Alice looked at her, startled. She’d never suggested anyone looking in her day pack before; in fact she kept it close to her at all times, the reason for which Alice now understood. So why was she suggesting Alice look in her day pack now? She must know she’d see the money.

Maybe she didn’t care. If Alice asked her about it, she‘d say it was the way she preferred to manage her finances.

Or maybe she knew Alice had looked in her day pack and was seeing how she’d react.

‘OK,’ Alice said. ‘But we’re not getting out for a while, are we?’

‘God no,’ Brenda said. ‘I love it here. And it’s so peaceful.’ She turned a slow 360, scanning the area. ‘There’s not a soul in sight.’

She was right, Alice thought. They were completely alone.

Anything could happen, and no one would ever know.

She found it an oddly thrilling feeling.

‘Good idea, Brenda,’ she said. ‘Let’s stay a while.’

Friday, 27 August 2021

Tom

He was not staying a day longer in this house. Whether Alice agreed or not, he and Joanna were leaving. A few years before, one of his colleagues had been held up at knifepoint when he was getting into his Audi A3, and the car had been stolen. He had been left by the side of the road with no transport home, but that wasn’t his problem. His problem was that there was a printout of a holiday booking on the front seat, giving the details of when he and his girlfriend would be away, as well as their home address.

They’d gone to a hotel until they felt safe enough to return home, so that was what he and Alice would do. First a hotel and then a move to somewhere they couldn’t be found until the killer was caught.

He told his boss most of what was happening, and she agreed he could work remotely for as long as it took.

Now he just had to talk it through with Alice.

‘We have to go,’ he said. ‘When all this started we thought that there was no threat to you. The killer was using you to communicate with the police or the public or whatever fucked up reason they had, but they had their method of killing and they would stick to it, so you and me and Jo would be safe. But that’s changed.’

She nodded, and sipped her coffee.

‘It’s personal now,’ he said. ‘There’s a direct threat to you. You’re next, Alice. That’s what it said. It might be bluff, but we can’t risk it. It’s not safe.’

She nodded again, then spoke.

‘I know,’ she said, simply. ‘I agree.’