1980

HISS -

Piano -

Drums -

Bass -

‘How can this be love, if it makes us cry?’

STOP .

HISS -

Cries -

Whispers -

Hell:

‘How can the world he as sad as it seems?’

STOP .

HISS -

Cries -

Whispers -

More hell:

‘How much do you love me?’

STOP .

HISS -

Cries -

Cries -

Cries:

‘Sti rip sll iwl lik Hunter!’

STOP .

At the door, thinking of the prints on the tape:

Jack Whitehead.

At the door, the note in her mouth:

5 LUV .

At the door, messages -

Messages -

Messages and signs -

Messages, signs and symbols -

Of death.

Everywhere the distractions, everywhere but here -

Here, symbols -

Here, signs -

Here messages:

In the bleak midwinter, make a friend of death -

Here death -

Only death -

No distractions -

Only messages -

Messages -

Messages and signs -

Messages, signs and symbols -

Of death -

Only death, a friend:

In the bleak midwinter, make a friend of death -

I step inside -

Inside:

Silence, deathlike.

Heavy workbenches, oil and chains, tools; the stink of machines, oil and chains, tools; the sound of dirty water, oil and chains, tools; dripping, dripping, dripping, dripping, tools:

Jack Whitehead.

High skylights, night and rain against the pane -

The workbench bare, the body gone:

Bob Douglas.

I walk across the wet and bloody concrete floor, walk to the door and with my boot I push it open -

Push and see a muddy bath affixed to the wall, its head towards the night from the skylight, bare:

Karen Douglas.

Head bowed, I stand before the empty bath -

Silence, deathlike:

Missed something -

Know we have -

Know -

I walk down the side of the garage to the shed at the back.

I take the key from my pocket and unlock the door.

I am cold, freezing.

I go inside, lock the door behind me and put on the light.

My room -

The War Room.

I sit down at the desk and stare at the wall above Anabasis:

One map, thirteen photographs -

Each photograph a face, each face a letter and a date, a number on each forehead.

I turn from one of the grey metal filing cabinets to the other -

From the one marked Ripper -

To the one marked Yorkshire.

I lean over to the grey metal filing cabinet marked Yorkshire and I take out a file – one from the front:

Douglas, Robert -

To an old newspaper dated:

Tuesday 24 December 1974 -

To the Front Page and the headline: