The Shadow District

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The police decided to enter the flat, but rather than break down the door they called a locksmith, figuring that a few minutes either way were unlikely to make a difference.

A neighbour had raised the alarm. She didn’t dial the police emergency number but instead rang the main switchboard and informed the officer who took her call that she was a little worried as she hadn’t seen her next-door neighbour for several days.

‘He tends to drop in before he goes shopping,’ she said. ‘And I usually hear him coming and going, or spot him from my window walking to the shop, but I haven’t seen him or heard him at all in the last few days.’

‘Could he have gone out of town?’

‘Out of town? He never leaves town.’

‘Or to visit friends or relatives?’

‘I don’t think he has many friends, and he’s never mentioned any relatives.’

‘How old is he?’

‘About ninety. But fit. He looks after himself, runs all his own errands.’

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