I glared at the young woman. Hayley, she said her name was. I suppose in all honesty I shouldn't blame her but I couldn't help thinking that the whole situation was her fault.
I'd assessed the house and I knew that it would be empty at this time. I knew everyone who lived here, where they worked and, more important, when they worked.
That morning I'd positioned myself at a nice little vantage point and watched as everyone had left as scheduled. Father first, off to his job. Oldest child next, off to his school, and finally mother and two younger children. She'd drop them at their school before heading on to her job.
This left the house free for me to help myself to certain bits and pieces that I expected to find in there.
I'd given the lot of them a good hour to be on their way, just in case one of them decided to double back. Deciding that the coast was clear I'd driven in, parked in the garage and entered via the back door. The lock there was so feeble that I barely slowed down to pick it.
Closing the door behind me, I was sauntering down the hallway towards the master bedroom when the bathroom door open and a nude young woman waltzed out of it. She didn't even notice me at first. She just came out of the bathroom and turned and headed down to the bedrooms.
Maybe she heard something or maybe she'd seen me out of the corner of her eye when she came out of the bathroom and only just realised what she'd scene. She suddenly spun round, gasping, taking the classical September Morn position in a frantic attempt to cover herself.
She didn't have a chance. I just bustled her into the master bedroom and pushed her so she sat on the bed.
She sat there looking at me, not saying anything. Too shocked, I think, to know what to do.
"Who are you?" I asked, "and what are you doing here?"
"I'm Hayley," she mumbled. "I was just having a shower."
I'd noticed that. When someone walks out of a bathroom, naked and with wet hair, it's a fair bet that they've been showering.
"That's not what I meant," I snapped. "I mean why aren't you at school, or work, or something? How old are you, anyway?"
"Nineteen," she said. "I've finished school and I don't have a job yet."
"You're a damned pest, is what you are," I pointed out. "I can't very well tie you up and leave you here until someone gets home. You could have an accident or something. And if I tie you up or lock you up while I help myself to the things I want, there's no guarantee you won't get loose and raise the alarm. And even if I did manage to keep you prisoner until I had finished you'd be raising the alarm seconds after I left.
You've completely ruined my mornings work," I growled.
"I'm sorry," Hayley muttered. "Let me go. I won't tell anyone. I'm a burglar, too. I broke in to pinch whatever I could."
"And if you pull the other one it plays jingle bells," I said. "I'm a thief. Not an idiot. First time I've heard of someone stealing a shower.
