CHAPTER EIGHT

Thinking about it in my office the next morning, I realized what a mad, stupid fool I had been. I had nearly broken up my
marriage for a girl I scarcely knew. I had been stupidly
confident I had been getting away with it when all the time Ann. and Bill had seen through me. I must have been out of my
mind.

Well, it was over! I was lucky Ann had handled it the way
she had. If she hadn’t had the moral courage to bring it out
into the open, the chances were our marriage would have
been washed up by now.

I lit a cigarette and pushed back my chair. What could
Gloria have thought of me when I hadn’t shown up? Had she
realized that Ann had found out or did she think I had
purposely stood her up? I shifted uneasily. What did it matter what she thought? She had no right to ‘phone up like that, and she only had herself to blame.

All the same I dreaded the
thought of her coming to the garage for her car, and hoped
when she did come, she would take the car away. I decided if I saw her before she saw me, I’d let Tim handle it, and keep out of her way.

The workmen, under Berry’s directions, were hard at it
when I went into the garage. The partitioning was finished, and they were now adjusting the door.
“Looks like you’ll be finished tonight.”
Berry grunted.
“There’s a lot to do inside yet.”

He moved away. Taking the hint that I wasn’t wanted, I
went over to the work bench and gave Tim a hand with the
tricky job of retiming a magneto.

Later in the day Joe and Louis arrived in the Buick. They
carried two heavy leather cases into the partitioned room and
shut themselves in.

I kept expecting Gloria to appear, and as the day passed
and there was still no sign of her, I became more and more
jittery. Every time the telephone bell rang I nearly jumped out of my skin, and yet I had an uneasy feeling of disappointment when I answered it and found it wasn’t she who was calling.

Berry came into the office around five o’clock.
“We’re going to work late. We shan’t be through until ten
o’clock.”

“That’s all right. I’ll lock up and when you’re ready to go,
let me know and I’ll let you out. How’s it going?”
“All right”
He returned to the partitioned room and shut the door.

At half-past six I shut the garage doors. Then I went over
to the partitioned room, turned the door handle, but the door
was locked.

“What do you want?” Berry’s voice snapped.
“I’ve closed up. I was wondering how you were getting
on. I felt a fool standing outside the locked door.
“It’s okay. We’re busy.”

I turned away and walked back to my office, angry at the
snub. All right, I thought as I turned out the light and went
upstairs, if they want to be mysterious, let them get on with it. Ann greeted me with a smile.
“Supper’s just coming up.”

“I’ll have a wash and be with you.”

As I washed I began to wonder what was going on in that
looked room. I was quite positive none of the three men could possibly be radio experts. I was now regretting having let the space to Dix, and I was pretty certain that the promised agency wouldn’t materialize.

It had been offered to me as a
bait, but why? For some reason Dix had been anxious to get
into my garage. The fact that he could have taken over the
empty shop at the top of the street at a much cheaper price
indicated that he wanted my garage only because of its
position. Next door to me was a small jeweller’s and on the
other side was a tobacconist.

Were these four planning a
robbery? Were they going to try to break into the jeweller’s
shop through the dividing wall of my garage? It was unlikely.

I had taken my watch to be repaired there, and the shop carried scarcely any stock, and what stock there was could have had no value. The tobacconist? There again the shop was only in a small way, and the owner who I knew had told me he was
thinking of closing down.

Maybe I was letting my imagination run away with me.
But I was curious. When they went tonight I was going to see if I could open the door to the partitioned room and have a look round.

It was while we were having supper that Ann said
suddenly, “I shall be going to mother’s tomorrow, Harry.”
I stiffened and looked up.
Once a month Ann went over to Leytonstone and spent
the night with her mother. I had forgotten tomorrow was the
day. Immediately my mind jumped to Gloria. It was a reflex
action beyond my control, and I hastily stamped it out of my
mind, but the thought had come so spontaneously and
vi0lently it frightened me.

“I’d forgotten,” I said, trying to speak calmly. “Well, that’s
all right, Ann.”
“If you rather I didn’t go, I won’t.”
“Of course you must go. She’ll be expecting you.”
“I could send her a telegram.”
I looked up, frowning.
“What on earth for? You always go, Ann.”
“Yes.”
There was a long, awkward pause.
“If you think it would be better for me to stay, Harry, I’ll stay.”

I felt myself turn red.
“Don’t you trust me then?”
“Of course I do, darling. I just don’t want to make things
difficult for you.”

“I know I’ve been a damned fool, but I hope you don’t
think I’m weak in the head. I said it wouldn’t happen again; it’s not going to happen again.”

“All right, darling.” She put her hand on mine. “Are you
and Bill doing something?”.

Whenever Ann went to her mother’s Bill and I had a night
out together. We went over to the Regimental Club and had a
game of billiards and a few drinks. It gave me a chance of
keeping in touch with some of the boys I had met during the
war. I looked forward to those evenings, but I realized now I
didn’t want to go to the club tomorrow night.

“I’ll fix up something with him.”
“We haven’t seen him since Saturday. Is he all right?”
“He came in Monday for a moment. Yes, he’s all right.”

Although I had caught a glimpse of Bill from time to time
across the road I had kept out of his way, and he hadn’t come
to the garage. I was still angry with him for hitting me, although I knew I had asked for it by swinging at him first.

Around ten o’clock, Berry shouted up the stairs that they
were going. I went down to lock up after them.

The Humber was parked outside and I caught a glimpse
of Louis at the wheel.
“So long,” Berry said. “See you in the morning.”
I watched the Humber drive away, then closed the doors
of the garage.

I went over to the door of the partitioned room. It had
been padlocked on the outside, but it would be a simple matter
to unscrew the hasp. I moved over to the work bench and
found a screwdriver; as I picked it up, I suddenly heard a faint sound and I stiffened to attention.

I looked about the dimly lit garage, but couldn’t see
anything moving. I stood motionless for several minutes,
listening, then thinking I had imagined the sound I went over to the locked door.

Then I remembered I hadn’t seen Joe leave in the
Humber. Had he gone previously or was he still here behind
the locked door?
I put my ear to the panel and listened. For some
moments I didn’t hear anything, then a faint scraping sound
came to me as if someone on the other side of the door who
was listening as I was listening had moved his foot.
I stepped back silently. So Joe was still in there. I
hesitated, then rapped sharply on the door.

The silence that followed was a little unnerving.
“Is there anyone in there?” I said, and rapped again.
Nothing happened, but I was certain now Joe was in
there; I could feel his tension coming through the door panels.
I walked over to the bench and put down the screwdriver, then
I went back to my office, turned out the garage lights and went upstairs treading loudly.

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