a late-arriving guest staying. He only moved forward along the hallway when he was sure the floor above held nothing but emptiness.
Pink and blue light from the children’s night-lamps seeped through their partially opened doors – the blueness guiding him towards George, his grip on the special thing tightening. He was only seconds away from what he’d come for. He passed the girl’s room without looking inside and moved slowly, carefully, silently to the boy’s room, easing the door open, knowing the hinges wouldn’t make a noise. He crossed the room to the boy’s bed that was pushed up under the window, momentarily stopping to look around at the blue wallpaper with white clouds, periodically broken up by childish paintings in the boy’s own hand; the mobile of trains with smiling faces above the boy’s head and the seemingly dozens of teddy bears of all kinds spread across his bed and beyond. He felt both tears of joy and sadness rising from deep inside himself and swelling behind his eyes, but he knew he had to do what he’d come to do: a greater power than he or any man had guided him this far and would protect him the rest of the way.
He knelt next to the boy’s bed and placed the bag on the floor, his face only inches away from the child’s, their breath intertwining in the space between them and becoming one as he gently began to whisper. ‘George … sssh … George.’ The boy stirred under his duvet, his slight four-year-old body wriggling as it fought to stay asleep. ‘George … sssh … open your eyes, George. There’s nothing to be afraid of. I have something for you, George. Something very precious.’ The boy rolled over slowly, blinking sleep from his narrow eyes – eyes that suddenly grew large with excitement and confusion, a smile spreading across his face, his green eyes sparkling with joy as he saw what the man had brought him – reaching out for the precious gift as the man’s still gloved hand stroked his straight blond hair. ‘Do you want to come to a magic place with me, George? A special place with special things?’ he whispered. ‘If you do, we need to go now and we need to be very, very quiet. Do you understand?’ he asked smiling.
‘A magic place?’ the boy asked, yawning and stretching in his pale blue pyjamas, making the pictures of dinosaurs printed on them come to life.
‘Yes,’ the man assured him. ‘A place just for the best, nicest children to see.’
‘Do we have to go now?’ the boy asked.
‘Yes, George,’ the man told him, taking him by the hand and lifting his bag at the same time. ‘We have to go now. We have to go right now.’
Detective Inspector Sean Corrigan sat in his small goldfish bowl of an office at Peckham Police Station reading through CPS reports and reviews of the last case he and his team had dealt with – over six months ago now. Initially they’d all been glad of the lull in the number of murder investigations coming their way, but after six months, and with the paperwork for the last case already tidied away, they were growing bored and restless. They watched and waited as the other murder teams across south-east London continued to work on the everyday, run-of-the-mill murders that kept them in the overtime that meant they could pay their mortgages on time and maybe even save enough for an inexpensive family holiday. Sean’s team were beginning to feel the pinch and even old, experienced hands like Detective Sergeant Dave Donnelly were struggling to find increasingly creative ways to justify the need for them to work overtime.
Sean momentarily glanced up and looked into the main office where half his team casually sat at desks and computer screens, the usual sense of urgency plainly not there. He knew he and they were being kept for something special, but if this went on any longer he’d have to speak to Detective Superintendent Featherstone and ask him to toss his team something, even just a domestic murder – anything to
Pink and blue light from the children’s night-lamps seeped through their partially opened doors – the blueness guiding him towards George, his grip on the special thing tightening. He was only seconds away from what he’d come for. He passed the girl’s room without looking inside and moved slowly, carefully, silently to the boy’s room, easing the door open, knowing the hinges wouldn’t make a noise. He crossed the room to the boy’s bed that was pushed up under the window, momentarily stopping to look around at the blue wallpaper with white clouds, periodically broken up by childish paintings in the boy’s own hand; the mobile of trains with smiling faces above the boy’s head and the seemingly dozens of teddy bears of all kinds spread across his bed and beyond. He felt both tears of joy and sadness rising from deep inside himself and swelling behind his eyes, but he knew he had to do what he’d come to do: a greater power than he or any man had guided him this far and would protect him the rest of the way.
He knelt next to the boy’s bed and placed the bag on the floor, his face only inches away from the child’s, their breath intertwining in the space between them and becoming one as he gently began to whisper. ‘George … sssh … George.’ The boy stirred under his duvet, his slight four-year-old body wriggling as it fought to stay asleep. ‘George … sssh … open your eyes, George. There’s nothing to be afraid of. I have something for you, George. Something very precious.’ The boy rolled over slowly, blinking sleep from his narrow eyes – eyes that suddenly grew large with excitement and confusion, a smile spreading across his face, his green eyes sparkling with joy as he saw what the man had brought him – reaching out for the precious gift as the man’s still gloved hand stroked his straight blond hair. ‘Do you want to come to a magic place with me, George? A special place with special things?’ he whispered. ‘If you do, we need to go now and we need to be very, very quiet. Do you understand?’ he asked smiling.
‘A magic place?’ the boy asked, yawning and stretching in his pale blue pyjamas, making the pictures of dinosaurs printed on them come to life.
‘Yes,’ the man assured him. ‘A place just for the best, nicest children to see.’
‘Do we have to go now?’ the boy asked.
‘Yes, George,’ the man told him, taking him by the hand and lifting his bag at the same time. ‘We have to go now. We have to go right now.’
Detective Inspector Sean Corrigan sat in his small goldfish bowl of an office at Peckham Police Station reading through CPS reports and reviews of the last case he and his team had dealt with – over six months ago now. Initially they’d all been glad of the lull in the number of murder investigations coming their way, but after six months, and with the paperwork for the last case already tidied away, they were growing bored and restless. They watched and waited as the other murder teams across south-east London continued to work on the everyday, run-of-the-mill murders that kept them in the overtime that meant they could pay their mortgages on time and maybe even save enough for an inexpensive family holiday. Sean’s team were beginning to feel the pinch and even old, experienced hands like Detective Sergeant Dave Donnelly were struggling to find increasingly creative ways to justify the need for them to work overtime.
Sean momentarily glanced up and looked into the main office where half his team casually sat at desks and computer screens, the usual sense of urgency plainly not there. He knew he and they were being kept for something special, but if this went on any longer he’d have to speak to Detective Superintendent Featherstone and ask him to toss his team something, even just a domestic murder – anything to
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