The Grey Man by Andy McNab Read Free Book Online Page B

watching him as he put the phone on the mantelpiece and headed for the kitchen.
    'Er, just someone about Saturday night. You'll have to wait, remember? Want some tea?' He left the room.
    Linda sat on the settee and stared at his mobile. She had never read any of his texts or emails before, but now she walked over and picked up the phone. Nothing. He had deleted it.
    The rest of the evening carried on as before until they both went up to bed and fell asleep. Well, Kevin pretended he was asleep. In fact, he was going over his plan. Tonight he felt no excitement, just pure fear. He thought about all the heroes he had seen on-screen and tried to work out if they had been scared. He felt better when he remembered that many of them had. He cuddled into Linda and waited for the hours to pass.
    Linda felt him behind her but kept her eyes closed. She couldn't sleep either. Had that text been from another woman? Debs, even? Maybe it was a money problem. They didn't have
much, but they got by, didn't they? Or was he in debt? Maybe he was bored with her. She held back the tears. She loved him so much. She wanted to talk to him and find out the truth. But Linda was too frightened to ask.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
     
    Friday, 10 February, 8.47 p.m.
    K EVIN CLOSED THE MAIN doors of the bank, opened his briefcase and took out his small yellow B&Q torch. He used the shaft of light to take him through the darkness towards the security door and into his office.
    He had kept his work clothes on for this evening, thinking that if he looked the part it wouldn't seem strange when he went into the bank at night. He had quite fancied wearing black overalls like de Niro did in The Score, but he'd thought they might look a bit odd on the bus home. Besides, he needed his briefcase to carry the contents of the safe-deposit box. An office suit and raincoat were more appropriate.
    It had been easy getting into the bank. He had put his PIN number into the door alarm and left all the other alarms on. It wasn't as if he
was going to attack the main vault, or blow his way in through a wall.
    With the torch in his mouth Kevin knelt by his office safe and pulled the copy of Symington's key from his jacket pocket. He could hear shouts and thudding music from the two pubs further along the street. He had never been in this part of town so late at night. It was packed with young guys out for the night and most of them were pissed.
    Slowly he turned the copy key and heard the clunk of the lock as it opened for him. He had done it! All he had to do now was open his own lock. He left the copy key in the safe lock, ready to secure it later. One of the lock picking websites had told Kevin that if a cut works first time, why take it out to maybe not work a second time?
    With the torch in his mouth and dribble trickling down his chin, Kevin fished for the deposit-box guard key. He got up, picked up his briefcase and turned towards the door, lighting up the anniversary card and chocolates that Gary, Alice and Margaret had given him that morning. He had forgotten to take them home. It had been a nightmare trying to act as
if today was like any other. Kevin had kept to his office as much as he could. He had been worried his face would give away his secret. He placed the card and chocolates in his briefcase and headed for the stairs.
    Linda was at bingo with her mum and was never home until just after ten thirty. The bus to town had been twenty minutes late so he was cutting it fine. But he should still have enough time to get the bus home and be on the sofa watching The Great Escape when Linda came in.
    At the bottom of the stairs, Kevin unlocked the door with his own key, opened it and pointed the torch at the wall of steel deposit-box doors on the other side of the room. A few more shouts came from the road, but they were soon cut off as Kevin closed the door behind him and turned on the light.
    He was no longer thinking about what he was doing. He put the guard key into the