Nell （Present）
NELL
PRESENT
I stand by the front door, a knife in my hand, waiting for Sadie and Simon to arrive. It’s twenty minutes since I called them, so they’ll be here soon.
I could have called Romy but I chose Sadie because I remembered her saying that she and Simon were having dinner tonight to replace the date night they should have had on Wednesday when Simon was unexpectedly called into work.
And I need Simon here because he’ll know how to check for signs of an intruder.
I hear their voices outside and hurry to the kitchen to replace the knife in the wooden block.
“Nell, it’s us,” Sadie calls. “Can you let us in?”
I’d already unlocked the door in case the intruder was still in the house and I needed to make a quick exit. I didn’t think that he was but I’d armed myself with a knife anyway.
I open the door and move aside to let them in, reassured when I see that they’ve brought Kintyre with them.
“Thank you for coming,” I say. “I’m sorry for dragging you away from your dinner.”
“You didn’t,” Sadie says, giving me a hug. “We hadn’t sat down, we were in the bar having drinks.”
“Can you tell me what happened?” Simon asks, already in work mode. He takes off his coat and hangs it on the hook behind the door, then takes Kintyre’s lead from Sadie. “Did you hear anything, see anyone?”
“No, nothing like that. I came in and I was about to check the rooms—” I stop, blushing. “It’s something I do when Alex is away. I never used to but the house feels different when he isn’t here.”
“I know what you mean,” Sadie says fervently. “I never minded living alone but now, when Simon is on night shift and I’m on my own in the flat, I jump at every sound.”
I smile at her gratefully.
“What made you think someone had been in the house?” Simon asks. “Had something been moved, was there something missing?”
“No. It was just a feeling I had. I know someone has been here, I can sense it. I know that sounds lame but it’s true.”
“Then we need to find how they got in. Shall I take a look around?”
“Yes, please.” I remember that Simon doesn’t know the house. “There’s just the kitchen and sitting room down here and a bedroom and bathroom upstairs.”
“Let’s start with the kitchen.” He moves down the hall with Kintyre. “Before I go in, I want you to stand in the doorway and take a good look around. Do you notice anything unusual? Don’t go all the way in yet.”
I stand beside him and scan the room slowly, checking that everything is in its place. “It seems fine,” I tell him.
“Okay. Now go farther in.”
I move to the island and let my eyes roam the areas of the kitchen I hadn’t been able to see from the doorway. Nothing has changed; it’s exactly as I left it that morning.
Simon looks up at the light well. “Well, whoever it was didn’t get in through there,” he says. “Shall we check the rest of the house?”
“Why don’t I put the kettle on while you do that?” Sadie says.
“Thanks.” I point. “There’s tea in the cupboard.”
It’s another ten minutes before I join Sadie in the kitchen.
“Well?” Sadie asks.
“Nothing. There’s nothing out of place. At least, not that I can see.” I give her a rueful grin. “You must think I’m mad.”
“You’re the most rational person I know,” Sadie says, handing me a mug of tea. “If you say someone has been in your house, then someone has been in your house.”
“Simon checked the windows from the inside and he’s checking outside now to see where they got in. I’ve given him a flashlight.”
“It’s a shame Alex is away. When is he back?”
I take a sip of tea. “I’m not sure.”
We fall into silence, our hands cupped around our mugs.
But Sadie abhors silence and is soon chatting about ideas for more workshops at the charity.
I let her words flow over me, grateful that she isn’t expecting me to respond, and think about Alex.
Why hadn’t I phoned him as soon as I knew someone had been in the house?
Shouldn’t he have been my first port of call?
He would have come straight over, he would have been glad to have a reason to see me after our awkward conversation outside my workplace less than an hour before.
But I had called Sadie. What did that say about him, about me? About us as a couple?
Simon appears in the doorway, Kintyre at his heels.
“The windows are all fine,” he says. “Not a scratch, nothing to indicate that any of them have been forced open. So if there was someone here, the only way they’d have been able to get in is through the front door.”
“It’s not possible that they got in through the front door,” I say. “I’m the only one with a key.”
“You don’t have a spare?”
“No.”
He comes over to the island and Sadie hands him a mug of tea. “Where do you keep your key?”
“In my bag, even when I’m here in the house. When I come in, I lock the door and put the key back in my handbag. That way I always know where it is.” I fetch my bag from the hall, take my key from the zip pocket and hold it up.
“And nobody has ever asked to have a copy of the key made? Previous partners?” He pauses. “Present partners?”
“No. Are you sure there’s no sign of forced entry?”
