An Unexpected Clue
Earlier that night in the flat, when he’d heard the siren, Leslie had grabbed Edward’s coat; he told himself it was heavier and warmer than his own, but psychologically he knew it made him feel closer to his lover, and somehow protected. Looking back now, he wondered if the coat had also brought good fortune to his flock. The aftershock, what Leslie called the time period following a raid, was lighter than usual with fewer homes destroyed, less injuries accounted for, and only ten or so reported fatalities. What kind of world are we living in where deaths were tallied on a nightly basis and spoken of as light or heavy?
Leslie had just left the warden’s post and was heading for home, when he dipped his hands into one of the coat’s pockets; he felt the torch he’d slipped
