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
On the way out, Riley closed the door as Sergeant Harris escorted Edgar McKee in the direction of the cells.
‘Mr McKee? What job is it you do exactly in the abattoir?’
He looked over his shoulder and smiled.
‘I’ll tell you when Monica Davis gets here.’
91
10.23 pm
In the reception area of A&E in the Royal Hospital, Karl Stone waited and marvelled at the sights that greeted him.
A woman in her forties in Winnie-the-Pooh pyjamas, suede boots and with rollers in her hair limped past a homeless man stretched out and asleep two rows down. A man dressed as Elf, worse for wear, clutched a blood-stained towel to his head.
He looked at the clock and saw that Clay was well into her treatment for the three punches that she’d received on the back of her head and the wound on her forehead.
Stone walked to the doors leading into the treatment area, opened them and took in the bustle between the curtained-off bays.
A young nurse walked towards him and he showed her his warrant card.
‘How is DCI Clay?’
‘Ask her yourself in a minute.’
Halfway down the room, Clay emerged from behind a pair of curtains.
Her head was bandaged and, as she walked towards Stone, she looked as if she was fighting a huge internal battle.
‘She’s all yours,’ said the nurse, walking past him into the reception area.
‘Eve, what’s happening?’
She didn’t reply.
‘Aren’t you staying in for observation?’
‘No, Karl. The CAT scan’s clear and I’m discharging myself.’
‘Are you sure?’
He looked into her eyes and tried to read absence but all he could see was grim determination.
‘I’m sure. As you drive me back to Trinity Road, fill me in on anything I’ve missed.’
92
10.43 pm
‘I’ve sifted through some depressing crap in my time but Edgar McKee’s worldly goods are out there in a league of their own.’
Detective Sergeant Terry Mason eyed the contents of Edgar McKee’s living room, separated into sections on the long central table that dominated the room he shared with his assistant, Sergeant Paul Price.
On the floor, starting at Price’s feet and rising to the level of the tabletop, was a tower of evidence bags. He picked up the top bag and carefully took out a blue denim jacket. He placed the jacket down on a clear plastic sheet on the table and unpeeled a sheet from a lint roller.
‘Have you noticed the way the smell from his flat has carried over into our room?’ said Price, pressing the sticky sheet on the fabric of the collar.
There was a knock at the door.
‘Enter the cesspit,’ said Mason.
Poppy Waters, civilian IT expert, entered the room and the normally ever-present smile on her face dissolved instantly as she saw the vast collection of pornographic DVDs on the table.