Safe House by Jo Jakeman

Author:Jo Jakeman [Jakeman, Jo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Charlie Miller

Monday, 5 November 2018

Charlie stood in the road and watched as the man pushed at the window that she’d just had replaced.

He was wearing a deer-stalker hat and a thick scarf wound around his neck, which obscured his face. He was there in broad daylight, not hiding from view. Whoever he was, he had no fear of being caught. Did he know she was over at Chi an Mor?

She placed her toolbox on the ground and quietly opened it. A hammer was on the top of the tray. She took it out and weighed it in her hand. She straightened up and crept towards the man. She didn’t recognise him. He was short, a little too big around the middle. His shoulders were hunched and his grey hair was touching his collar. He stepped backwards and looked up at the upper-floor windows. There was something about the way he moved that seemed familiar. Could he be the man she had seen by the house the day she’d moved in or one of the walkers on the day she’d fallen off the ladder?

Charlie was close enough to be heard without shouting.

‘What are you doing?’ she said.

He began to turn around, moving slowly, not at all surprised that she was there. She’d expected him to run – either at her or away – but he stood there as if he had every right to be looking into her house.

He put his hand over his mouth and stifled a cough. ‘Just checking your windows,’ he said.

‘Jack!’ Charlie exclaimed. ‘Bloody hell, you scared the life out of me.’

‘Came to check the windows,’ he said. ‘We went off pretty sharpish after you’d had that fall. I like to make sure that I’ve done a decent job. Don’t want Decca breathing down my neck.’

‘The windows. Right.’

‘What did you think I was doing?’ he asked with a chuckle.

Charlie shrugged.

‘I saw you creeping up on me,’ he said. ‘In the reflection. Should’ve seen your face.’

Charlie let her head drop. Finding that the code to the holiday house was the same as Lee’s birthday had affected her more than she’d realised. First she’d attacked a teenage girl who walked up behind her and then she’d almost hit Jack with a hammer. She couldn’t carry on like this; she was going to have to learn to relax a little.

‘Shit,’ said Jack suddenly. His face had gone white and he was looking past Charlie to the lane.

Charlie looked over her shoulder to see Decca strolling towards her with the two dogs by her side.

‘Came to check on your handiwork, Jack,’ she shouted.

‘I bet you have,’ he muttered.

‘Charlie, my love, how are you?’ Decca asked, leaning in to kiss Charlie’s cheek.

‘Good, thanks. Jack gave me a fright by loitering outside my house and looking through my windows.’ She pulled the hammer out of her sleeve. ‘I was about to scare him off with this.’

Decca threw her head back and laughed. ‘Marvellous!’

‘Right, I’d best be off then,’ said Jack. ‘Let me know when you’re thinking about getting those upstairs windows replaced.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.