Prologue
The night was cool and dark. The moon hid behind a bank of clouds, so the only light that illuminated the small London alleyway was a flickering streetlamp.
The girl walked cautiously, her flat shoes making little noise on the wet asphalt. She pushed her glasses up her nose and then hugged herself. She wasn't usually out this late. She didn't usually take this way home. She sniffed and kept her eyes on the ground in front of her.
It was then that she heard the footsteps.
'It's a night watchman,' she thought to herself, but she increased her pace.
The footsteps got faster too.
Her heart thudded against her chest. 'It's just a night watchman. He'll go away,' she thought frantically. But she started running.
Her follower started running as well. The footsteps were louder now and closer.
She was almost home. Almost to safety. Her mouth opened, ready to scream for help, but she never got the chance. A hand grabbed her shirt from behind and another clamped over her mouth.
Wheezing, she looked up through her cracked glasses into the obscured face of a man.
He took his gloved hand away from her mouth and smiled.
The last sound she ever made was a scream.
