There had been a number of burglaries in the neighbourhood in recent weeks.
She, like so many others she had spoken to, was very nervous. It seemed that this particular criminal was brazen. He or she, after all some of them are women, has been robbing houses while the owners were in watching TV. The police were getting a lot of complaints about their lack of progress. They, in turn, were not happy with the public arming themselves.
She had been on edge ever since it started, while her husband made little of it, saying the locks he had installed would prevent them from ever becoming victims. He was a good sort really, he just didn’t realise how tense she had become. She felt sure that his shrugging it off was partly on account of the fact that he was working so late most nights. She knew he was doing his best to bring in a little more money, but this meant that he was hardly ever around during the evening. As a result, she was at home on her own and that didn’t help.
It was very late when he finally got home and she had been hearing noises all through the evening. Knowing she’d be asleep at this time, he planned to have a quick shower to wash away the whiff of whiskey and perfume. He was halfway to the bathroom when the hall light came on. He stopped, peering around in the glare of the light. She was standing by the front door holding her late father’s shotgun.
“It’s you!” she cried. “What’s got into you? You could have been shot creeping in like that.” She lowered the gun. “Where are you going?”
“Oh! I just need to clean up a bit.”
“Clean up?” She sniffed. She sniffed again. She walked forward a few paces, taking in the distinctive odours. She began to think about all the evenings she’d been alone in the house while he was supposed to be working late. She slowly brought the gun back up. “You could be a burglar,” she said.
“Don’t be silly.”
“But, you could you know.”
“What are you talking about?”
Her eyes blazed and she glowered at him with a peculiar grin. “I think you’re a burglar. Yes, I’m quite convinced about that. That is what you are. You have broken in and I’ve caught you.” She giggled. “I’ll be famous for stopping you in your tracks.”
He went to speak, but froze as the barrel was lifted a little more.
The blast was deafening.
She switched the light off and ran out into the street, screaming.