Take Two (A psychological thriller)

They drove to Kilburn in the Porsche.  Richards parked around the corner from Terry Carter’s house after they’d driven by twice giving the place the once over. It had once been an industrial building; it was two stories high with small windows and a flat roof.  There was parking for six cars in front and for another dozen at the back where a metal fire escape zig-zagged to the upper floor.

‘There’s an alarm,’ said Richards.

‘Yeah. They use the place to store props for movies and that. The insurance people probably insist on it. I’ll call Bunny.’

Andy ‘Bunny’ Warren was an old friend of Halpin’s.  As a teenager, he’d been a prolific housebreaker but in his twenties he’d moved into home security and now had a thriving business installing alarms and safes. He wasn’t a poacher turned gamekeeper though; Warren wasn’t above doing a bit of housebreaking now and again, partly for the money but mainly because he just wanted to keep his hand in.

‘You sure there’s no one inside?’ asked Richards.

‘Carter runs the business from his mobile, pretty much. He doesn’t have any staff. He’s got a live-in boyfriend but he works so he’s not home either. Place is empty during the day.’

‘Call Bunny then,’ said Richards.

  Halpin made the call and an hour later Warren turned up in a works van.

‘Mick, Warwick, how the hell are they hanging?’ asked Warren. He was a portly man in his fifties with an ill-fitting toupe that was several shades darker than his sideburns.

‘All good,’ said Halpin. ‘Got a place we’d like to get into. Worth a monkey to us.’

‘A monkey’s good,’ said Warren.  Halpin pulled a roll of fifty-pound notes from his pocket and gave them to Warren.

‘Pleasure doing business with you,’ he said. He went back to his van, pulled out a blue metal toolbox, and walked off.  He came back fifteen minutes later, whistling cheerfully.  ‘Right, Bob’s your mother’s brother,’ he said. ‘I’ve left the front door on the latch.  The alarm panel is on the left as you go in. I’ve programmed it with 6789 for when you want to leave. That way the owner will never known you’ve been inside. It’s a perimeter alarm so the only sensors are on the doors and windows. There are no movement sensors so if you want you can reset the alarm as soon as you go inside.’ He winked. ‘Be lucky.’

Richards and Halpin climbed out of the Porsche as Warren went back to his van.  ‘You’re carrying, right?’ asked Richards as he locked the car.

Halpin nodded and patted his coat pocket.

They walked over to the front door. Richards took a quick look around and pushed it open. They stepped inside and Richards closed the door and locked it.

‘What the hell is this place?’ asked Richards. ‘It’s like some lost and found warehouse.’

‘He rents stuff out to film and TV companies,’ said Halpin.  ‘Say a film needs an old record player. The don’t want to be bothered buying one so they rent one from companies like this. It’s quite an earner, if you’ve got the right contacts.’

‘Looks like a load of old junk to me,’ said Richards. He gestured at the metal stairs that led to the upper floor. ‘That must be where he lives.’

They went upstairs and into the main sitting room. ‘Talk about living above the shop,’ said Halpin. ‘It would give me the creeps living in a place like this.’

‘I dunno, there’s plenty of space,’ said Richards.  ‘No noisy neighbours, plenty of privacy.’

Halpin went over to a table. There was a computer there and a phone. Next to the phone was a small Sony digital tape recorder.  He picked it up and pressed the button.  ‘Hi Jenny, this is Carolyn.’  Halpin’s eyes widened. ‘Yeah, I’m sorry I wasn’t at the airport to pick you up.  I’ve had a pretty rough few weeks and I just need some me time. I’ve booked myself into a clinic – they don’t want to say which one – and I’ll be incognito for another week. I’m already feeling a lot better. Anyway, I’ve got to go. You be good, okay?’ Halpin switched off the voice recorder and looked over at Richards. ‘Is that enough for you, boss?’ he said,

Richards was staring at him open-mouthed. ‘The devious bitch,’ he said. ‘She faked it. Carter must have called her when she was at the supermarket and played the message.’ He shook his head. ‘Un-bloody-believable.’

‘This whole thing has been planned,’ said Halpin. ‘She’s setting us up.’