After the End

Prologue

The sound of the phone ringing makes him jump. He looks up from his iPad and picks up.

“You’ve reached the police. How may I help?”

On the other end of the line, he hears a woman speaking very quietly, somewhere between a whisper and a gasp. Her voice is shaking. She sounds petrified.

“Please, you have to come quick! I heard a noise downstairs . . .” she begins the second Didier has finished his formulaic introduction.

She pauses, wary, as though listening out for something. She sounds genuinely afraid, her voice a whisper, choked with fear. A gulp of terror. It sounds like she’s trying to be as discreet as possible for fear of being heard. Behind the icy timbre of dread, her breathing is ragged and panicky.

Didier can hear the urgency in her voice, how desperate she is to be heard, believed, and reassured.

“I’m right here, madame. I’m listening. What seems to be the problem?”

“You have to come, right away. I can hear a noise downstairs. Someone’s broken in. I’m pretty sure it’s my neighbor . . .”

“Your neighbor? Have you been having issues?”

“Please, I beg you, don’t leave me here on my own! I think she’s come through the yard. Through the back door. She hates me. She’s threatened me a few times already. I think she might actually want to get rid of me.”

“Try to stay calm, madame, we’ll be there right away. I need your name and address.”

The woman gives him her details, almost succumbing to full-blown panic when Didier asks her to spell out her surname. He tries to be reassuring, urges her to remain calm, promises a patrol car will be there in no time.

“Please, please hurry, I beg you! And if I don’t open the front door, break it down!” she whispers, her voice hoarse with fear.

Didier is about to offer to stay on the line until his colleagues arrive, when the line is suddenly cut. Right away he radios all the necessary information with instructions to get there as quickly as possible.

“What was the reason for the call?” an officer asks over the radio.

“Some kind of neighbor dispute. Sounds serious.”