SIX
LOUTH, LINCOLNSHIRE, 2021 AD
A scampering cat and a man in his late-forties were the only visible creatures on Aswell Street at four in the morning. Nearby, the soaring steeple of the parish church seemed to seek the stars in vain. The moon, a smudge of white behind a mantle of clouds, leaving the spire unlit, provided the man with the advantage of moving unseen. He was wearing a checked sports jacket that looked as if it came from a charity shop, and crepe-soled shoes, which helped him climb the dark steps to the flat unheard.
It had been child’s play tracing the owner of the Land Rover. There were only seven, of that model, registered in the Louth area. It belonged to a London barrister with property in Tealby. He could only conclude that the woman driver was a relative. He had wa
