22

WITHOUT WARNING, THE WEIGHT PUSHING AGAINST ME moved away. I almost fell but managed to grab hold of the door-frame. Taking a deep breath, I turned round slowly.

Mark Joesbury was shaking his head at me, like I was something forced into his way but far beneath his notice. In his right hand he held his car keys. It had been a key, not a knife, at my throat.

‘Are you out of your fucking mind?’ he said, in a voice that would have carried easily up to the street.

‘How dare you touch me?’ I spat back at him. ‘I’ll have you up on a charge for this—’

‘Oh, you’re really going to tell Tulloch you were out shagging your way around north London when she specifically told you to come home, lock your doors and go to bed?’

Any second now, he’d wake the people in the upstairs flats.

‘Why the hell are you following me, you sad, pathetic—’

‘There is a man out there who gets off on slicing women open.’ Joesbury took a step closer, lowered his voice just a fraction. ‘You narrowly missed a close encounter with him on Friday and, just in case this hasn’t sunk in yet, he knows your name and probably where you live.’

‘That does not give you the right—’

‘Shut up,’ he went on. ‘Most women in your position would be scared shitless. How come you’re not?’

‘I haven’t the faintest idea …’ Any second now I’d wake the people upstairs.

Joesbury was so close I could feel his breath on my face. ‘This is your last chance to tell me voluntarily, Flint,’ he said. He wasn’t shouting any more, just quietly furious. ‘If you know anything about Friday night’s stabbing that you haven’t already owned up to, I strongly advise you to cough up now.’

Raindrops and roses. Pale-blue eyes, staring into mine.

‘Because if you don’t and I find out,’ he continued, ‘I will wipe the frigging floor with you.’

Deep breath. Get hold of the last of my nerve. ‘Go fuck yourself,’ I managed.

For a second, just from the look in his eyes, I thought he was going to hit me. Then he got a hold of himself, taking a deep breath himself and letting it out slowly. He shook his head again, and I didn’t think I’d ever seen anyone look at me with quite such contempt.

‘Given the choice, I’d wipe my hands of you, Flint,’ he said. ‘I think you’re trouble. But Dana, for some reason, has taken a bit of a shine to you and she cannot deal with any more stress right now. So for her sake, I’m giving you a warning. Keep your nose clean or I’ll break it.’

At that moment, he looked perfectly capable of doing so. ‘You are way out of line,’ I told him.

He stepped closer still, clearly one of those men who use their size to intimidate. ‘You are a member of the Metropolitan police service,’ he said. ‘I suggest you try and remember that. And I really hope you’re not up to anything you shouldn’t be in Camden. But if you are, I’ll find out. Watch your back.’

He’d turned away and was heading for the steps when I came to my senses. I could not let this man launch a serious investigation into me. He was halfway up before I found my voice.

‘DI Joesbury.’

I watched him register the change in my voice, saw his shoulders moving as he took in another deep breath.

‘I go to Camden for sex,’ I said, quietly, but knowing he was listening hard. I let my jacket slip off my shoulders and saw him turn as it fell to the ground. The dress I was wearing was sleeveless, held up by thin straps.

‘I don’t have a regular boyfriend and I don’t want one,’ I went on. Joesbury didn’t move. I saw the light from the streetlamp was turning his skin a soft gold. ‘But there are times when what I can do on my own just isn’t enough. Can you understand that?’

His right hand clenched around his car keys and he took a step forward. He was coming back down the steps. What the hell had I done? I hadn’t planned for this, would never be ready for this, and how could I not have realized before – Mark Joesbury scared me.

I’d stepped backwards, could feel the stone wall cold against my skin. Joesbury saw the panic in my face and stopped moving. His eyes narrowed and we stared at each other for a second longer. Then he turned, climbed the rest of the steps and disappeared.

I stayed where I was for a long time, long after I heard his car drive away. I didn’t even bother picking up my jacket. When I could no longer be sure whether I was trembling with fury, fear, or just plain cold, I made my way inside.