The police asked me three times where the cyclist's head had gone.86Please respect copyright.PENANAWx0C2OMZuZ
86Please respect copyright.PENANA4BtCH3a9Wx
Each time, I told them I hadn't seen it.86Please respect copyright.PENANAlaPNXtIDg9
86Please respect copyright.PENANAyd6gb6RnL4
By the third interview, the officer stopped writing. He looked at the dried blood along my collar, then at my hands.86Please respect copyright.PENANAUJ0obrwNPd
86Please respect copyright.PENANATHPyCJU7cg
“You were standing right beside him.”86Please respect copyright.PENANAx7ZgLyGCrD
86Please respect copyright.PENANALZSgYq9W58
I kept my eyes on the table.86Please respect copyright.PENANAmhD6aRMHPw
86Please respect copyright.PENANASbmVpa9CH4
There was a window behind the officer. Through it, I could see the streetlamp outside the station.86Please respect copyright.PENANAfYgDDJSLzS
86Please respect copyright.PENANAdxVngAHExS
Nobody was standing under it.
86Please respect copyright.PENANAhzSdTrnDdQ
I checked again anyway. I checked every few minutes, the whole night.
86Please respect copyright.PENANAg1zs7dKKvJ
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86Please respect copyright.PENANAAq3eY0kCxO
It had been raining when I left work.86Please respect copyright.PENANA8RBz4YdMBm
86Please respect copyright.PENANA7INxF1gNSf
My umbrella was at home. I remembered putting it beside the door that morning and thinking the sky looked clear enough.86Please respect copyright.PENANAwGugIX4gny
86Please respect copyright.PENANAn8wU0QKgV8
By half past nine, water was running down the back of my neck.86Please respect copyright.PENANAn4nr7CXd9L
86Please respect copyright.PENANAlUX86d7K6V
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.86Please respect copyright.PENANAoS2pLUbska
86Please respect copyright.PENANAaCXZODKB53
I had twenty minutes to walk. I wanted a hot shower and something to eat.86Please respect copyright.PENANA5MM74nUAu0
86Please respect copyright.PENANAt8G3WvMxSE
At the first crossing, I saw the gentleman.86Please respect copyright.PENANAdytFPpNGSp
86Please respect copyright.PENANAhEM23uu6iC
He stood beneath a streetlamp on the opposite corner, facing the road.86Please respect copyright.PENANAaEqVIZFQDJ
86Please respect copyright.PENANAb4tgGDjpWC
The light was yellow.
86Please respect copyright.PENANA75K8VcI43I
It caught the polished toes of his shoes and the narrow folds of a black tailcoat.
86Please respect copyright.PENANArkIYu1kPkp
A pale waistcoat showed beneath it. His trousers fell in perfectly straight lines.86Please respect copyright.PENANAmHnmhSiBxF
86Please respect copyright.PENANA8jYbgN6YTB
He wore a tall silk hat.86Please respect copyright.PENANA8F0gu1AZHU
86Please respect copyright.PENANAAXvc7oWy60
For a moment, I thought he must have come from a theatre.86Please respect copyright.PENANAPgE7lAS0Vy
86Please respect copyright.PENANAseYh7OsF4N
Something about his clothes belonged to old portraits of a gentleman, two hundred years out of date.86Please respect copyright.PENANANgSCTcfwoR
86Please respect copyright.PENANAq0CTLjvTUP
Then I noticed how high the hat was.86Please respect copyright.PENANAF84EOuuajw
86Please respect copyright.PENANAkN8pSxyJxo
The top almost touched the lamp.86Please respect copyright.PENANAKsp1QPTrcy
86Please respect copyright.PENANA2NpzzVTngo
I glanced down, expecting stilts or a raised step.86Please respect copyright.PENANA5Hpv01PMEq
86Please respect copyright.PENANASK4POYKn3w
Both shoes rested on the pavement.86Please respect copyright.PENANAQloWdfAKgD
86Please respect copyright.PENANAt4JJB2YNWJ
He was close to three meters tall.86Please respect copyright.PENANAA9acmLzVrc
86Please respect copyright.PENANAeWcxrouy4Q
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.86Please respect copyright.PENANAangEOqppQU
86Please respect copyright.PENANAEQFwYsjbFs
Under the brim, his face was completely dark.86Please respect copyright.PENANASdySjbbq2w
86Please respect copyright.PENANA9GEFAysqah
I slowed without meaning to.86Please respect copyright.PENANAZjzjcpKjaU
86Please respect copyright.PENANAjDUyxSTnoG
The gentleman turned his head towards me.86Please respect copyright.PENANAZEZatnHCzF
86Please respect copyright.PENANAVpml6VuxhG
I looked at the crossing signal immediately.86Please respect copyright.PENANAzDMKPwwUtL
86Please respect copyright.PENANApw81TYHje4
People say you should trust your instincts. Mine were very simple that night.86Please respect copyright.PENANACEDBmE7w0U
86Please respect copyright.PENANA5pn7kKcuiU
Keep walking. Don't stare. Don't give him a reason to speak.86Please respect copyright.PENANA0hk8OHxliu
86Please respect copyright.PENANASyirsicWWM
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86Please respect copyright.PENANADhKM6crrHm
The signal changed.86Please respect copyright.PENANAuA4TQyCeQH
86Please respect copyright.PENANAtB0Km0rHyv
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.86Please respect copyright.PENANAUicVCyr9Q8
86Please respect copyright.PENANAWEjZ0BrGDB
Looking down, I could see his shoes as I passed.86Please respect copyright.PENANARrwQhUsGLp
86Please respect copyright.PENANAK3q4TNCYHr
They were spotless.86Please respect copyright.PENANA8xYGDPQI35
86Please respect copyright.PENANAnomiuz5d6S
Water ran around them, carrying cigarette ends and a crushed receipt towards the drain. Not one drop touched the leather.86Please respect copyright.PENANAtkpIBUoRob
86Please respect copyright.PENANA145Z3TLLGJ
I passed him.86Please respect copyright.PENANAjINrDMYqMC
86Please respect copyright.PENANAqodOYxMtxC
Nothing happened.86Please respect copyright.PENANAOhTQ4xRgZ2
86Please respect copyright.PENANAY0hhdI9qVG
After another dozen steps, I let myself breathe properly.86Please respect copyright.PENANADjdO8MqmZZ
86Please respect copyright.PENANAMohulNzXfJ
I didn’t look back.86Please respect copyright.PENANA4OLmDDBfSj
86Please respect copyright.PENANAwpo5vva3dK
I would learn later that it doesn’t matter whether you look back.86Please respect copyright.PENANAJSAXQ27Hq5
86Please respect copyright.PENANAnIs5uyZeNE
He is never behind you.86Please respect copyright.PENANALKNqY1UDBY
86Please respect copyright.PENANAn0TIllnVVT
He is always ahead.
86Please respect copyright.PENANAtt4OKJ2p2P
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