Contacts. Mark Watson
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CONTACTS
Mark Watson
Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2020
Copyright © Mark Watson 2020
Jacket Photographs: Cover illustration © Benjamin Harte/Arcangel Images
Cover design by Claire Ward and Lucy Bennett © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2020
Mark Watson asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780008346966
Ebook Edition © ISBN: 9780008346980
Version: 2020-09-15
For Coop,
who changed my story for good.
Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Part One: The Text
Chapter 1: 8 March 2019: 23:55
Chapter 2: 9 March 2019: London–Edinburgh Train, 00:02
Chapter 3: 9 March 2019: London–Edinburgh Train, 00:06
Chapter 4: Melbourne, 11:25
Chapter 5: Berlin, 01:27
Chapter 6: London, 00:30
Chapter 7: London–Edinburgh Train, 00:49
Chapter 8: Bristol, 01:01
Chapter 9: M1 Near Luton, 01:23
Chapter 10: Everywhere, 01:45
Part Two: The Contacts
Chapter 11: London–Edinburgh Train, 02:05
Chapter 12: Melbourne, 13:05
Chapter 13: London, 02:32
Chapter 14: Berlin, 03:32 M1 Near Leicester, 02:32
Chapter 15: London, 02:48
Chapter 16: London–Edinburgh Train, 02:52
Part Three: The Mission
Chapter 17: Everywhere, 03:15
Chapter 18: Melbourne, 14:25
Chapter 19: Bristol, 03:38
Chapter 20: London–Edinburgh Train, 03:50
Chapter 21: Berlin, 05:02
Chapter 22: A1(M) Sefton Park Services, 04:34
Chapter 23: London–Edinburgh Train, 04:57
Chapter 24: London, 05:35
Chapter 25: Melbourne, 16:35
Chapter 26: Bristol, 05:47
Chapter 27: Newcastle, 06:02
Chapter 28: London–Edinburgh Train, 06:30 Berlin, 07:30
Chapter 29: Melbourne, 17:55
Chapter 30: London, 07:04
Chapter 31: A1 Near Dunbar, 07:15
Chapter 32: Everywhere, 07:20
Chapter 33: Edinburgh Waverley Station, 07:22 Berlin, 08:22 Melbourne, 18:22
Chapter 34: Edinburgh, 08:01
Epilogue: Edinburgh, 20:45
Author Note
Keep Reading …
About the Author
Also by Mark Watson
About the Publisher
I’ve decided to end my life. I know this will come as a shock to some of you and I’m sorry if it upsets anyone. Sorry, also, if a text message is a strange way to find out. I am not sending this for you to try to change my mind; I know what I’m doing, and I’m fine. I just wanted the chance to say goodbye and to thank you for the things we have shared. James x
Texting 158 people at once was a strange feeling – stranger than James had expected. The task of drafting the message hadn’t been difficult at all. In fact, it had been cathartic to write it. It was as if he didn’t fully believe he was capable of taking this dramatic action until he’d committed it to the screen. It was the difference between making a mental vow and saying