Part 7

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Dinner was over in a blur of warm food, beer and very little conversation.

“You don’t say much, do you?” Aidan asked at one point.

I was concentrating on drinking my beer. I shook my head, drinking deeply. The less I said, the less careful I had to be. I put the beer down without finishing it. I would need my wits about me tonight.

Aidan had finished his beer. “Do you want to go, or would you like another drink?”

I shook my head. “It’s been a busy day. I’d like to go to bed early tonight.”

We paid for our respective meals and headed out to the dark parking lot.

Aidan looked worried. “My place is a fair way along the inlet, so it’s easiest if you follow me there.”

I nodded, then realised he couldn’t see my response in the dark. “Sure. Lead the way.”

We started up our cars and I followed his tail lights along the road to the east, along the inlet. After several turns, past a deli that was closed for the night, we turned onto an unsealed gravel road. I followed him, a little concerned at our remote location. He made a quick turn to the right, through a gap in the bush, and I turned behind him. In the beam of his headlights, I saw two houses set in a large lawn, which ended at the water’s edge.

I parked my car beside his and got out, shouldering my bag.

Aidan fumbled with the keys, but managed to get the door open eventually. He went inside first, turning on the lights, before holding the door open for me.

I stepped inside carefully. I looked at the country style kitchen, then through the long open plan living area to the lounge with a big open fire. The wall on one side of the room was mostly windows, facing the inlet. The wall opposite this was a row of doors, which I learned led to the bedrooms.

“Pick any room you like,” Aidan said quickly. He pointed at the one closest to the fireplace. “That one’s mine.”

For all that he was my work colleague, I did not know this man, so I chose the room furthest from his and closest to my car. I turned on the light in a room with a double bed, a bedside table and a built in wardrobe. I dropped my bag on the bed and turned the light off again.

Aidan stood outside my room, already pointing to the room next to mine. “That one’s the bathroom. There’s towels in the cupboard, if you need them.”

I nodded. I washed up in the bathroom as quickly as I could, brushed my teeth, went back to my bedroom and shut the door. After a moment, I pushed the bedside table across the door.

I also did not trust this man.

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