The Breakdown(50)

woman comes out from the office behind. ‘This lady


has had her car stolen,’ he explains.

She looks at me and grins. ‘Of course she has.’

‘I can assure you I have,’ I snap.

The man comes round from the booth. ‘Come on

then.’

We go towards the lift together and while we’re waiting for it to arrive my mobile rings. I don’t really want to answer it in case it’s Mary but I know it’ll look strange if I don’t, so I take it from my bag. When I see that it’s Matthew, relief washes over me.

‘Hello?’

‘You seem pleased to hear from me,’ he remarks.

‘Where are you? I’ve just got home.’

‘I’m in Castle Wells. I decided to come in and do some shopping but there’s a bit of a problem. I think my car’s been stolen.’

‘Stolen?’ His voice rises sharply. ‘Are you sure?’

‘Well, it looks that way.’

‘Are you sure it hasn’t just been towed away? Did you forget to put a ticket on it, or stay longer than you should have?’

‘No,’ I say, moving away from the parking attendant and the smirk on his face. ‘I parked in the multi-storey.’

‘So it definitely hasn’t been towed away?’

‘No, it’s been stolen.’

‘You haven’t just forgotten where you parked it, have you?’





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‘No! And before you ask, yes, I’ve checked the whole car park.’

‘Have you called the police?’

‘Not yet. I’m with someone from the car park and we’re on our way up to check.’

‘So you’re not sure it’s been stolen?’

‘Can I call you back in a minute?’ I ask, my face now burning. ‘The lift is here.’

‘All right.’

The lift doors open and people come flooding out.

We get into the lift and the man watches as I press the button for the fourth floor. On the way up we stop at the second, then at the third. At the fourth, I get out, the man following close behind.

‘I parked it over there,’ I say, pointing to the other side of the car-park. ‘Row E.’

‘Lead the way,’ he says.

I thread my way through the rows of cars.

‘It should be somewhere around here.’

‘RV07BWW?’

‘Yes.’ I nod.

‘It’s right there.’

‘Where?’

‘There,’ he says, pointing.

I follow his eyes and find myself staring at my car.

‘It’s not possible,’ I mutter. ‘It wasn’t there before, I promise.’ I walk over to it, wanting it – perversely – to be the wrong car. ‘I don’t understand. I checked the whole row twice.’

The Breakdown





191


‘It’s easily done,’ he says, generous in victory.


‘I don’t know what to say.’

‘Well, you’re not the first and you certainly won’t be the last. Don’t worry about it.’

‘But it wasn’t here, it really wasn’t.’

‘Maybe you weren’t on the right floor.’

‘I was,’ I insist. ‘I came straight up here and when I couldn’t find it I went up to the fifth and then checked the third. I even checked the second floor.’

‘Did you go up to the sixth?’

‘No, because I knew I hadn’t gone up to the very top of the car park.’

‘The seventh is the top.’

‘It doesn’t matter. I parked it on the fourth.’

‘Yes, you did,’ he agrees. ‘Because it’s here.’

I look around. ‘Is there another lift?’

‘No.’

The fight goes out of me. ‘Well, I’m very sorry to have wasted your time,’ I say, desperate to be gone.

‘Thank you.’

‘You’re welcome,’ he says, walking away with a wave of his hand.

In the safety of my car, I lean my head back against the seat and close my eyes, turning everything around in my mind, trying to work out how I managed to miss my car when I first came up to the fourth. The only conclusion I can come to is that I wasn’t on the fourth floor but on the fifth. How could I have made such a stupid, stupid mistake? Even worse is the thought of





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telling Matthew. If only he hadn’t phoned me earlier, if only I hadn’t told him that my car had been stolen. I know I should phone him to tell him that I’ve found it but I can’t bring myself to admit that I made a mistake.

I start the engine and head slowly for the exit, my mind heavy with exhaustion. At the barrier I realise that with everything that’s happened, I forgot to pay at the machine before leaving the fourth floor. I check my rear-view mirror; cars are already stacking up behind me, waiting impatiently for me to go through and, in a complete panic, I press the help button.

‘I forgot to pay!’ I shout, my voice shaking. A horn sounds behind me. ‘What do I do?’