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
‘Sent with love and kisses, 07700 937374, Francesca’s eleven-digit pin code to a date with death with The Ghoul. Where this strand of evidence ends, the words we can’t know are spoken over mobile phones.’
Clay picked up Francesca Christie’s laptop and handed it back to Poppy.
‘Go and have a look around her documents, emails, Facebook, Poppy. See if you can find anything that can lead us to this James Griffiths. Work through the other laptop and phone we took from Francesca’s bedroom. Thank you. You’ve confirmed through the pattern you’ve uncovered that she’s been abducted.’
Clay worked it out. Just over seven hours had passed since Francesca was last seen on CCTV at the waterfront. In five days, her mutilated body would show up after a four- to five-day window in which she’d be a captive, ending with her being murdered.
‘Eve, do you want me to go and visit Francesca’s mother, let her know what we know?’ asked Stone.
‘I’d be grateful if you could do that, Karl. Call Samantha Green from family liaison and make the visit together.’
59
4.08 am
The Ghoul was ready.
It typed in one of its usernames and its matching password to access Pebbles On The Beach, the only hunting ground it needed, the one that had yielded success upon success.
Sandra.
Annie. Amanda.
Francesca.
She would need company, a mistake The Ghoul had made in his naive opening excursion.
It was one thing to keep a single woman imprisoned and terrified to the portals of hysteria and madness, but that was half the story, half the potential of the pleasure to be had balanced against the risks undertaken.
Two could comfort each other, but that was fleeting.
Two could feed from each other’s weaknesses, stoke up each other’s fault lines and raise the temperature of terror as The Ghoul prepared their separate endgames.
Sally Haydn? Annie Boyd’s lookalike and soundalike…
The Ghoul typed: Dear Sally, I am new to internet dating and am a little nervous around the whole process. However, I kept coming back to your profile picture and felt compelled to enter into a dialogue with you. Perhaps you could get in touch with me, maybe give me your mobile number and I could call you?
The Ghoul wrote words, more words, words that seemed to flow through the tips of those meaty fingers as they typed, fingers that would have an altogether different function at the endgame.
The Ghoul signed off the message – Fond regards – and remembered the name of the latest incarnation for this particular hunt. Geoff.
The Ghoul sent the message to Sally Haydn and smiled.
Next door, the sound of Francesca Christie crying seeped through the adjoining wall.
The Ghoul walked to the wall and picked out the place where her noise was loudest.
It stuck out a tongue and licked the bricks.