach and she knew that she was naked. She opened her eyes and found she was in a bare room doused in flickering red light.
Red. Black. Red. Black.
Everything flashed through her head in a heartbeat, and she was filled with horror at what she could remember and terrorised by what may have been when she was unconscious.
She reached a hand towards the space between her legs but was held back by the chain that bound her.
Francesca shuffled up the bed a little, took a series of deep breaths and analysed her entire body. There was no pain or sensation in her vagina or anus. She touched herself to double-check but there was no sign of invasion.
She closed her eyes and took a series of deep breaths, retraced the steps of a living nightmare, felt the point of a blade against her throat, a weapon that wasn’t there in the cell but the sharpness felt like it had left an indelible stamp on her skin.
‘Owwww!’ She mouthed the cry, not wanting to attract attention to herself, and recalling the force and speed of the first blow that had overwhelmed her as she tried to get into her car.
She thought she’d driven in silence but her useless words came back to her.
‘Let me go. Please. Let me just pull up by the pavement. You can have my car. You can have my bag and purse. I won’t tell the police, I promise. I won’t tell anyone.’