The Winter House by P.R. Black

Author:P.R. Black [Black, P.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781800249370
Publisher: Head of Zeus

*

Vonny flinched as the new lawn pricked at her bare feet. Cruel; no need to deny her shoes. They’re going to use me as leverage. No question.

The mist had lifted a little – it was the cold that came with it that presented the bigger problem, rather than visibility. She pulled the coat tighter.

‘Don’t you worry, pet,’ the Devil said. The note of concern he affected was as big an obscenity as anything that had come out of his mouth since the intruders had appeared. His breath steamed up in the air, and despite the near-zero chill outside, it added to the fiendish visage. Steam from the gates of hell. ‘I’ll see you right. Just give us what we want and we’ll be off, don’t you worry. You ever done a fire walk? On the coals? I’ve done it for charity. You just tell yourself it isn’t going to hurt, and you walk across the hard bit of ground, and it doesn’t hurt. It’s amazing. Just try it.’

She ignored him. Seth was taking them towards the new shed, just off the east side of the property, inside the privet-seeded fencing.

Vonny hadn’t liked it, but it was a rare instance of Seth putting his foot down and being insistent. It had taken her a while to put her finger on what had irritated her about it – it was, she realised, as if Seth had built it himself, except it had been done professionally, and she knew exactly what it had cost. The builders’ mates had done it for a bit of pocket money, but it was just a squat bunkhouse with a low roof, and the staining on the timber was too light – darker would have made for a better contrast with the house. She had been in it once since the final dab of wood stain had been completed. And she had thought she wouldn’t be setting foot in it too much in the future. In its narrow confines and the one miserable circular table, she foresaw an unpleasant future involving Seth, his mates, or – even worse – musicians, smoking, drinking, and inevitably, playing cards.

I’m back in it sooner than I thought.

The windows inside were dark, and the front of the shed was hidden from the front of the house. ‘Wait there by the door,’ Skull said. ‘Close to the door – close enough for your toes to touch the timber.’

Seth did as he was asked. Skull, keeping the blade within Seth’s eyeline, peered into the dark windows for an uncomfortable length of time. At the sound of an animal cry somewhere in the woods, everyone flinched.

‘Clear?’ the Devil asked.

‘Guess so.’ Skull turned to Seth. ‘OK, big guy. How we getting in?’

‘There’s a combination,’ Seth said. He reached for the heavy padlock and turned the dial. ‘Surprised you didn’t break in.’

‘Nah, non-starter,’ Skull said, conversationally. ‘We break in, you call the cops… Game’s over right away. Plus, we’ve no idea where the stuff is. Taking you makes sure.

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