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
Winters paused the footage and called Clay from his landline phone.
‘Eve, it looks like Annie Boyd got stood up. He had no intention of meeting her in such a CCTV-rich part of the Albert Dock. She’s on her way back to the place where she parked her car.’
‘How was she?’
‘She looks like she’s had seven balls of shit kicked out of her. I’ll call you when I’ve got the bigger picture.’
Winters replaced the receiver and looked at Annie’s back, frozen on screen, and imagined how she must have felt after waiting in the cold to be horribly let down.
He turned the footage on and watched Annie walk away into the dark, never to return.
36
11.01 am
The headless carcass of a black and white cow travelled towards Edgar McKee on a moving rail. The cow was suspended by the base of its legs on two metallic clamps.
‘Are you ready to have a turn, Wren?’
‘Sure, Edgar.’
‘OK, so… what’s the big word in this process?’
‘The big word in the process of skinning the carcass of a cow is hygiene.’
‘Well done. Great answer. You’re a fast learner.’
Edgar drank in the beaming smile on Wren’s face.
‘Any questions, Wren?’
‘Why are they hanging from the rail?’
‘It’s the most hygienic way of bleeding and stripping the carcass. Bleeding continues until it’s a trail and then we can skin it. Why do I use a plastic-handled knife instead of a wooden-handled knife?’ asked Edgar.
‘More hygienic, Edgar.’
The headless cow swung under the impetus of the vibration that ran through the moving rail. Edgar handed Wren the sticking knife.
‘Stick the knife in just above the breastbone at a forty-five-degree angle pointed in the direction of where its neck used to be. Cut.’
Edgar watched Wren’s lips move as he performed the action, repeating the information in the silence of his head.
‘Am I doing good, Edgar?’
‘You’re doing just great. Cut away between the hide and carcass and pull the skin away carefully. What must never ever happen, Wren?’
‘The outer skin must never touch the carcass because this can cause contamination by the bacteria on the hide, messing up the uncontaminated body of the cow.’
‘Cut and pull away, cut and pull away, keep going, fold the outer skin away from the carcass. Leave the left-hand side for a minute and attend to the right. Cut and pull, slow but sure.’
Wren obeyed Edgar, his tongue poking out as he concentrated on the task in hand.
‘Carry on, Wren. Anyone says anything to you that you don’t like, you tell me. I’m your mate, remember. You and me, best mates.’
Wren continued cutting and peeling away the skin of the cow, centimetres away from his face.
‘You are… so… the coolest person I’ve ever met, Edgar.’