Instinctively, Cal nods in response, everything in him immediately screaming out against this diabolical autopilot. As he steps to one side, too shocked to act, to block the path, to hurl abuse, he registers Barr’s pale face and clammy expression: a million shades from the devil-may-care he’s been watching for weeks.

  ‘Cheers mate,’ Barr says as he passes, but even the voice is out of kilter.

  Something is wrong.

  Rooted to the spot, Cal lets out an agonised breath, furious with himself for bottling this moment. He whirls round, fists clenched, suddenly suicidally determined to have it out, but Barr is fifty metres away, jogging in the other direction, as if fleeing for his life.

  Bewildered, Cal folds at the waist, braces his hands on his knees and takes in shaky mouthfuls of air. His pulse steadying to a normal rate, his hearing returning. Sounds filtering through the haze. The crunch of metal, the whine of a motor, a shout.

  He stands and edges towards the sound, the thing Barr saw that made him turn tail and run.

  The police. They’re digging in the scrapyard.

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  About the Author

  Heather Critchlow grew up in rural Aberdeenshire and trained as a business journalist after studying history and social science at the University of Cambridge. Her short stories have appeared in crime fiction anthologies Afraid of the Light, Afraid of the Christmas Lights and Afraid of the Shadows. She lives in St Albans.

  First published in the United Kingdom in 2023 by Canelo

  Canelo Digital Publishing Limited

  Unit 9, 5th Floor

  Cargo Works, 1-2 Hatfields

  London SE1 9PG

  United Kingdom

  Copyright © Heather Critchlow, 2023

  The moral right of Heather Critchlow to be identified as the creator of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  Ebook ISBN 9781804362570

  Print ISBN 9781804362587

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Look for more great books at www.canelo.co

 

 

  Heather Critchlow, Unsolved

 

 

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