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Chapter One

The sound of the inco call broke the silence in the station

Maurice Cragg, the desk sergeant, glanced up as PC Gary Close reached for his mobile and answered it

Under normal circumstances, he would not allow personal calls at work, as was the right of any eave way to his leniency Not the least of which was the fact he was engrossed in a serial on BBC Radio 4, a lost classic from the archives recently discovered The fact that it was also three o’clock in theon Monday, meant the small co to actually do

Also, he liked Gary Close Close was pretty slied coe acne Despite being only nineteen, he was no stranger to bad luck His father had been killed when Gary was eleven His best friend had died of a drug overdose about four years ago, in extre playing Sunday League football, and had returned to work following only a two-month convalescence And to top it all, his nosed hat seemed like an inoperable brain tumour

Cragg sighed God, he felt sorry for that lad But for all that, he had the o the extra mile to help out He’d make detective someday, if his temper didn’t have the better of him

“What do you mean, three hours?” demanded Gary

Cragg glanced up again, slightly irritated at the interruption but concerned by Gary’s tone

“Who is this?” shouted the PC

Cragg lowered the volu a keener interest

Gary lanced at the screen “Number withheld,” he said to Maurice He raised the mobile and tried to continue the conversation “Hello?” Gary lowered the cell “He’s gone”

“Who has?” Cragg asked, leaning forward in his armchair They were currently in the back roo room They had a table and chairs, a three-piece suite, a wooden floor with an assorts, and wallpaper that must have ceased production in the 1950s

“That’s just it, I don’t know”

“Well, as he on about, three hours?”

“When I answered, he just said ‘you’ve got three hours left’”

“To what? He didn’t say anything else? He didn’t hint towards anything?” asked Cragg, trying to assess whether or not it was serious In the background the only thing he could hear was the continuation of his serial at a much lower volume

“No,” replied Gary

“Did you hear anything else, any background noise? Cars, phones ringing, a party going on somewhere?”

“No, nothing That’s as unsettling me”

“A hoax call, maybe?”

“Could be, but you’d still expect to hear so else, wouldn’t you?”

Cragg glanced at his watch “Perhaps not, especially at this ti to happen in three hours? Or where?”