Page 67 of Little Children

Stacey already had her identification in her hand.

‘Police,’ she said, choosing to omit mentioning the force she worked for.

He frowned at her.

She smiled. ‘You’re not in any trouble, but can I just have a quick word?’

‘Go head,’ he said, putting his mop against the door.

‘Is that a dummy?’ she asked, pointing up at the front of the shop.

‘Dummy?’ he asked, scratching his head.

‘Sorry, decoy, for show?’ she answered, trying to make herself clear.

He shook his head. ‘Is real.’

Her despondency got a swift kick of hope.

‘Do you have footage?’ she asked, not realising she was making signs with her hands which were probably confusing him more. ‘Video?’ she clarified.

He nodded and stepped aside.

Only then did Stacey realise her vulnerability in this situation. She was in a strange town about to enter unknown premises with a man she had never met before. The boss was always telling them to be aware of their surroundings, but as she spent most of her day at a desk, she didn’t always realise the potential for harm.

Seeing the hesitation on her face and understanding her predicament, the man handed her the keys that he was carrying.

She smiled her thanks before following him through to the back area. Stacked boxes forced her to move crab like through the space.

Beyond the storage area was a small kitchen full of old cabinets. The sink and food-prep area was spotless and seemed new, as did a floor-to-ceiling cabinet next to a freezer.

He made a motion with his hands, and she realised he wanted the keys.

She held them out.

He chose one and handed them back to her before pointing to the cabinet.

‘Thank you,’ she said, putting the key in the lock.

The cabinet opened to reveal a pull-out shelf holding a keyboard and a mouse. The shelf above held a flat-screen monitor, and on the floor was a hard drive. The whole setup looked reasonably new.

‘How many cameras?’ she asked, grabbing a chair.

He held up three fingers.

‘Back, shop, front,’ he said, pointing in various directions.

She fired up the hard drive before turning to the man again.

‘Do you know how long the recordings go back?’

He shook his head.

‘Why the one out front?’ Stacey asked.

‘My son, watches car, late night,’ he said, pointing again to the front.

Was there a chance the camera was positioned to watch the car park?