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
Wren nodded and, as Cole picked up his chair and sat to the young man’s side, he noticed how he looked years younger and much more vulnerable than he had appeared at the desk as Sergeant Harris booked him in.
‘I’m going to show you some CCTV footage. I’ll stop it at various points and ask you some questions. I’ll talk you through the footage as you watch it so that you’re absolutely clear about what’s going on. Are you OK with that?’
‘K.’
‘Keep your eyes on the screen the whole time, Wren.’
Cole pressed play.
‘The white van you can see coming from the footpath between Allerton Manor Golf Course and Allerton Towers belongs to Edgar.’ Cole paused the footage. ‘Do you recognise the van?’
‘Yes.’
‘Do you accept that it belongs to Edgar?’
Wren shrugged. ‘Don’t know.’
‘Let’s put that another way. Could it possibly belong to Edgar?’
‘It could do. It could belong to you. How many white vans are there in existence?’
Cole pressed play.
‘The driver of the white van’s turning his vehicle left to get into the lane of Heath Road leading away from the golf course and in the direction of Mather Avenue. It’s coming up to a house on the corner of that road. It’s now directly aligned with…’ He paused. ‘…that house. This is what the CCTV camera picked up. Don’t look away, Wren.’
Mr Robson touched Wren’s sleeve and said, ‘Listen to DC Cole. Look, Wren!’
Wren’s eyes shifted like dead weights back to the screen of Cole’s laptop.
‘Who’s that?’ Cole pointed at the screen. ‘Who’s that sitting on the passenger seat?’
Wren stared intensely at the screen, as if he was trying to wipe it clean by the power of his mind.
‘That’s you, Wren, isn’t it?’ Cole prompted. ‘Remember what we said about being a good witness?’
The only sound in the room was the hum of the clock on the wall.
‘If Captain Cyclone was sitting in the room in your place, what would he say?’ asked Cole.
‘He’d say it was me,’ replied Wren.
‘What do you say, Wren?’
‘I’d say it was me.’
‘That’s a great answer, Wren.’ Cole touched the screen. ‘See my finger. Whose hands are those, just above my finger? Whose hands are on the steering wheel?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘They’re Edgar’s hands, aren’t they?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘You’ve just driven away from the public footpath between the golf course and the park. That’s nowhere near your house in Gateacre, or the abattoir in Old Swan. Why did Edgar drive you to the footpath?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Did you ask him why he’d driven you there?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘How far up the footpath did you travel?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘What did you see?’
‘Nothing.’