Within minutes, more officers arrived and were cordoning off the area. I was taken back to the car. The police station wasn’t far. Inside the entrance was a short corridor with a thick metal door at the end. The front desk was to the right, cased in protective glass. It smelt stale and musty. As soon as we arrived, I was escorted into the ‘rape suite’. A female doctor who looked too young to be practising explained that she would take samples of my saliva, urine, blood and pubic hair to keep as evidence and in the hope any DNA could be found. Her voice apologetic as she told me vaginal and rectal swabs would also need to be taken. As she moved through the process, I felt numb, only wincing when she got to the internal examination and collection.

‘I’m so sorry. I know it’s uncomfortable. I’ll try and be as quick as I can,’ she said gently as all my muscles tensed and I fought the urge to snap my legs shut. Unable to conceal the tears streaming down my cheeks, I looked away at the wall and bit the inside of my cheek until it bled. Once I was fully dressed, I sat at her desk as she wrote up my notes. The doctor gave me emergency contraception to take and advised me to get tested for STDs as soon as possible.

‘I’m sure he wore a condom,’ I mumbled.

‘Better safe than sorry,’ she replied. as she wrote up my notes.

Exhausted, I wanted to go home, but I had to give my statement first. I was escorted to an interview room where Detective Emmerson waited.

‘Thank you for your time this morning, Eve. I imagine it’s not been easy. Can I get you anything to drink before we start?’

‘No, thank you.’ I wrapped my arms around myself.

‘Okay. Ready to start?’ I nodded.

‘How would you describe your attacker?’

‘He was taller than me, around five seven, I think. I didn’t see his face.’

‘How old you do think he was?’

‘I don’t know, umm, mid to late twenties. Maybe even thirty. I can’t be sure.’

‘What colour was his skin?’

‘White.’

‘Hair colour?

‘I don’t know, I didn’t see.’

‘Did you see any hair at all, on his arm or legs? Eyebrows?’

‘No. He had long sleeves, I’m not sure if it was a hoody or a sweatshirt and he wore jogging bottoms. He also had gloves and a balaclava on.’

‘What colour were they? Any distinguishing marks or logos?’

My thoughts turned to those plain trainers.

‘No, none that I could see. Everything was black.’

‘Did you see his eyes? What colour were they?’

I recoiled. His eyes would haunt me forever. Ice blue, cold and empty, devoid of any emotion.

‘They were blue.’

‘Okay, tell me what he said to you, what did he sound like? Any accents?’