I knew I’d have to go, too. This was no chain-smoking runt you could knock down with a feather. This guy was what I’d been kidding myself I’d become – a streetwise tough. I turned away with a lump in my throat. I felt like I’d spend the rest of my life being pushed around. ‘It’s not fair,’ I choked.

What a wally I was. Fair! If I’d gone straight away he might not have spotted the watch on my wrist, but he did. He grabbed my sleeve. ‘Nice watch. Gizzit.’

‘No!’ The watch was my last treasure – a present from Mum before Vince came on the scene. I tried to pull away but he tightened his grip. ‘Gizzit, if you don’t want your face smashed in.’

I thought about calling for help. There were plenty of people passing, but I guess I knew it would do no good. Who’s going to risk a fist or a knife to help a dosser? I took off the watch and handed it over. It was a struggle not to burst into tears. He grinned. ‘Ta, wack. Very nice of yer. Now piss off.’

I went.

Daily Routine Orders 7

It’s like parachuting. Get the first jump over and it becomes routine, but you mustn’t get complacent. Check your equipment every time. Run through procedures. Know what’s what. Don’t fall into any traps.

There’s a trap serial killers fall into, namely, the trap of pattern. There’s something the same about each of their killings, and this tells the law that it’s the same person doing them. It also helps the police by saying something about the killer. For example, if all his victims are Mexican they know they’re probably looking for a bloke who hates Mexicans. If all the bodies are found in underground stations, they’re after someone who hangs around underground stations. It’s a trap, see? A trap of the killer’s own making, because it narrows the field.

I’ve got to be particularly careful about this. I can’t help making a pattern, because all of my clients are dossers. Bound to be. Of course, they’re not going to find bodies, in underground stations or anywhere else. I’m not that daft. But there is this unavoidable pattern, so what I have to do is create as much variety as possible without straying beyond the borders of my appointed task.