they’re cheap enough for criminals to use for a few weeks and throw away before the police get wind of them.
Excited by the phones, Bruce laid each one on the desk and switched it on. As the grey and black LCDs went through the start-up screens, he was relieved that neither handset was set up for a PIN number. As soon as the phones detected the network, Bruce dialled *#06# and the phone’s unique handset ID flashed up on screen. He flipped the PDA into voice-record mode and carefully read out the numbers before placing the handsets back exactly as he’d found them.
Bruce looked around the room and decided that his next move would be a rummage through the filing cabinet and then a flick through the bookshelves, just in case anything had been tucked inside.
*
Upstairs, Lois slid her hand across James’ thigh as she stared at the clean rectangle of flesh around his cut.
‘It’s not all that deep,’ she murmured. ‘We’ve got some binding plasters that will hold the two halves of the cut together. It should heal up fine.’
Lois backed off and swished her hand through the clear bath water. ‘Feels about right to me,’ she said. ‘I haven’t put in soap or anything because it might sting if it gets inside the cut.’
‘You wouldn’t want that,’ James smiled. ‘I’m a total baby.’
‘You don’t look like a baby,’ Lois noted admiringly, as James stepped towards the bath. ‘Do you work out?’
‘I lift some weights,’ James nodded. ‘Nothing major.’
There was an awkward pause. He had to pull down his shorts and boxers before climbing into the water, but Lois stood less than a metre away and she clearly wasn’t going anywhere.
‘Don’t be shy on my account,’ Lois smirked. ‘I’ve seen plenty of blokes in the nude.’
James didn’t want to seem like a prude, but he didn’t like the idea of being naked in front of Sasha’s daughter. His solution was to turn towards the bath and drop his shorts quickly so that she only got a flash of his bum. Mercifully, Lois had backed up to the bathroom door by the time he’d settled into the hot water. He figured she’d be out of the room by the time he’d soaped his arms; but instead of leaving she slid the bolt across and pulled Sasha’s Luton Town shirt over her head, unveiling a bright orange sports bra as she approached the bath.
‘What do you reckon?’ Lois grinned, as she unhitched the bra.
‘Stop!’ James spluttered. ‘No offence, Lois, but if your dad found out about this he’d kill me … Slowly.’
‘It’ll be OK,’ Lois said reassuringly. ‘Mum won’t be back for ages and if Dad comes in he’ll go straight down the basement to play cards.’
‘But,’ James said anxiously. Lois was sexy and completely up for it, but the image of what her powerfully built father had done to the councillor was fixed in his head.
‘You only just moved into town and I heard from Wheels that you didn’t have a girlfriend,’ Lois said, as she pulled down her sweat pants. James was stunned by the lack of underwear as she opened the bathroom cabinet and spun a foil-wrapped condom across the room. It hit his arm before landing in the bathwater.
‘What’s that for?’ James asked stupidly. He could hardly breathe and half expected to wake up and find it was all a dream.
‘I don’t know where you’ve been,’ Lois said, as she stepped into the water and kissed James on the neck. ‘And your mate’s wandering around downstairs, so if you want some action you’d better hurry up.’
35. SIMEON
James felt numb as he walked down the front steps of Sasha’s house. He hadn’t wanted to put his muddy kit back on after the bath, so Lois dug out one of Sasha’s old tracksuits and a pair of trainers. Both were a couple of sizes too big, but that was the least of his worries.
The fact that he’d just lost his virginity felt like a three-hundred-kilo gorilla on his back. And to make matters worse, Lois had suggestively mentioned that he could bring the clothes back any time he liked.
‘You’re acting weird,’ Bruce noted, as they walked away from the Thompsons’ house towards the bus stop. ‘Is everything OK?’
‘Course,’ James said, shrugging half-heartedly and keen to change the subject. ‘How did you get on with the search?’
‘Not bad. You were up there with Lois for ages, so I had a chance to go through everything. I got the numbers for