There was a car parked to his left. It was a strange place to leave a car; there wasn’t much around, but he carried on and walked under the bridge.

The air was cooler there, damp from the canal running overhead. He sped up, just a touch.

And then he heard it. A scuff in the darkness, like a shoe scraping on the ground.

Thursday, 19 August 2021

Alice

Alice fastened the tabs to close the nappy and poppered Joanna’s onesie shut. She picked her up and walked into the kitchen. Tom was stacking the dishwasher, a piece of toast dangling from his mouth. He looked exhausted, his eyes red and sunken. At five that morning his alarm had gone off, but he had slept through it, so she had gone into their room to wake him.

She felt bad, but she needed a few hours’ sleep before the day started.

‘Have a good day at work,’ she said. ‘Manjit invited us over for a drink this evening.’

‘Perfect. It’s only next door, so we can take Jo.’

‘I’ll let her know.’

‘Great. See you later. You have plans for today?’

‘None yet. Maybe get some work done when Little Miss Cranky allows it.’

He picked up his car keys and kissed her, the kiss dry and perfunctory. In her back pocket, her phone started to ring.

Her arms were full so she nodded over her head. ‘See who that is, would you?’

He pulled her phone out and showed her the screen.

‘It’s Nadia.’ She handed Jo to him. ‘I’d better take it. Can you hold her?’

‘Hey,’ Nadia said. ‘Can you talk?’

‘Sure. Something to share?’

‘Oh yes,’ Nadia said. ‘There’s something to share, all right.’

‘What is it?’ She held up a finger to Tom, as if to say Give me a minute. ‘Is it the killer?’

‘It is.’ Nadia paused. ‘There’s been another one.’

‘Another murder?’

‘Not a murder,’ Nadia said. ‘An attempt. But the victim got away.’

‘Who was it?’

‘A seventeen-year-old boy, walking back to his dad’s house in Grappenhall just after 2 a.m. He’d been at his girlfriend’s place and her dad came home unexpectedly. He wouldn’t have been best pleased to find him there – he doesn’t think much of him, apparently – so he scarpered.’

‘Where do they live?’

‘Lyons Lane. He was walking through Lumb Brook when it happened.’

‘How did he get away?’

Tom raised an eyebrow, then looked at his watch.

Alice shrugged, and mouthed Sorry.

‘The assailant was hiding under the aqueduct – the one the Bridgewater Canal runs over.’

‘I know it,’ Alice said. ‘I know it well.’

‘They had a large hammer – maybe a mallet or a smallish sledgehammer, and they jumped him, but he managed to duck out of the way.’

‘My God. Is he OK?’ Alice said.