CHAPTER I : The First Crossing

The police asked me three times where the cyclist's head had gone. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbGz7elUVm

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Each time, I told them I hadn't seen it. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwDY8PgX2Bn

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By the third interview, the officer stopped writing. He looked at the dried blood along my collar, then at my hands. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8wfTlENp4

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“You were standing right beside him.” 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF62vKmg2yv

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I kept my eyes on the table. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdx61j1UU4

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There was a window behind the officer. Through it, I could see the streetlamp outside the station. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe147Qx2EEF

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Nobody was standing under it.

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I checked again anyway. I checked every few minutes, the whole night.

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It had been raining when I left work. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC9Sd2XOoBb

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My umbrella was at home. I remembered putting it beside the door that morning and thinking the sky looked clear enough. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmYJSYxSxWg

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By half past nine, water was running down the back of my neck. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAITaXqnjuH

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The shops along my usual route had closed. Metal shutters rattled in the wind. Somewhere behind one of them, an alarm gave a tired little beep every few seconds. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1O4cnvv74v

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I had twenty minutes to walk. I wanted a hot shower and something to eat. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7gFBeL6xzQ

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At the first crossing, I saw the gentleman. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQzD2R7Az8

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He stood beneath a streetlamp on the opposite corner, facing the road. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyTL08JXXaV

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The light was yellow.

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It caught the polished toes of his shoes and the narrow folds of a black tailcoat.

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A pale waistcoat showed beneath it. His trousers fell in perfectly straight lines. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIOWloYwnMV

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He wore a tall silk hat. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XlULhdqHk

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For a moment, I thought he must have come from a theatre. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJP4zWEV392

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Something about his clothes belonged to old portraits of a gentleman, two hundred years out of date. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlg9LClomtQ

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Then I noticed how high the hat was. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡilBzQE3kmH

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The top almost touched the lamp. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOEMFdMlzxh

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I glanced down, expecting stilts or a raised step. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo8J5jqXuwG

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Both shoes rested on the pavement. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9B7OxbP5oP

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He was close to three meters tall. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARlID1KbOq

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His shoulders were narrow, his legs much too long. One arm hung beside his coat, ending in a black glove well below his knee. The other was bent behind him. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMyhoYZOnSk

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Under the brim, his face was completely dark. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhH1i0pzGvP

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I slowed without meaning to. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsnl7uk3nR

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The gentleman turned his head towards me. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡblUbzTqjJF

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I looked at the crossing signal immediately. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYgtOVWRySO

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People say you should trust your instincts. Mine were very simple that night. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6ges7Zp8y

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Keep walking. Don't stare. Don't give him a reason to speak. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWGXZpt89Kp

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The signal changed. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjM6Ryl3BA0

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I crossed with my chin tucked down, listening to my own shoes splash through the puddles. When I reached his corner, I stayed as close to the kerb as I could. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSye1TuTo7o

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Looking down, I could see his shoes as I passed. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPVa895SCUI

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They were spotless. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAosCxgVQi

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Water ran around them, carrying cigarette ends and a crushed receipt towards the drain. Not one drop touched the leather. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Bb3j21DaL

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I passed him. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTCjCAzMJ8x

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Nothing happened. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPeUTaHeHhh

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After another dozen steps, I let myself breathe properly. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJCmkLdtMS

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I didn’t look back. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCra8q4pyIZ

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I would learn later that it doesn’t matter whether you look back. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHJZNQhasp

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He is never behind you. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhp1zcjzkxw

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He is always ahead.

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