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
‘No. They didn’t. But I know they’d never have approved in a million years. Annie had a theoretical conversation about it with them after they’d watched a documentary on TV together. They didn’t like it because of the risk element and the strange fish the sites attracted. So when Annie joined Pebbles On The Beach, she asked me not to tell anyone in case it got back to her parents.’
‘Why did she join?’
‘She attracted a lot of unwanted male attention, married creeps, single men who loved themselves. She needed the love of a good man, and was at her wit’s end.’
‘What do you know about the man she went to meet on the night she disappeared?’
‘Nothing much.’
‘What about a name?’
‘Richard Ezra. That’s what he told her he was called. We’d had a falling out. It upset me because we’d always been open with each other about everything since we were little girls. It was like she was going through a sudden massive change. She was becoming more and more distant.’
‘Can you tell me about the falling out?’
‘I got married to my now husband, Gary, four weeks ago. When we got back from honeymoon, two weeks ago, it was like she was a changed woman. We hadn’t spoken while I was away in Dubai but then as soon as I got back she sent me this.’
Cathy looked like a woman whose mouth was running away from her and her brain was sprinting to keep up.
‘Go on?’ encouraged Clay.
Cathy took out her iPhone and opened the texts.
She slid the phone across the table to Clay.
Cathy – I am genuinely happy for you and am sure that your happiness will increase with time. At least I hope and pray it does. However, things have changed, the goalposts have shifted. You have a husband and home to think about now and the time that we spend together can no longer be the same. We need time apart. Love you, Annie xxx
Annie, wondered Clay, were you torn between envy and the need to do the right thing by the newlyweds?
‘Have you got other texts from Annie?’
‘Very few. We always talked on the phone. But when I did call her, her phone was off or it went to answer machine. I left messages on her phone but she didn’t get back to me. We only texted in emergencies or if one or other of us was on the phone to someone else.’
‘Mind if I have a scroll, Cathy?’
In three scrolls of the screen, Clay had the entire body of Annie’s texts to Cathy and the content could be summed up in a question and an instruction that completely supported Cathy’s claim.
Who are you on to, donut?
Call me when you can.