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
‘Tell me, as accurately as you can, what was said, Lydia. The detail you offer could make a massive difference.’
‘He said, I love you and I’m sorry for what I’ve done but I don’t know what else to do. I asked him if he was in trouble and he told me he didn’t know. I asked him for more detail but he said he couldn’t. And then he mentioned your name. Detective Chief Inspector Eve Clay. He said he wanted to get in touch with you. He mentioned your name over and over, as if it was stuck in his head like a scratched record. One moment he wanted to talk to you, the next he didn’t know if he could do it. It was like he was talking in riddles. I tried to calm him down by asking him simple questions. Where are you? Are you with anyone? Have you had anything to eat? Have you got somewhere to stay? But all he came back with was how conflicted he felt.
‘I asked if he had your number. He told me he did have it. I asked him why he had your number? He told me the police had been into the office over Francesca Christie’s disappearance. I thought maybe that’s the thing that’s pushed him over the edge. Francesca. He said he was going to hang up. I told him, you must get in touch with DCI Clay. You haven’t done anything wrong. She’ll help you if she can. I insisted. I made the point over and over. Then he hung up and I haven’t heard from him since.’
Clay refilled the glass from the water jug and Lydia downed it in one.
‘So, he had been in the office despite what Norma said,’ concluded Lydia. And she didn’t even mention the police calling in. What’s she playing at?’
‘I’m not sure. Thank you so much for coming in and telling me. I know how difficult this must have been for you.’
She placed the glass down on the table, held on to the edges with a claw-like grip.
‘Is he in trouble with you, DCI Clay?’
‘No, not as far as I’m aware.’ Clay drank in the woman’s profound unhappiness as they engaged over the short expanse of a wooden table. ‘I want you to do something for me, Lydia. If Daniel does get back in touch with you, I want you to keep hammering home the message that he must call me directly. Reassure him that you’ve spoken to me and that he’s not in trouble. Tell him I very much want to help him. But he must make that call.’
Lydia nodded and Clay read unspoken words in the heaviness of her eyes and the lines on her face.