I love that moment when you are reading a book or watching a television show, and you think that you have the story pinned down, know exactly where it is going, and then suddenly it takes you someplace you weren’t expecting. It may not be a major plot twist, just a small surprise detail that catches you off guard. I love that moment.
I wanted the reveal that Miranda was a police officer to be a surprise – despite the subtle pun to her name. What I didn’t expect, and only realised when I began to read the story with students, was how many readers would assume that Miranda was the woman from the rooftop in the first episode. One boy even accused me of ‘making the primary female character a criminal’.
Students in a classroom like to make their predictions out loud. ‘She’s the bank robber,’ they exclaimed as soon as it was announced that she had to work through the night. They seemed excited to have predicted where the story was going. But they always seem more satisfied when we get to this page, and they realise (or at least think) that they are wrong.
Soon, the door having opened, Miranda exits. She is a police officer (custos publica). That is the reason why she must work through the whole night.