5PM by Chris Heinicke Read Free Book Online Page A

down to ten smokes a day, which is great considering I used to smoke a pack a day from the age of sixteen.”
    We drive a little further and she points to the sign to the big name fitness company where she needs to stop. There’s a huge car parking area out in front of the building, which has a lot of floor-to-ceiling windows. I bring the car to a complete stop and before she gets out, she leans over to my side of the car and gives me a quick kiss on the lips. “I owe you big time for this.”
    “No, you don’t. Now get going so I can get home before the wife sends a search party for me.”
    I stare at her arse as she runs to the front door of the gym; one could bounce coins on her tight round picture of perfection. I tell myself to push those thoughts away and concentrate on getting home to Talissa and my children. As much as I like to sneak in a perv look at a hot body, having a look at a work colleague could only lead to trouble.
     
    * * * * * 
     
    I walk through the door and can smell dinner is all ready to be served. Talissa asks how my day was, and I tell her about Phelps hiring a temp to help with the workload, but I don’t mention the fact the temp is female and a hottie. Not that my sweet wife would get jealous—she never does, but sometimes less information is better.
    “Daddy, you seem really awake tonight,” Isaac says.
    “I had a good day at work, son, so I’m really happy.” I smile at him. “It makes all the difference.”
    He smiles back. “Yes, it does. Mummy says you work too hard and that’s why you’re so tired lately.”
    “Mummy’s right. I promise to try and work less on weekends though. We have a new worker who might be able to do some more of Daddy’s work.”
    “Yay!” he says. Matilda echoes his cheer and we’re all sharing a smile at the dinner table.
    I look at the time and realise it was seven hours ago when I took the pill and don’t even want to contemplate what will happen when it wears off. Surely, it couldn’t be something as drastic as falling asleep at the table.
    There’s a knock at the door, and before I can even think about getting up from my chair, Talissa is up and greeting the person interrupting our meal. I hear a familiar woman’s voice introducing herself as a Constable Hannah Hall.
    “Terry,” Talissa calls out, and when I turn the corner from the dining room to the hallway, I see the blonde lady cop from the car accident scene.
    “Hi, officer, is everything okay?” I ask her.
    “I haven’t received a call from that Emily lady who got in your car earlier this evening. Can you account for her whereabouts?”
    “Terry?” Talissa’s furrows her eyebrows.
    “I dropped her off at Heavenly Bodies and then continued my journey home.”
    “Sounds like a strip joint,” the officer says. “Sure you didn’t stop in for a while?”
    “It’s a fitness centre. She teaches classes there,” I tell her.
    “So you just pick her up after a car accident, drop her off at the gym, and not wonder how she’s supposed to get home?”
    “Have you tried to call her? You must have her details from the accident report,” Talissa asks.
    The officer turns her attention to my dear wife. “As a matter of fact, I have tried several times, but her phone keeps ringing out. Is your beloved husband always in the habit of giving good looking women rides?”
    “Well, he rides me at least twice a week,” Talissa winks at me.
    “You think this is a joke?”
    “Yes, I do. Terry did a favour for a work colleague and because she hasn’t called you, you drop around here and try to accuse him of something. Either make a charge or leave us to our kids.”
    The cop stares back at her, and as she opens her mouth, I hear a mobile phone ringing. Staring back at me, she answers it, “Constable Hall.”
    I watch as she nods with every ‘uh-huh’, and a minute later, she ends the call. “That was Emily. Her phone ran out of charge and she only just got home. I’m very sorry