The Half Truth(24)

‘Mummy, that man’s coming,’ said Dimitri.





Chapter 12


Tina’s breath caught in her lungs. She grabbed at the venetian blinds with one hand, pulling the wooden slats apart.

There, striding down the path towards the front door, was John. Tina felt her knees buckle with relief. The hammering on the door was the sweetest sound to her ears. Putting Dimitri down and taking his hand, she hurried him downstairs.

‘Thank God you’re here!’ she gasped, surprised by how relieved she felt to see John. He was in the hallway, closing the door behind him before she could catch her breath.

‘What’s happened? I saw Dimitri up at the window,’ said John. ‘The lights were going on and off downstairs so I thought I’d check it out. Are you both okay?’

Tina composed herself. She looked from John to Dimitri and back again, willing John to understand.

‘I came down for some water, dropped the glass. You know what it’s like, unexpected things going bump in the night.’ Over the top of Dimitri’s head she flicked her eyes towards the kitchen. ‘I think the back door has been left open.’

She watched John take in the glass lying on the carpet, the coats on the floor and then search her face.

He reacted instantly, but with such an air of calm and authority that immediately Tina felt safe.

‘You go back upstairs,’ he said. Then he mouthed to her to lock the bedroom door. ‘Wait there, I’ll be back in a minute.’

John watched Tina and Dimitri go back upstairs. Once he heard the bedroom door shut and the key turn in the lock he withdrew his Glock from its holster. He was pretty certain that whoever had been in the house was long gone, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

The kitchen was empty and the back door wide open. John opened the blinds to allow some light to seep across the garden. Cautiously he stepped out onto the patio, giving his eyes time to become accustomed to the dark. His instincts told him there was no one in the garden, but he checked anyway. The back gate was locked from the inside, so presumably the intruder hadn’t left that way. Probably hopped over the wall. John looked up and down the access footpath at the rear.

Convinced that the intruder had gone, John went back indoors and up to Tina’s bedroom. He tapped on the door.

‘Tina, you okay? I’ll put the kettle on,’ he said softly, conscious that she was probably trying to settle her son. ‘I’ll be downstairs.’

Tina came into the kitchen some ten minutes later. She looked a mixture of relieved and upset.

Without thinking, John took her in his arms and held her for a moment until she pulled away.

‘Thank you. I needed that,’ she said.

‘Are you hurt?’

‘No, not really. Banged my head, but it’s okay.’

John sat Tina at the table with a strong cup of tea and listened as she relayed to him what had happened.

‘I can’t understand how I didn’t see him,’ said John. ‘You say, you heard him unlock the back door before he ran off?’

Tina nodded. ‘Definitely. I was listening for him to go.’

‘I doubt very much he came in that way and locked the door behind him,’ said John. ‘Locking your escape route is a schoolboy error. No one would do that.’

‘And you didn’t see him come through the front door?’ said Tina.

John shook his head. His mind trawled through all the possibilities. He didn’t want to make the next suggestion, but it seemed the only feasible scenario. ‘Did you leave the house at all, even for a few minutes? Not even to go out into the garden, put something in the shed, bring the washing in? Anything like that?’

Tina thought for a moment. She closed her eyes and let out a small groan. ‘I went next door to see Mr Cooper.’

When she looked at John, her eyes were filled with tears. ‘The man must have come in then. Dimitri was in the house. Alone.’ Two tears raced each other down her face. ‘The man was in the house when Dimitri was here and I wasn’t.’

‘Hey, it’s okay,’ said John. He came round to her side of the table and pulled out the chair next to her. He put his arm around her shoulders. ‘Don’t upset yourself. Dimitri wasn’t hurt. Nothing happened. Whoever it was, wasn’t interested in Dimitri.’

‘It makes me feel physically sick to think about it,’ she said, brushing away more tears. ‘Who do you think it was? Pavel?’

‘It seems the most likely,’ said John.

‘Why the hell would he creep up on me like that? Why did he frighten me? I really don’t understand.’

‘Was there anything about him at all that seemed familiar?’ said John. The question he really wanted to ask burned on his lips. He squeezed his finger and thumb across his mouth, swiping it away. She didn’t need spooking any more tonight.