Before she got to the pub where Alice was waiting she sent a text message to Roy Slack to let him know that she was continuing to hit her target of one kill a day.

64

Laura

I couldn’t be sure that Carver had spotted me. But as he walked towards the car, I reached into my bag for the Taser. Just in case I was about to be confronted.

I was lucky that I wasn’t parked under or near to a street lamp. But if he looked through the windscreen he’d be sure to see the dark figure sitting behind the wheel.

Fortunately he didn’t look through the windscreen or the side window as he walked behind the car and onto the pavement.

Relieved, I let go of the Taser and exhaled as a jolt of adrenalin spiked through me.

I watched him in the wing mirror walking away from me along the pavement, so I decided I had little choice but to follow him. I didn’t think he’d be going too far without his car and it seemed too cold for a leisurely evening walk. He wasn’t even wearing a coat. Just a loose sweater over jeans.

So maybe he was going to the local pub for a drink, or to a restaurant for something to eat.

As it turned out he went as far as a small corner store where I held back and watched him go inside.

Through the window I saw a young female assistant reach up and pluck a pack of cigarettes from the shelf behind her.

As Carver paid her, I retraced my steps along the street so that I’d be a safe distance ahead of him if he returned home. And that was exactly what he did.

I seized the opportunity to get there before him and ducked down behind a pair of wheelie bins to the right of the front door.

A few seconds later I heard him step onto the driveway and I got a whiff of the cigarette he’d sparked up during his short walk back.

And then I heard him insert his key in the lock. As he pushed the front door open, I made my move, leaping out from behind the bins with the Taser in my outstretched hand.

He heard me and whirled around and as he did so I pulled the trigger, hitting him just below the chest with a fierce jolt of electricity that sent him sprawling backwards into his hallway.

He lay there on the carpet, his whole body shaking dramatically, his mouth wide open in shock.

I knew that I had to move fast, that he would soon stabilise and regain control of his muscles and senses.

So I whipped the cuffs from my bag and rushed through the doorway. I had to grab his arms and pull him away from the door so that I could kick it shut.