Should Have Looked Away by Philip Cox Read Free Book Online Page A

pedantic around values of properties, which could and frequently did affect the selling price, and therefore the commission C & G Estates earned.
    Will called up a spreadsheet of his pending clients, and filtered down to those where they were waiting for a positive answer from the mortgage company. Then he would check to see if the property value had been questioned. There were twenty-eight cases to review. Will groaned and clicked on the first.
    After the thirteenth, he sat back and stretched. He checked the time - it was 3:05 - and dialled home. It rang half a dozen times before going to voicemail. Will left no message, just hung up and dialled Chrissy’s mobile.
    ‘Hey there,’ Chrissy breathed down the phone.
    ‘Hey back,’ replied Will. ‘You out?’
    ‘U-huh. We’re just walking back from Gelson’s.’
    ‘But you went shopping yesterday.’
    ‘I know, but there were a few things I still needed.’
    ‘Hm. Get everything done this morning?’
    ‘Er – yes. Yes, I did.’
    ‘What did you do?’
    ‘Nothing much. Just a few things about the house. Why?’
    ‘Just wondered. Is Louise with you, then?’
    ‘She is, yes, skipping on ahead as usual. I picked her up just before two, then we went to the store. We’re on our way to the park right now. How did this morning go? With the police, I mean.’
    ‘It went, I guess. They kept me waiting around some, I told them the same as I told them yesterday, and they told me I could go.’
    ‘You got another ride in a police car? Did they sound the siren?’
    ‘Not after my statement. They said - Roberts and her partner - they had to go to another crime scene, and there were no uniforms to spare. So I walked.’
    ‘Walked?’
    ‘Why not? It’s only nine blocks. Small blocks at that.’
    ‘Guess so. We’re at the park now. Louise – do you want to talk to…?  No, she’s running off to the swings.’
    ‘No sweat. Tell her I love her and I’ll see her tonight.’
    ‘I will. What time you finishing?’
    ‘I’ll be done around five-thirty, I guess.’
    ‘So we’ll see you six-thirty?’
    ‘Around then. Love you.’
    ‘You too,’ answered Chrissy.
    Will hung up and stretched again. Made a quick trip to the men’s room; as he walked past Dan’s open door, he noticed his partner chatting to Eddie. May was busy at the Xerox machine. He slumped back into his chair and turned his attention to case number fourteen. He had reached case twenty-four when his own phone rang. It was one of his clients. As he spoke to the client he noticed May peer into his office; she was talking to somebody outside. Once he had finished the call, May appeared again.
    ‘Your wife’s on the outside line,’ May said. ‘She said she’d tried your cell, but you were busy.’
    ‘I was on a call,’ said Will. ‘You’d better put her through.’
    ‘Just about to. She sounded rather stressed.’
    Hoping that nothing had happened to Louise, Will grabbed the phone as soon as it rang.
    ‘What’s up?’ he asked.
    ‘Will, you need to come home. Now.’
    ‘What’s happened? Nothing’s happened to -’
    ‘It’s not Louise. We just got home from the park, and – oh, Will…’
    ‘What is it?’
    ‘Will, we’ve had a break-in.’

NINE
    By the time Will got back home, the police were already there. This time he took a cab, and as the taxi turned into Will’s street, he could see the white patrol car parked alongside his house.
    ‘Pull up anywhere here,’ he said to the driver. The cab pulled up next to the patrol car, Will thrust a twenty into the driver’s hand, leapt out of the cab, and ran up to his house. The door was already open, and a uniformed officer was walking down the steps.
    ‘Are you Mr Carter?’ the officer asked.
    ‘I am, yes,’ Will replied breathlessly.
    ‘Your wife’s in the kitchen, with one of my colleagues.’
    Will ran indoors and into the kitchen. A female uniformed officer was in the kitchen talking to Chrissy, and Will could see two