The ride up the A3 from Portsmouth was fun. He liked having her behind him and enjoyed feeling her arms around his tummy. He’d never driven anywhere with a pillion, so he rode very carefully. They arrived at his home in time for evening meal, which his mother had already cooked.
Laura was distinctly nervous with the girl there. Lee had never seen his mother quite so odd. Laura wasn’t quite sure what was expected of her, as Lee had never shown any indication that he knew that girls existed before. Not that he’d given her any concerns at all, because he had been equally ambivalent towards males as well.
Once more, she found the girl polite and intelligent, so she wondered what the hell she saw in her son. Not that she was complaining, for in her presence he became a completely different boy - no, not a boy anymore; a young man.
After the evening meal, all helped clear away and then, they disappeared to Lee’s room and the damn computer.
A little later they both appeared and sat with her in the sitting room watching the latest CSI Miami episode. When Laura announced she was going to bed, the others went to their rooms.
As Laura lay there, trying to work out what the hell was going to happen next, she tried to come to terms with the fact that in spite of it all, Lee had grown up at last, and would move out very soon. She wasn’t sure she liked the idea that much, but on the other hand, she might just get her life back.
“Well?” Lee asked as Tamsyn turned and came back to where he waited.
“I’ve seen enough. There is no peripheral security along the walls and fences. The house is an old one, and I can see it has a reasonably up to date intruder system, probably focussed on main windows and doors on the ground floor. I’d expect PRI - motion detectors on the corridors and stairwells, probably linked to when he goes to bed. I saw that his study is where he keeps his special collection so know that it has extra security, so we’ll just have to wait until we can get in to make a full assessment.”
“We’re going in?” Lee asked, aghast.
“Doh, the sword isn’t going to walk out by itself.”
“I know but... I guess I hadn’t thought you’d go in to steal it.”
“I’ve looked it up. In this country, theft is the dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another, with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it. It’s not theft as the sword does not actually belong to him. I am acting on behalf of the rightful owner, so the appropriation is not dishonest, as I have a sincere belief that I have a right to take it. He knows that he can’t report it, as he shouldn’t have it.”
“It isn’t yours either.
“It’s not for me. It’s going back to where it belongs. I thought that I’d explained that to you?”
“I have a bit of difficulty getting my head around it, sorry.”
“Look, I don’t intend getting caught, as I’m not going to steal it. You are.”
“Me?” Lee squealed.
“You’re the thief, aren’t you?”
“Only in the damn game. I’ve never stolen anything in my life.”
Lee realised that Tamsyn was laughing at him.
“Only teasing. Neither of us is going to take the sword. Igor is.”
“Uh, doh, Igor doesn’t exist. We made him up, remember?”
Tamsyn simply smiled.
“Then let’s look at how we can get Igor in there. What do we know about the house?”
“Nothing.”
“No, that’s not true. We’ve seen the outside, and I’ve been inside a little. Where can we go to research the floor plans and security features?”
“It’s a Grade One listed building, so it should be on file at the county records.”
Tamsyn looked at him.
“If someone wants to alter any Grade One listed building, there are so many restrictions. For example, you have to use the same materials, and you can’t change anything, only repair like for like. If you want to extend or do anything like that, the architects have to submit plans and applications. They will only permit stuff along very strict guidelines, if at all.”
“Okay, how about fitting state of the art alarm systems?”
“Again, you’d have to apply for special permission, and it should go on an application to the county planning office.”
“Okay, one more thing, who do you know that has a three-D printer?”
“You have to be kidding.”
“No.”
“I’ve only seen one once. I have no idea where one could find one of them.”
“Okay, come on; let’s get back to your mum. She’ll be worrying about you.”
Laura liked Tamsyn - a lot. For a start, the girl had managed to succeed where she had failed, in prising her son from his room and off that damn computer game.
They came back from wherever they’d been and spent a bit of time on the computer, but it wasn’t the game. Laura thought they were researching stuff, as once, when she went in, they had a schematic plan of an old house. Another time, they were playing with photo-shop making swords. She thought that might be connected to the game in some way, but after they’d finished, they went for a walk in the local park.
Secondly, she liked Tamsyn because she was polite, helpful and brought smiles and laughter where there had been grunts and monosyllabic communications. Although Laura was interested whether there was a sexual chemistry between the two young people, she never mentioned it to Lee and couldn’t see any evidence in their interactions.
The girl stayed in the spare room, and there did not appear to be any hanky-panky. In a way, Laura was disappointed, as she wanted her son to grow up and live a full life. In another way, she wanted to keep him young forever – her little boy but knew that that was just silly. Mainly, she was relieved, as she knew of so many young people whose lives were ruined by unwanted and unplanned pregnancies.
After a couple of days, Lee took Tamsyn back to Cornwall on his bike. He didn’t have to, as the girl was content to get a train, but Laura could see he wanted to.
He packed enough clothes for a few days in his panniers, and with Tamsyn on the back with her back-pack, they set off.
Laura felt strangely alone for the first time in her life.
Matthew was surprised when the email arrived, as he hadn’t heard anything for a few weeks.
Matthew
Arriving Luton Airport Tuesday 7am from Cluj-Napoca. Meet plane.
Igor
That was it, not even a date or a flight number. He looked up the airport arrivals and saw that a Wizzair flight was due in from Cluj. He then had to look up Cluj to find out where it was and was surprised to see it was in Romania.
What was the Russian doing in Romania?
He replied to the email, asking for more information, but was not hopeful of a reply.
Would he go and meet the strange man?
His interest was piqued, and he found it sufficiently intriguing so decided that he would.
Chapter Thirteen
Matthew was late due to the horrendous traffic that wound up the hill towards Luton airport from the roundabout at the bottom. The plane was due at seven in the morning, so he thought he’d get there at half past, giving the man time to get through immigration and customs.
However, never having used this airport at this time of day, he had not anticipated sitting in traffic for almost three quarters of an hour.
He parked in the short term car park and walked into the terminal. He checked the arrivals board and saw the flight had already landed and the bags were in the baggage hall.
Cursing mildly, he unfolded his piece of paper with ‘IGOR’ written thereon.
Feeling more than a little foolish, he walked about the arrivals concourse looking curiously at any Russian-looking men alone.
A huge bear of a man approached him. He was well over six foot four. He wore a dark, loose-fitting suit, with a high collar so obviating the need for a tie. He was clean shaven with long dark hair tired back in a pony-tail. He was greying at the temples, and his high cheekbones marked him as definitely not English.