Under Suspicion by The Mulgray Twins Read Free Book Online

capable of pushing open a door with one meaty paw, but she couldn’t have closed it behind her.
    The hairs on the back of my neck prickled. Some primitive instinct told me that I was not alone, that there was someone else in the house. I held my breath, listening for the scrape of foot on floor, the noisy breathing of someone as jittery as myself… Nota sound. But then, an intruder wouldn’t be jittery. Professional intruders never were. His breathing would be calm, measured, under control.
    I took a firmer grip on the car jack in the carrier bag and moved silently forward. I’d put out my hand to slam the bathroom door back on its hinges, when common sense belatedly kicked in. Though I’d completed the obligatory course in unarmed combat and had a good chance of holding my own against a violent assailant, there was always the possibility of serious injury. The person who had broken in might merely be a common thief, but if he was one of Vanheusen’s heavies, my expertise in unarmed combat would only lead to further questions and confirm their suspicions. The best course of action would be to beat a strategic retreat, pretending that I hadn’t noticed anything amiss. After all, a lot of care had been taken to leave no sign of entry. Whoever was behind this hadn’t wanted me to know that I was under investigation.
    But was it too late, had I already blown it? Crashing the doors against the walls would have signalled to the intruder that I knew someone was there, and now, after this lengthy silence, he’d know for certain. Perhaps it wasn’t too late to give the impression that I had no suspicions. But if I was going to think of something, it would have to be fast. Nothing came to mind. Heart pounding, palms sweating, I started to edge back down the hall. I’d just have to make abolt for it and let the intruder make a getaway. I took another step backward.
    A shadow joined mine on the terracotta tiles of my hall floor. Somebody was standing in the doorway blocking my escape. Trapped . I whirled round, car jack at the ready to ward off the anticipated blow.
    I let my arm fall to my side. No hoodlum. Only my neighbour Jesús inspecting the chunks of plaster broken off the wall by the door handle.
    ‘ Qué pasa, señora ? I hear big noise and I think something is wrong.’
    I put my finger to my lips miming silence, and pointed at the bathroom door.
    ‘Oh hello, Jesús,’ I said loudly. ‘Sorry if that banging of the doors disturbed you. What a hell of a day I’ve had. Rude clients, unreasonable demands from the boss, and then I was held up in a traffic jam. By the time I got home, I was in such a bad mood that I took it out on the doors.’
    All the time I was speaking, I was moving down the hall to safety. I grabbed his arm and steered him out onto the doorstep.
    ‘Someone has broken in, and I think he’s still here,’ I hissed into his ear.
    ‘ Un ladrón !’ he breathed, eyes bright with excitement.
    I mouthed, ‘We get the policía.’
    He nodded.
    For the benefit of the listener in the bathroom, Isaid loudly, ‘What I need now is a drink, Jesús. Make me one of your famous barraquitos, and I’ll tell you all about my terrible day.’
    I slammed the front door hard enough to indicate to the intruder that we had gone. Judging by the patter of falling plaster, the Department was in for an expensive bill.
    ‘But, señora,’ Jesús whispered anxiously, ‘you forget that I no have teléfono. You have teléfono móvil to call policía ?’
    I nodded, again miming silence, and we scurried into his house. When Jesús’s door had closed behind us, I flattened myself against the wall next to the window.
    ‘The man will not just sit there waiting for the police to come and arrest him, Jesús. He’ll leave very quickly. What we need for the police is a good description.’
    ‘I look at back, señora.’ He scuttled away.
    From this angle I had a clear view of the street and a partial view of my doorway. I