When I was within ten yards of Bill’s van, I stopped and
looked around as if wondering where Harris was.
To my right I spotted a small glass:-partitioned room lit
by a blue electric lamp. I could just see Harris. He was
slumped forward in a chair, his head resting in his hands, his
elbows on the desk.
He didn’t move.
I had no idea if he was asleep or not, but at least he
hadn’t seen me.
I moved a yard or so towards the van, still watching him.
Still he didn’t move. I took four quick steps sideways that took me into the darkest shadows where he couldn’t see me even if he did look up.
The rest was easy. I opened the van door and slid in,
pulling the door shut.
I took out a small electric torch and examined the
dashboard, shielding the light with my fingers. Close to the
driver’s seat was a small knob painted red and marked ‘Alarm’.
I worked quickly, tracing the wires down to the floorboards.
I cut one wire where it entered the floor-boards, stripped back the insulating cover, cut the wire away, inserted a match into the cover and slid the other end of the match into the other end of the cover, joining them neatly.
Even a careful examination of the wire wouldn’t show where it had been cut. The whole job took less than a minute.
I slipped the pliers and screwdriver into my pocket, then I took out my handkerchief and wiped everything I had touched in case I had left any finger-prints. As I opened the van door I heard a car engine, and a moment later a mail van swept in, fighting up the inside of the shed with its headlights.
I ducked down out of sight, squirmed over the gear lever
and opened the off-side door. I kept it ajar and waited.
The van pulled into an empty bay about ten yards from
where I was crouching.
“I bet you’ve been asleep, you lazy dev!l,” I heard the
driver say.
“I haven’t, you know,” Harris said indignantly. He came
hurriedly out of the office. “I might have been resting my eyes, but I haven’t been asleep.”
“Well, come on. I want to sign off.”
I heard them walk over to the office.
I slipped out of the van, shut the door and edged out of
the bay. It seemed a long way now to the street entrance. I
could get within twenty feet of it in safety, but the last twenty feet were in full light from the overhead lamp.
I made my way towards the light, keeping close to the
wall. The sound of voices wade me dock down behind a van.
The driver and Harris came out of the office. They began
to walk slowly down the shed towards the entrance.
At the entrance the driver said, “Well, sweet dreams.
Mind you don’t snore.”
“Hop it,” Harris said, grinning good-humouredly. “See
you tomorrow. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do in the
meantime.”
He stood just inside the entrance, looking after the driver as he walked away, then yawning, he came slowly back into the shed. He stood looking into the darkness, scratching his head, then he walked back to his office and shut himself in.
I didn’t move. I knew he would see me if I walked into the
light. I leaned against the wall and waited.
I waited over a quarter of an hour, then I saw him rest his face in his hands again.
I moved then. Silently and swiftly, I dodged past the pool
of light and into the street.
I kept going, crossing the street to the garage, drawing a deep breath of relief as I reached the darkness without hearing any shout of alarm.
Joe was waiting for me. In the dim light coming from my
office I could see his sweat beaded face.
“You took your time. I thought he had spotted you.”
“He didn’t spot me.”
“Have you fixed it?”
“I’ve fixed it.”
I closed the garage doors and shot the bolt, then I
walked quickly down the garage to my office, turned off the
light and went upstairs.
“Harry?”
I stiffened as I opened the bedroom door.
“Aren’t you asleep?”
“No. What were you doing across the road? Why did you
go over there?”
I felt a little chill creep up my spine.
“I made some tea. I thought Harris would like a drop. My
voice was unsteady. “Did you see me then?”
“I thought I heard something and looked out of the
window. Is Harris Bill’s pal?”
“That’s the fellow. I’m going to have a wash, then I’ll be
with you. Don’t turn on the light.”
“Was the carburettor all right?”
“I fixed it in the end. It was quite a job.”
“Hurry up and come to bed, Harry.”
“I’m coming.”
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