“Absolutely sure. Is there any way that someone could have taken your key without you knowing and had a copy made before putting it back in your bag?”
I take a moment to consider what he said.
At work, I keep my bag under my desk. The only people who go into my office are Sadie and the other volunteers and I’m usually present.
If I’m not, if I’m in the main room, they only go in to put something on my desk.
I’ve never seen anyone hanging around in my office or hovering outside waiting for me to leave.
And when I’m at home, my bag is either with me in the kitchen, or in the bedroom.
The only visitors I have are Romy, Rob, and Marcus and when they’re here, we have dinner, they leave and I use my key to lock the door behind them.
There has never been an occasion when I haven’t been able to find my key.
Simon and Sadie are both looking at me and I know they’re wondering about Alex, it’s as clear as if his name was written across their foreheads.
It’s true that he would have had plenty of opportunities to take my key from my bag.
But he has never once left the house without me, which means he couldn’t have had a copy made.
And when we’ve gone out together, I lock the door when we leave and open it again when we come back, using the one and only key.
“No,” I say firmly. “Nobody could have taken my key and had a copy made without me knowing.”
“Then I’m sorry, Nell, it isn’t possible that someone got in, not unless they know how to pick a lock. And your lock is one of the best. They would have to be extremely skilled to be able to pick it.”
“But it would be possible?”
“Yes, if they were a criminal. But a criminal would only come into your house if they were going to steal something and you said that nothing is missing.” Simon pauses.
“Or unless they meant you harm. And that’s not likely, unless they have a grudge against you.
” Another pause. “It might be something to consider, although I can’t imagine that you have any enemies,” he finishes with a smile.
I hide a shiver. “Not that I know of.”
“What about someone breaking in hoping to steal something valuable then leaving again empty-handed when they see that there isn’t anything they wanted?” Sadie asks.
“That’s possible,” Simon concedes.
“Can you tell if a lock has been picked?” I ask.
“I wouldn’t be able to but a professional might. If you really think someone managed to get in, you should get the lock changed. And have a second one installed.”
I nod. “I’ll do that.”
“Why don’t you come and spend the night at ours?” Sadie suggests. “We have a spare bedroom. Then you can call a locksmith tomorrow.”
“Thank you, but I’ll be fine, especially now that Simon has checked the house and the windows.” I look toward the stairs. “Would you excuse me a minute?”
I run upstairs, supposedly to use the bathroom.
But I don’t go to the bathroom, I go to the bedroom and check the wardrobe to make sure no one is hiding inside.
I feel horribly foolish as I close the doors but when I was in the bedroom with Simon, he hadn’t checked the wardrobe and I hadn’t liked to ask.
I’m about to go downstairs when I stop, thinking about what Simon had said about someone potentially taking my key and having a copy made.
The only people who’ve been in the house in the last couple of weeks are Romy, Rob, and Marcus, the night I invited them to dinner.
My bag was in the bedroom that evening and they’d all come up to use the bathroom at some point, so they’d all had the opportunity to take my key.
But I had used my key to lock the door behind them when they’d left.
Something niggles away at me, something to do with Marcus.
And then I remember—he’d gone out, insisting he needed to buy champagne to celebrate Rob’s birthday.
He’d been upstairs before leaving the house, supposedly to use the bathroom.
Had he taken my key from my bag and had a copy made while he was out buying champagne?
My mind scans the shops in the area but I don’t remember ever seeing a place to get keys cut.
Anyway, Marcus wouldn’t do such a thing.
“I’m really sorry to have dragged you here on a wild-goose chase,” I say apologetically, when I return to the kitchen. “I’ll make it up to you.”
“Don’t be silly,” Sadie says. “That’s what friends are for.”
“I can’t even offer you dinner, the fridge is practically empty. But I’m happy to order a takeaway, if you’d like to stay.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll grab something to eat around here.”
“Why don’t you come with us?” Simon offers. “Take your mind off everything.”
“That’s lovely of you but I’m fine, honestly.”
I move into the hall, suddenly eager for them to be gone. I give them a hug and thank them again for coming to my rescue.
“If there’s anything at all, just call,” Simon says. “I mean it. Even if it’s the middle of the night.”
“Thank you,” I say, stooping to give Kintyre a pat.
“And please get your lock changed.”
“Yes,” I promise. “I will.”
Another hug from Sadie and they’re gone. I lock the door behind them and stand in the hall, at a loss at what to do next. Deflated, I sit down on the stairs. The silence wraps itself around me, not like a warm blanket but like a suffocating shroud, bringing with it a sense of impending doom.