Argleton, Chapter 8: Break-in
After a fun night out, Matt and Charlie return home to a nasty surprise.
Read Chapter 7 first or start at the beginning.
“Whoops!” Charlie giggled as she staggered into Matt.
“I gotcha,” he said as he caught her. “You’re a wee bit tipsy, Charlie-girl.”
“Noooo,” she slurred. “No, not at all. Nooooooooo.”
“I think you are! Don’t worry, I’ll get you home.”
“Was a good night though, no?”
“Oh, yes.”
“I like mosquitos… no, mogeetos!”
“Mojito, Charlie. Mojito.”
“I like mojitos!”
“You and Ernest Hemingway.”
“I’ve never had rum before.”
“I can tell. Here we are.” They stood at their garden gate, looking past the scruffy lawn towards the front door. “Did we lock up when we left?”
“Yeah, course we did. Deadlocked it.”
“Then what’s the door doing open?”
“Oh, shit.” Charlie didn’t feel so much like exaggerating her tipsiness anymore. She felt Matt’s hands fall away from her waist as he slowly edged towards the front door. “Matt!” she whispered. He looked round at her.
“Stay there!” he whispered in return.
“Don’t be stupid!”
“If the door’s open, they’ve likely gone.”
Charlie crept up behind him, the two of them listening carefully for sounds of a break-in in progress. Matt flattened himself against the wall on one side of the front door, slowly pushed it open and peered inside. The door to the lounge was open and he could just make out the mess of their belongings thrown on the floor. He looked around the front garden for some sort of weapon, something to defend himself with. There was nothing, not even a stick. He looked at Charlie and gestured that he was going to go inside.
“Don’t! Let’s just call the police!”
“It’ll take them hours to get here. I’m not standing around out here whilst they fanny about arresting speeding drivers instead of solving proper crimes!”
“Well, let me go first, then.”
“Are you crazy?”
“If they see a girl first, they’re less likely to be aggressive.”
“No! These aren’t gentlemen scoundrels, they’re burglars. You are not going first.” Matt stepped in through the doorway to make his point. In the back of the house he heard footsteps, then the slam of the back door.
“They’ve gone out the back!” he said.
“They’ll be over the fence and away in no time.” Charlie pulled her phone from her pocket and dialled 999. “Police please,” she said, heart thumping as much from the nervousness she felt calling the emergency services as from the break-in they’d nearly interrupted.
Matt crept down the hallway, cautiously peering into the lounge through the crack between the door and doorjamb. The room was empty. He paused, listening to hear if anyone else was in the flat. There was nothing. He looked back and saw Charlie still on the phone to the police dispatcher. Propped up in the corner of the hallway was a large golfing umbrella. He grabbed it. Not the most prepossessing of weapons, he thought, but it would have to do.
“They’re sending someone now,” Charlie said from behind him. He lurched, surprised by her voice so close. “Sorry, didn’t mean to make you jump.”
“That’s OK. I think they’ve gone.”
“Yeah, well, don’t touch anything, eh?”
They relaxed a little, certain now that the flat was empty. For the first time, they actually looked around them. The place had been completely turned over. The kitchen had got off lightly but the lounge was a mess. Books, papers and cushions were strewn around the floor. Charlie went straight to her rucksack, which sat propped up next to the sofa.
“It’s gone,” she said, flatly.
“Gone?”
“My laptop. It was in my bag. It’s gone.”
“Oh shit.”
“What about yours?”
“Ah, it was in my room.” The pair went through into his bedroom, which was in a similar state. Matt saw at a glance that his laptop had also been taken. It usually sat on a stand on his desk. Now all that was left was a tangle of forlorn cables, draped over the desk like a life support machine with no life to support. He sagged. “Crap.”
The tears came upon Charlie suddenly. Just as suddenly, Matt had pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly, letting her cry. He stroked her hair.
“It’ll be OK,” he said. “We’ll get new ones. And we’re all backed up because you’re smart and you make me do that sort of thing.” He could feel her tears soaking through his shirt.
“It’s just... they were in here!” she sobbed.
“I know. It’s horrible. But we’re lucky we didn’t surprise them in the act. It could have been a lot worse, Charlie. We’re OK. And they are only computers.”
“Bastards won’t get anything out of them though. They are uncrackable. Unless they have the passwords, they won’t be able to use them. They’re useless paperweights now.”
Matt didn’t say anything, just held her tightly whilst she calmed down. Together, they waited for the police to show up.
If you want to read Argleton all in one go, download the free ebook now. And why not try The Gates of Balawat or The Lacemaker as well!