The radio had been on all morning. Pauline Philbey had not heard a word of it for hours; until now.

‘Trains on the Leeds to Manchester line have been severely disrupted as a result of a police chase in the Holme Hill area, where an armed and dangerous man is on the run. The general public is advised to exercise extreme caution. Do not approach him if identified. Please stay indoors as far as possible until further notice’.

Whatever next? He’ll be at my door before you know it.

Having fed a noisome Boris, Philbey wondered about returning to her armchair to slumber on but thought better of it and went to her study to do more work on the 19th and early 20th century plans of Holme Hill that she and Jo Bishop had been working on. Philbey had grown to like...

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