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
‘Jackie?’ Clay’s voice was filled with kindness but under the surface there was an urgency that made the woman turn her head immediately. ‘I’m sorry you had to see what you saw but I thank you for having the presence of mind to call us as soon as you did. The switchboard operator you spoke to stressed how quick and precise you’d been with her.
‘This is my warrant card. My name is DCI Eve Clay. I’m going to tape our conversation. Are you OK with that, Jackie?’
‘That’s fine.’
‘Please tell me everything that happened, everything you saw or heard, Jackie.’
Clay saw Jackie flatten the wet fur on the dog’s head and Oscar’s eyes glinted in what the street lights cast down from the dead sky behind them.
‘I walked Oscar down Menlove Avenue from Vale Road and once we’d passed the house where John Lennon lived as a boy we crossed the road at the same point we do every time we go for the walk.’
The smell of wet dog hit Clay and she sensed the witness sinking inside herself.
‘Where was that spot, Jackie?’
‘By the high-rise flats, at the 76 bus stop, over the road from the footpath that cuts across the golf course. Oscar’s a creature of habit. He dictates.’
‘Did you see any pedestrians?’
‘No. If I did, I didn’t notice.’
‘Any cars going either way down the dual carriageway?’
‘A few. Either way.’
‘No one speeding?’
‘Not that I’m aware of.’
‘Where did you go once you’d crossed the road?’
‘Up the wide footpath. There’s a gap in the hedge that leads on to the left-hand side of the golf course. Oscar dragged me through it, same as usual. We walked across the golf course towards Allerton Towers.’
‘Anyone on the golf course?’
‘Oscar saw someone, something. He made this noise in his throat…’ She lowered her voice. ‘It’s a pathetic note. It’s the noise he makes when he’s really scared. He ran towards it.’
‘Jackie, if he was scared, why did he run towards it?’