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
Sergeant Harris opened the door to Norma Maguire’s cell and Clay entered.
‘Ms Maguire?’
She didn’t move or respond.
‘Your time’s running out,’ said Clay, standing over her, staring down at her. ‘I know you can hear me.’
Norma Maguire’s arms hung over the sides of her wheelchair, her head was down and her eyes were shut. Clay sat on the bench close to her.
‘I saw your gun and I realised you weren’t who you claimed to be. Alarm bells went off in my head. I looked in your bag. I saw your warrant card, and I knew I was totally out of my depth. I panicked. I left you where you were.’
Norma Maguire opened her eyes as she lifted her head.
‘Are you sorry for Francesca Christie? Are you sorry that you abducted her?’
‘I have remorse. She could kill me with a sideways glance.’
‘One thing at a time, Ms Maguire. Why did you steal Francesca’s doll?’
In her wheelchair, she started to turn a circle.
‘I wanted to be close to her.’
‘Edgar’s told us everything.’
Something horrible shifted from Norma Maguire’s brain and it cast shadows across her eyes.
‘Shut up, Norma. Shut up your fat, ugly mouth,’ said Norma Maguire, in a mean theatrical voice. ‘Shut up your fat, ugly face. You look and sound like your fucking bastard father.’
‘Were these your mother’s words?’
‘Yes. Keep your ugly face out of my sight and stop polluting my beauty.’
Norma Maguire’s wheelchair tipped forward and she spilled out of it on to the cell floor.
Clay stooped and extended her hands towards her.
‘Keep your hands off me.’
Norma Maguire crawled away from the chair into the corner of the room. On its side, the right wheel spun to a halt as Norma came to a dead end.
‘You’re moving your lower limbs, Ms Maguire,’ said Clay.
From the waist up, Norma raised her body, supporting her weight with her hands against the cell walls, her face buried in the corner.
Clay walked a few paces towards her and said, ‘Stand up!’
Sobbing, Norma lifted her left knee, placing the weight on the sole of her foot. She did the same on her right side and, in a handful of moments, pulled herself up with her hands against the wall.
She turned.
‘Walk with me, Ms Maguire.’
She began walking in a tight circle, her hands between her armpits, her eyes shut, her face knotted.
‘I’ll tell you where Fran is. I’ll tell you everything but just leave me alone.’
134
3.53 pm
Clay looked in her wing mirror as she drove from Regent Road on to Crosby Road South, saw Riley, Hendricks and Stone in the three cars directly behind her.