hand on his cheek, she stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his.
She was cold, so cold, there but only just; it was the tenuous memory of a kiss.
She broke off, her hand raised to her lips, she looked shocked.
Dan tried not to shiver but smiled. ‘Different,’ he said.
Tess took a full five seconds to answer.
‘Terrible you mean,’ she said quietly. Dan thought she was struggling to regain her composure. She walked back to the settee and sat down, looking very pensive. Dan went back to the other sofa, sensing she needed space.
‘Not terrible at all,’ he said.
‘Liar. You shivered.’
He shrugged.
‘Look I was sick straight, after the first time I kissed a girl so as new experiences go, that was fine.’
Tess didn’t smile, in fact her expression didn’t change. She looked distant, shocked.
‘Did you feel anything?’ he said.
‘No,’ she said, rather too quickly.
He was about to say “liar” back but stopped himself in time. He could tell that something had happened, though he wasn’t sure what it was, but that now wasn’t the time for levity, now was the time for diplomacy. He stood up and went back to the dining table.
‘Come on,’ he said gently, ‘help me with this other application.’
Tess made no move.
‘Tess?’ he prompted.
‘What?’ she said looking up, ‘Oh, right, yes sure.’
They sat down at the dining table again and Dan placed the other job advert but she didn’t look at it.
‘Dan,’ she spoke so quietly he could hardly hear her.
‘Yes?’
‘Would you help me find out why I’m here? I don’t mean tonight or even tomorrow night but sometime. When I’m ready.’
‘Sure. Why?’
‘I just think it’s for the best. Now, no more questions please, Ok?’
‘Ok.’
‘I'm sorry,' she said after a few minutes, 'I can't concentrate, can we leave this until later?'
'Sure,' said Dan, puzzled but not wanting to make an issue of it. He watched her get up and walk over to the settee. 'Is there anything you want to watch?'
'What?' she said. 'Oh, no, it's OK, I just want to sit for a while. Sorry about the application. Give me a minute or two and I'll have a look at it again.'
'It's fine,' said Dan. 'Actually I've had enough myself. I was going to do a bit of my blog anyway.'
'Blog?' said Tess, frowning slightly, 'I didn't know you wrote one.'
'Oh it's nothing, just something I've used as a bit of therapy over the last few months. It's not something that I'd really want anyone to read.'
'Oh,' she said. 'Then why put it on-line.'
Dan laughed. 'Good point. It's well hidden and not advertised believe me.'
Tess did not reply. Dan glanced at her. She looked deep in thought.
Wondering, he started typing.
Thursday Night/Friday Morning
Tess didn’t go and lay with Dan to watch him sleep as she had done in previous nights. Instead she stood by the window staring out at the lights of the city.
Her fingers moved to her lips, remembering all too well how the kiss felt. The heat, the burning, the passion.
She made a decision.
It had to best to know when the end was. If she knew when it was then she could control it.
She had to control it, to take charge, to be hard.
She had done it once before, she could do it again.
She prayed.
No yet please God, please not yet.
Morosely she went over to the laptop, sitting in the chair that Dan had sat in. Almost absent-mindedly she ran her fingers over the keyboard. As had often happened over the last few days, she was surprised when her touch had an effect. The screen, which had been on standby flicked into life.
She almost got up, left it, she didn't want to pry. Her curiosity got the better of her though. Keeping herself detached, which she found worked best, she clicked on the internet history icon of the Opera browser that Dan favoured.
She gasped in shock.
There was page after page of internet pages about the same subject; murders and attacks on young women in Greater Manchester.
The darkness came so suddenly that she almost screamed.
She struggled to keep control. Was this this it? Was this the end? No warning, nothing? Just blackness, a void, nothingness?
But no, this wasn't nothingness, there was light it was just dim. And there was a noise, a low moaning. There was someone here. A child? No, it was a woman, a young woman. She was curled up in the corner of the room. Tess could now make out more of where she was; it was some basement, or a warehouse