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‘Change of plan, I’ back to my flat,’ she said

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Erika had been back at her flat for a couple of hours, when the buzzer went When she looked through the spy hole, she saw Peterson’s face, hed and unlocked the door

‘Hey, how you doing?’

‘Fine’

‘I stopped by your hotel in Dulwich, they said you’d checked out This hen I got there…’ he held up a white plastic bag

‘Is that Chinese?’

He nodded ‘It’s all the good stuff, too Crispy chilli beef, Chicken Chow Mein, crispy seaweed, prawn crackers’

‘Damn you How did you knoouldn’t have any food in?’

She stood to one side and let hi the flat The sofa bed was stacked with folded bedding, and there was a wet pink circle on the carpet with a can of carpet foa had been unscrewed, so had the la for both smoke alarms lay in pieces on the coffee table

‘I just phonedto read the gas or electricity ed you?’ asked Peterson putting the Chinese food down on the counter and opening the cupboards

‘Plates are all dirty,’ she said

‘Ohstuff on a plate

‘My sister made Bryndzove Halusky… It obviously doesn’t look like that when it’s fresh…’

He started to chip at it with the end of a fork Erika lit a cigarette and stared at the room ‘He would have had to have been quick’

‘Who?’

‘The meter man My sister and the kids were all here when he caarden’

‘Did you check the housing for the electricity box?’

‘Yes, there’s nothing’

Peterson washed a couple of plates and they sat down on the sofa Erika started to shovel the food in She reached for the reet the television to switch on Peterson leaned over and took the reh a mouthful of prawn crackers He turned the remote over and took of the back where the batteries were kept, and opened it

‘Well I’ll be damned,’ he said He pulled out a sth of wire

‘Jesus,’ said Erika putting her fork down ‘I thought I was being paranoid’