A Fair Cop

Times were hard and Violet seemed destined to fall into her old ways...

- Andrew Shaw

Hurling gravel at the upstairs window, Violet stepped back and hissed, ‘Minnie, it’s me! Wake up!’ But the glass stared blankly back at her, the curtains tightly drawn behind it.

Picking up bigger bits of stone, Violet tried again.

Crack! They struck the pane harder.

A light flickered on and suddenly the curtains were wrenched apart by a large woman, who stood silhouetted with her hands on her hips.

‘Open the blinkin’ window!’ Violet mouthed.

‘No!’ the woman mouthed back, then she sharply pulled the curtains shut.

Violet stamped her foot.

Lights were coming on in other back windows in the terrace. So, picking up her bag, she scurried up the dark alleyway to the front of the house.

Tapping lightly on the knocker, she pressed her ear to the wood.

Was her sister coming downstairs to let her in?

But the only sound echoing along the deserted street was the growling of a cat in the distance.

Violet shivered in the biting wind and began tapping more insistently. She figured it must be about three in the morning. Why was Minnie being so pig-headed?

Then a different sound filled the air, making Violet’s heart sink.

A baby was wailing and, this time, a light came on in the front upstairs window.