Page 30 of Now Comes the Dark

“It looks worse than it is. Bruising. I think my pride is more hurt than my face.”

“Even still. How did it happen? Where were the police? They were crawling about every street when I was out on Friday.”

Will shoved both hands in his pockets and hopped from side to side, as though trying to keep warm. “They jumped me on my way home. I was outside the patrol zone when it happened. Three guys in a car pulled alongside me then got out and started harassing me. After they’d had enough of that, the punches started to fly.”

“Shit. That’s exactly what happened to me in October.” Roman gave him a potted version of his own experience. It was only as he told it that he remembered, he’d actually been in pursuit of Will on the night the thugs had struck. After missing out on Mallon in The Viaduct, he’d spotted Will in Julie’s and had tried to follow him for a hook-up. He couldn’t decide if he had a terrible memory, or Mallon had come along and made all other men irrelevant. “It sounds like it was probably the same gang. What did they look like?”

Will took a deep breath that hissed through his teeth. “I can’t really say, to be honest. My head was all over, trying to find a wayto escape, so I didn’t take much notice. One of them was big…huge. You know, all jacked up on steroids. Built like a tank. I’m pretty solid, but this guy was huge in comparison. The other two were unremarkable, not as muscled.”

“Ginger? Did one of them have ginger hair?”

“It was dark, but one of them was fair, all right. He could have been ginger.”

“It sounds like the same bastards. I’m sure of it. Damn. So, they are still out there getting away with this shit. Did you report it to the police?”

Will pulled a face. “What would be the point? The pigs aren’t even interested in these random assaults. They only care about catching the Strangler. What would they do? File a report and give me an incident number, at best. It’s not worth the aggravation. It would only piss me off having to talk to them.”

Roman wanted to tell Will he was wrong, that reporting each crime was in everyone’s interest, but he couldn’t argue with his way of thinking. He’d thought the same way himself not so long ago. “Next time you are passing Julie’s, call in and ask for some anti-attack spray and a personal alarm. They are giving them out for free while all this is going on.”

“Isn’t it illegal to carry pepper spray?”

“It’s not pepper spray. It’s a legal self-defence spray. I don’t think it does much other than cause a horrible smell, but the chances are the dicks who attacked you won’t know that. It stays on their skin and clothes for days afterwards, so it makes them easier to identify.”

Will did not look convinced. “I think I’ll just play it safe and avoid the village until all this is sorted.”

Roman nodded understandingly. “Fair enough. Though there might not be much of a village left soon. The bars have been crippled by the lack of business. Some are talking about closingat the start of the week. It’s not worth their while to open until Thursday.”

“That’s a real shame. But I’m not sure I have the drive to go back right now.”

The cold really started to bite as they stood talking. It seeped through the thick soles of Roman’s boots and gnawed at his toes. He stomped his feet. “I need to get moving. It’s the wrong night to be out. I’m sorry to hear what happened to you, and I hope I do see you out sometime.” He smiled and stepped aside, ready to move on.

“Why don’t we go somewhere to warm up?” Will said, giving him a hopeful grin. “There’s a coffee shop right over there, and they’re still serving.”

“Oh. I really need to get home,” Roman said, remembering their hook-up from last year. Will seemed like a nice guy but there was no chemistry between them, just a random shag who was best left at that. “I’m late already,” he lied. “I stayed behind at work tonight.” At least that part was true.

Will’s smiled wavered. “Okay, no problem. Cool.” He shuffled uncomfortably. “Would you…er, like to meet up another time? I thought we had a nice connection, Roman. I’d like to get to know you a bit more.”

Roman withered. How could he have such a different memory of their encounter? “I’m kind of seeing someone now,” he said.

“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t know. You’ve only been with your friends whenever I’ve seen you around.”

Shit. Our random shag really did mean a lot more to him. Roman struggled to remember seeing much of Will at all since they had their fleeting moment. “It’s early days,” he said. “He’s not into going out on the scene much. But I want to take is seriously, and I’m not looking to do anything that will screw it up.”

Will raised both hands. “Sorry. I totally respect that. I’m happy for you. And whoever he is, he’s a lucky man.”

Roman took another sidestep. This had taken an uncomfortable turn. “Well, I hope I see you around. There’s no reason we can’t talk to each other, right?”

Will nodded, no longer smiling. “Better get going. It was nice seeing you.” He hurried away before Roman could say anything more.

Awkward. Roman watched him walk, before suddenly realising just how cold he was. He stomped his feet to get the circulation going again and headed for home.

* * * *

When Roman reached the flat, he felt like the chill had entered his bones. Ashley was watchingThe One Showin the living room. Roman pulled off his hat, scarf and gloves and rushed to the fireside to warm his hands on the gas flames. He shivered, barely able to feel the tips of his fingers.

“Working late again,” Ashley remarked.

“I know. It’s not great, but I don’t know what else to do.”

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