Chapter 6
9.15 a.m.
Julia sat, her back stiff against the chair in the station café. She chose it on purpose because it had teak stripes and was the only different chair in the room. Round and round went the spoon, clinking with mesmerising regularity against the white insides of the mug. With every circle, a sliver of steam curled up into the room. She wanted to see it over and over. Round and round; swirl and vapour. Round and round…
The journey from Hull to Doncaster had been uneventful, beyond the endless chatter of the knitting needle lady. When she’d got off the train, the old lady had become lost in a crowd of jostling passengers. She had no idea where those knitting needles went. She didn’t want to know.
Trains came and went, people ran after them and caught them, or missed the
