When the Music's Over by Peter Robinson

here and the road, and that’s the direction the bedroom faces.”
    â€œDid the car go by quickly?”
    â€œThat’s just the thing. I mean, I could hear the engine, you know, first in the distance, then getting closer. Then I could see the light from the headlamps over the field, and I realized it must be going down the lane, which seemed odd, especially at that time of night, some kids playing loud music.”
    â€œYou were watching by then?”
    â€œI was sitting on the edge of the bed. It was just the glow from the lights I could see, not the actual headlamps themselves, and—yes, of course. It must have been traveling south. That was the direction the lights were moving. Silly me. I’d forgotten.”
    â€œYou thought it was kids?”
    â€œWell . . . that’s who does it, isn’t it? I don’t mean to sound prejudiced or anything, I don’t even really mind that much, but it’s usually kids who drive around with loud music playing.”
    Annie thought of Banks. He liked it loud sometimes. “You mean like rap music, hip-hop?”
    â€œNo, no. Nothing like that. That was the strange thing. That’s what you’d expect.” She smiled. “But it wasn’t like that at all. It was that song I’d heard on the radio a year or two ago. I remember it because I liked it. It was on all the time. The two Swedish girls.”
    â€œFirst Aid Kit?” Gerry suggested.
    â€œThat’s right. ‘My Silver Lining.’ It just seemed odd that someone would be playing that song so loud in the middle of the night. I could hear it clearly because when the car slowed down . . .”
    â€œSlowed down?” said Annie.
    â€œYes. I distinctly heard it slow down. The engine changed sound, and that’s when I could hear the music even louder for a while as if . . .”
    â€œAs if what?”
    â€œAs if someone opened the door or something, just for a moment. Which they must have done because it closed a few seconds later. And I thought I heard laughing and yelling or whooping, but I’m not sure about that.”
    â€œSo the car actually stopped for a while?”
    â€œNo, I don’t think it stopped. At least, the engine never stopped. Just slowed down. It sounded as if it skidded a bit first. I heard the tires squeal a little. It must have been going fast. Maybe it idled for a short while. I don’t know. All I know is, it shot off again just a few moments later, after the door slammed shut. Burning rubber, as they say. And the music went back to what it was like before.”
    â€œHow much later?” Annie asked. “This could be important, Mandy.”
    Mandy bit her lip. “Not long. I mean, seconds, not minutes. It was very fast.”
    â€œYou seem to have a remarkable ear for details,” Annie said. “Did you hear anything else?”
    â€œWell, I was just lying or sitting there in the dark with the windows open. You tend to notice every little sound, don’t you, every creak and animal noise. I didn’t hear anything else for a while. I went to the toilet, and when I got back to bed, a short while later I heard anothercar. No music this time. But it was odd, two cars out there so close together in one night.”
    â€œHow much later?”
    â€œI’m not sure. Not long. About ten or fifteen minutes after the first one.”
    â€œAgain, this could be important, Mandy. Think carefully. Was it the same car as the one before? Did it sound the same? Could you tell?”
    Mandy frowned in concentration. “I don’t think so,” she said finally. “I think it sounded different. But honestly, I couldn’t really tell. I’m not good at mechanical things.”
    â€œWhat did the second car do?”
    â€œIt stopped.”
    â€œCompletely?”
    â€œYes. I couldn’t even hear the engine, but I could still see the glow from the headlamps through the