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
He stood up immediately and the blanket slipped from his head and shoulders on to the floor.
‘I want to go home right now.’
‘We’re working very hard to make that happen for you, Wren,’ said Clay. ‘But you’ve got to play your part too if you want to make it happen. Come with me.’
‘Where are we going?’ he asked, as he followed Clay out of the cell and into the corridor.
Clay allowed him to position himself behind Sergeant Harris and ahead of herself. She placed a hand gently between his shoulder blades and spoke softly. ‘Keep going, Wren. You’re doing just great.’
They turned a corner and passed through automatic sliding doors.
‘Are you going to interview me again, DCI Clay?’
‘Not just yet.’
‘Then where are you taking me?’
‘For a walk. OK, we can stop right here.’
Wren read out loud the metal plate on the door. ‘Interview Suite 1. I don’t like this room, take me away from it.’
Clay’s iPhone rang out in her bag. She took it out and saw WINTERS on the display.
‘Sergeant Harris, can you go on that message for me. Please go back to the cells and return as quickly as possible.’
Clay connected the call.
‘What’s going on?’ asked Wren.
‘Wait a minute, Wren,’ said Clay. ‘Clive, how did you get on?’
She walked away from Wren’s hearing.
‘Badly. She was with him last night during the time window in which Francesca Christie was snatched. They were in the Travelodge on the edge of Liverpool One. She genuinely seems to like him. Like he was her star trick. She told me to check the CCTV in the hotel. That would back up the alibi she was providing for him.’
‘Anything else?’
‘She’s written down what they did together during that time. If you ask him about that and his version of events tallies up with hers, that’ll confirm that they were together.’
‘Where are you?’ asked Clay. ‘Hey, turn around, Wren, or else!’
‘Or else what?’ He turned his back on Clay. ‘What have I done wrong now?’
‘I’m on the edge of Garston Village, a minute away from Trinity Road.’
‘Put your foot down, get here as quickly as you can. Come directly to Interview Suite 1 with that piece of paper.’
She closed the call down.
‘Can you hear that, Wren?’
‘What?’
The corridor was completely quiet.
‘Listen…’
Around the corner came the hiss of a pair of automatic doors opening and a voice talking softly to someone else.
‘What’s going on?’ asked Wren.
‘The man you just heard was Sergeant Harris.’
His voice came closer.
‘Is he talking to himself?’
‘No.’
A female voice blended into the mixture of muffled sound.
‘Then who is he talking to?’
Clay turned her iPhone on to video, went to stand behind Wren and pointed it at the back of his head and the corridor in front of him.