Page 92 of Worse Than Murder
He silences me with a hush. ‘There’s someone in the restaurant.’
‘What?’ I ask in a loud whisper, sitting up.
‘I’d just finished in the bathroom. I was about to go to bed when I heard someone downstairs.’
‘You’re sure?’
‘Positive.’
‘Jesus.’
‘I didn’t want to wake Sally.’
‘No.’
I throw the sheet back and swing my legs out of bed. I slip my slippers on and follow Philip out onto the landing. The single window on the far side doesn’t have a blind or curtains. The full moon shines through. I see, for the first time, Philip is holding a shotgun.
‘What the fuck is that?’ My voice is still a whisper, but with a panicked force behind it.
‘It’s a gun.’
‘I can see that. Since when did you have a gun?’
‘Since my son was kidnapped. Since he was returned to me, and his kidnappers are still out there running free. Since we moved to the middle of nowhere and live in the woods. Do you really want to get into this now?’
‘Are you licensed to have that?’
‘Of course I bloody am. What do you take me for?’
‘I can’t believe you have a gun, and you didn’t tell me.’
‘Matilda, there is someone in my restaurant. Someone has broken in. Can we talk about this some other time?’
‘Oh. Sure. Sorry,’ I can’t take my eyes from the gun. I hate guns, always have done.
The air around us is heavy with silence. Neither of us can hear a thing.
‘Are you sure you heard something?’ I ask.
‘Yes. I don’t know how they got in. Maybe they hid while I was locking up. But I heard someone walking around.’
‘Okay. I believe you. Have you called the police?’
‘Youarethe police.’
‘Not at the moment, I’m not. Also, I’m in my nightie, and I’ve been drinking.’
A noise comes from downstairs. It sounds like someone has let go of a closing door and it has banged shut.
‘You heard that?’ Philip asks.
‘Yes. I heard that.’
‘At least we know it’s not in my head.’
We edge down the stairs. Philip first, me pressed up close behind. We creep down in silence until we reach the bottom. We’re outside the back entrance to the kitchen. Philip stretches to look through the round window in the door.
‘What can you see?’ I ask.
