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in garbage, already stained with a variety of kitchen waste products. Undeterred, she kept digging.
    “I need to know what you asked for,” she said. “Exactly what you asked for.”
    They scrambled around in the rubbish, tearing open bags and sifting the contents. Dave stuck his hand on a cold, half-eaten, slice of pizza.
    “Tell me again why we’re doing this?” he said, trying to wipe the goop off his hand onto a piece of paper that was already slightly slimy, coated with something Dave didn’t particularly want to think about too closely.
    “I’ve already said,” Maggie replied, not stopping her scrambling amid newly opened bags. “We need to know exactly what you asked for.”
    “Why?”
    She stopped what she was doing and looked Dave in the eye.
    She’s scared stiff.
    For the first time, he started to feel a tingle of fear himself.
    “I need to know how bad it’s going to get,” Maggie said, and went back to the search. Dave looked down at the pile of garbage bags beneath him, thought of the booze waiting for him back in his apartment, then saw that Maggie’s efforts had got even more frantic.
    I may be a shit, but even I draw the line at leaving a woman alone to go through garbage in an alley.
    He bent and tried to help. They sifted almost every bag in the skip over the next twenty minutes. Every time they opened a new bag a fresh batch of noxious smells hung around them.
    We’re going to stink for a week.
    Dave had almost reached the end of his tether when he pulled open what he had vowed would be the last bag…and saw a torn piece from a white envelope. There was a smudge of red on the corner.
    From when my wound oozed blood from the bandage.
    “I think I’ve found a bit,” he said.
    “Good. Hold on to it. Is there more?”
    Dave looked down. There were a lot of small pieces of paper among the rubbish under his hands.
    “Most of it I think.”
    He bent for a closer look.
    A wind ran through the alleyway, threatening to disperse the scraps of paper. The noise of an engine started up, but there was no sign of a vehicle in the alley.
    “Maggie? Did you hear that?”
    Maggie looked around.
    The wind got stronger, the hum of the engine louder.
    “Oh shit,” Maggie said. “I think we’re in big trouble.” She bent to lift the scraps of paper Dave had found and stuffed them in her pockets. “Get as much of it as you can. And be quick.”
    The wind started to howl through the alley. Garbage was picked up and swirled everywhere around them. The noise of the engine revving rose until it was almost deafening.
    “Have we got it all?” Maggie shouted.
    Dave couldn’t take his eyes off the swirling garbage; it danced, like a small tornado whirling and spinning through the alley. Paper and rotting vegetables were sucked into the vortex. It grew larger, noisier, ever more violent with each passing second.
    Maggie grabbed Dave by the shoulder and turned him to face her.
    “Have we got all of the fucking thing?”
    The profanity finally shocked Dave into action. He looked down. There was no trace of any white paper below him. While he was checking, a layer of frost ran over the garbage underfoot. He felt cold creep through the thin soles of his shoes. His breath steamed as the temperature suddenly plummeted. The revving engine echoed loudly in the alleyway, like a kid getting ready to race a hotrod away from the lights.
    Full-beam headlights swept the alley from side to side, although there was no apparent source of origin. The engine revved even louder, contending with the whistle and roar of the still growing wind.
    Dave was rooted to the spot.
    I’ve heard that same sound before.
    “Time to go.” Maggie shouted. Without waiting for Dave, she jumped out of the skip. Dave followed but landed awkwardly, his left foot sliding on some rotting vegetables, sending him falling, off-balance to the ground.
    The engine roared louder, like a lion sensing a faltering prey.
    Maggie grabbed Dave’s hand and