Both Corinne and Felicity took a last look at the mess
then started walking towards the front door, where Daisy was waiting.
Just before they reached it, they heard a light rapping
on the glass.
There was someone outside the door.
Daisy backed away.
Corinne thought it might be the people who searched the
office, coming back for a second go.
Felicity suspected it might be the man from below, coming
up to see what the girls were doing. She
had one hand of the handle of the gun in her bag, ready to defend them. Her heart was in her mouth, fear making her
limbs like jelly.
Another rap on the door, slightly harder this time. Impatience?
Anger?
Felicity motioned Corinne to step back and join Daisy,
then summoned her courage and took the last three steps to the door and opened
it slightly, peering out.
Outside in the passage was a woman, not very old, about
the same age as her, dressed conservatively, perhaps a worker from one of the
other offices, a friend, or someone to share lunch with.
The woman glared at Felicity. "Who are you?"
"I could ask you the same question." She didn't open the door any further and she
wasn't moving, hand still on the gun, just in case. For the moment she had not forgotten this
woman might be the one who turned over the office. She looked, Felicity thought, like a
professional thief.
"Harry is working a case for me. My name is Angela Morrison. Who are
you?"
That name could be bogus, Felicity thought, or maybe not,
but Harry was working cases with Jones’, not Morrison. She was not sure what to make of the woman.
When Felicity didn't answer, Angela asked, "Are you
his girlfriend?"
Felicity laughed or snorted. "No, I'm his colleague, Felicity, and I’m
here with his sister Corinne and her friend Daisy. I was going to ask you the same
question."
"I'm not.
Just a client. You do know he's
in hospital."
"Yes, I just visited him."
There was a brief silence as the topics of conversation
ran out.
Angela shifted from one foot to the other, and then said,
"Are you going to let me in. I don't think it's a good idea to discuss the
case in public.”
"Perhaps you’re right. He asked me to look in just
to make sure everything was alright."
"And is it?"
Her hesitation alerted the woman on the other side of the
door. "Is there a problem? You look a little worried."
Could she trust this woman?
What the hell, if she was a thief or the one who
searched the place, she'd soon find out.
Felicity opened the door wider and stepped to one side. Maybe they could keep her here long enough so
that Sykes could question her.
Angela stepped in, took one look at the mess and said,
"What the hell happened here?"
Felicity closed the door behind them. "You tell me."
"You think I had something to do with this?"
"I don't know what to think. Until a few hours ago I didn't know where Harry
was or what he was doing. And it seems
obvious to me what he's doing for you might have caused all these
problems."
© Charles Heath 2016-2019
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