Abbi and Jess set off for the shops but I wanted to go home, have a bath and watch TV – pretend everything was normal. The street outside the pub was almost deserted, but they were there again, Jack and the other two. Across the road this time, leaning against the wall of what used to be the library. Tipper hadn’t got him, after all, then. Relief made me smile but Jack wasn’t looking. The one in the Parka lit a rollie. I thought about going over, saying thank you, but I was afraid of making an idiot of myself. Jack showed no sign he recognised me, anyway. His gaze slid over me and away again. He said something to the one in the leather coat and the three of them laughed. So, Abbi had been wrong – surprise, surprise. I should have known better than to believe it. I walked away, quickened my pace. We lived on the outskirts of town - ten, fifteen minutes’ walk from the pub. My usual route went through the park. It seemed safer to stay near the houses this time, in case Tipper was still hanging about.
