Eeny Meeny

52

She was being watched.

A Transit van had been parked in the same spot for days now. But there was no sign of any activity around it. It had a plumber’s logo on the side, but there were never any plumbers in evidence and, besides, she’d looked up the company name online – it didn’t exist. She’d had to do this on her new smartphone as the police still had her computer.

Hannah Mickery scrutinized the van from between a crack in the curtains. Were they looking at her right now through the tinted glass, taking photos? Or was she just being paranoid?

There were so many people in the house during the search, it was hard to keep tabs on them all. Would they have had time to bug the place? After they’d gone, Hannah had checked every possible hidey-hole. She’d found nothing. Perhaps it was all a bit too Cold War for run-of-the-mill plod.

But it pays to be cautious when there is so much at stake.

By now that snotty cow Grace would have pillaged her computer. She probably should have given them the password, but why not make them work a little harder for it? Anyway, by now they would know. It would be hard to pass it off as professional interest or even apologize for it as macabre gawping. But did they have anything to charge her with? Of course not.

But she’d have to be careful. The stakes were high now and a single mistake could unravel everything. So much thought and planning had gone into this. It would be criminal to fuck it up now.

Night was falling. It wouldn’t be long now. Could they monitor her mobile phone calls? If it was good enough for the News of the World, then…

She hoped they had been listening. It would make it easier for her. Easier to escape. Hannah felt a thrill of excitement – when the game hung in the balance, every move was thrilling.