Wire mesh

‘There are some other skills I have learned,’ said Xavier. ‘But I understand it’s considered impolite to show off, so I thought three things would give you an insight into my abilities.’

She was just about to ask him about the other things, when a shout from Joe brought them both running back to him. A delivery van was slowing to a halt opposite the Lane’s house.

The driver wound down his window ‘Morning. Are you Mr Alan Lane? I’m here to collect a large box?’ 

‘No, sorry, he’s out at the moment.’ Joe was thinking fast. ‘Did he give you instructions where to find it, if he wasn’t here?

The driver consulted his smartphone. ‘No, nothing about collection in his absence. Darn. Do you know when he’ll be back?’

‘Sorry mate, not a clue.’

‘This is such a pain, people like him wreck my schedules. He’ll have to get in touch with the office to arrange another collection. Can you give him this?’ He thrust a slip of paper into Joe’s hand and, gunning the engine, roared off to his next address.

‘I thought you said Jean-Claude hadn’t seen a return label request?’ Kim’s worry furrowed her brow. 

‘Something must have changed this morning, I suppose. Or maybe the driver was here to pick up something else entirely?’ Joe glanced at the slip. ‘But it does say large heavy box for collection.’ He tucked the paper into his pocket. ‘Bit of a coincidence, don’t you think?’

‘If she’s sent back, then goodness knows what will happen. We can’t risk it. We have to break into that garage.’ All Kim’s worries about trespass paled into insignificance in the face of the larger threat.

‘I could open the lock,’ said Xavier mildly. ‘If that would be helpful.’

‘What? Can you? Why didn’t you mention that before?’ 

‘He was just telling me that he has a few more talents up his sleeve than he mentioned.’ Kim turned to Xavier. ‘Isn’t that right?’

‘But safecracking?’ Joe’s voice had become something of a squeak at this new information. 

‘Whatever,’ said Kim. ‘If you can get that door open, we’ll do the rest. Come on, before either Mr Nosy Neighbour comes out again or the Lanes come home.’

‘I’ll need some thin wire,’ said Xavier looking about. 

‘Will this do?’ Kim had found some fencing mesh blocking up access to the gap between a couple of garages. ‘Maybe if we untwisted a bit of this?’

It took but a moment for Joe to extract a suitable length of wire. Handing it to Xavier, he watched him probe carefully this way and that in the keyhole. The shackle sprang open and the padlock was separated from the hasp. Joe grasped the bottom of the roller and thrust upwards. As the garage was revealed, there, in the centre of an otherwise empty space, was a large taped up box, the exact twin of the one in which Xavier had been delivered.