Crunch Time by Nick Oldham Page B

drink.’
    She nodded. ‘Firewater would be nice – on ice. The good stuff, not the cheap.’
    â€˜Sounds good. I’ll join you.’
    He went into the kitchen, but instead of getting the drinks, he opened the back door and looked down across the garden to the big open field at the rear, which was just blackness, the only light on it filtering from a lane a few hundred metres to the left. He walked across the lawn to the wire fence and peered towards where he knew there was a large pond on the opposite side of the field. It was a magnet for bird life and he could hear some muted night-time clucking, but saw nothing.
    Back inside he fixed two Glenfiddichs with lots of ice and was about to return with them when Kate came into the kitchen. He handed her a drink, which she sipped with a shiver.
    â€˜What happened?’
    â€˜I went to bed early. The kids are both out for the night again, so I had a long soak first, then a long read, but I just felt a bit thirsty, so I came down for a glass of orange from the fridge. As I was at the sink, I heard a tapping noise at the window. I don’t know, I thought it was a bird or something, so without thinking I just pulled up the blind and a masked man had his face squashed to the glass. It was horrible.’
    â€˜What sort of mask?’
    â€˜Like a balaclava with holes for the eyes and mouth.’ Henry nodded. Kate continued: ‘I screamed, but he just stayed there banging the glass, terrifying me.’ She took a long drink of the whisky.
    â€˜What then?’
    â€˜I was petrified. I ran into the hall, grabbed the phone and dialled nine-nine-nine. Even when I was doing it, I could still hear him banging at the window.’
    Henry was feeling cold, impotent and furious. Another example of why he should be around more.
    â€˜Kate,’ he said softly, ‘I’m sorry I wasn’t at home.’
    â€˜Not your fault, love.’
    He raised his eyebrows in a way that indicated otherwise. ‘Was he wearing gloves?’
    â€˜I don’t know.’
    â€˜Let’s have a peek.’ He put his drink down on a work surface and went into the back garden again. For the first time he noticed the security light was not working. He squinted at it, high on the wall just below one of the girls’ bedrooms, and saw it had been smashed. ‘Looks as though a brick’s been lobbed at it,’ he said. Using the light cast from the open door and the kitchen window he poked around the patio and found two fist-sized stones near the back wall that he picked up. He knew they were not from the garden. ‘Culprits, I’d guess,’ he said, bobbing one of them up and down in his hand. ‘Must’ve made a noise when they broke the light. Surprised you didn’t hear a smash.’
    â€˜I might’ve done, actually,’ Kate said, thinking back. ‘I did hear a crack, or something, a few minutes before I came down. Didn’t think anything of it. Just a bang.’
    Henry shrugged and dropped the stones. ‘No worries.’
    He inspected the kitchen window for smudges or prints but in the available light he could not see that the prowler had left anything.
    Kate stood on the threshold of the door. ‘How long are you going to be away for, Henry? Is this thing going to take any longer than you promised?’
    â€˜I hope not … undercover ops are always suck ’n’ see things … I mean, if I get through to this guy sooner rather than later, I could have enough to quit within days.’ Kate stepped back as Henry came back into the kitchen. ‘Who knows?’ he said, closing and locking the door behind him, picking up his drink.
    Kate sidled up to him. ‘I’m glad you came home.’
    â€˜Me, too.’ He stooped slightly, glass still in hand, and kissed her on the lips. As ever, her mouth tasted wonderful, her breath smelled great too, a combination of toothpaste and whisky, a