He wondered if the police had reopened their investigations, but he would have found out before now if they had. For a moment, as he watched Becky pull away on her scooter up South Parks Road the possibility flashed through his mind that he had been set up and hung out to dry all along, but there had been nothing in Emily’s voice to suggest that she wanted anything except to have a drink after dinner. Maybe she had changed so much that he could no longer tell. He didn’t think so. It was still only 12 when he left Curry’s with his new laptop, and he didn’t feel like going back to the flat. He’d rather keep his mind clear. He’d kill some time by walking up to the John Radcliffe rather than getting the bus, but at his slowest that would take three quarters of an hour. He headed out along the High Street, stopping on Magdalen Bridge to watch the end of season tourists punting in the autumn sun. Tuesday’s storms seemed a world away as he watched the leaves, still green from summer, dripping over the banks of the Cherwell.
