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
‘I don’t know. Is she capable of doing such a thing?’
‘I don’t know. She was furious with her.’
Hendricks took two pieces of paper from his pocket.
‘I’d like you to look at these two lists for me, Carolyn.’
He passed her the first paper, a copy of the six names of former employees supplied by Norma Maguire.
‘We asked Norma to give us the names of six people who had resigned from Maguire Holdings.’
He read his own writing, upside down on the desk.
Francesca Christie
Max Rodgers
Peter Gould
Eric Smith
Richard Ezra
David Ellis
As she looked at the list, the lines in her brow deepened.
‘You recognise these people?’
‘Yes.’
Hendricks passed her the second list and asked, ‘How about this?’
Francesca Christie
Geoff Campbell
James Griffiths
Thomas Saddler
Richard Ezra
Michael Towers
‘They all worked here in the past?’
‘Yes.’
‘What’s the difference between the two lists, Carolyn?’
She turned the first list round and passed it back to Hendricks.
‘With the exception of Francesca and Richard, these were temporary members of staff, agency workers covering short-term illnesses and maternity leave. Max, Pete, Eric and David didn’t leave as such. Their time here came to a natural end. Norma didn’t care about them leaving.’
She passed the second list back to Hendricks.
‘These were all full-time, permanent members of the team. When they walked out, Norma felt betrayed by them. They all went on to better things with other estate agents and that really was the icing on the cake. There was a pattern in Norma’s reaction. Anger and hurt were followed by barely concealed rage. The rage calmed down but didn’t go away, it smouldered beneath the surface. And no one dared mention their names.’
‘Why?’
‘Just after he’d left, she overheard one of the juniors talking favourably about Richard Ezra. She went mad at him and fired him two days later on a trumped-up pretext.’
‘She hated them that much?’ Hendricks checked.
‘Norma spends a lot of time on her own when she isn’t here. Alone in that big old house with too much time on her hands. In my view, she festers there. In her head, she demonised them.’ Tears welled up in Carolyn’s eyes. ‘She’s done something to Francesca, hasn’t she?’
‘I hope not. But we don’t know where Francesca is and that’s worrying. How would you describe Norma Maguire’s feelings towards Francesca Christie?’
She looked extremely uncomfortable.
‘I need to know, Carolyn.’
‘She was absolutely head over heels in love with Francesca from the moment she walked over the threshold. The way she acted around her was farcical and embarrassing. She was like a schoolgirl around a pop star.’
Hendricks said nothing but then asked, ‘Are there places that are special to Norma Maguire? Places she goes to when she’s sad or needs to think?’
‘I’ll think about it, DS Hendricks.’