Before Another War

Chapter Nineteen

After finishing their second shopping spree, Sapphire and Alex met up with the others and were on their way to the house. Luckily, Kirk hadn't noticed them leaving early so they could get there before dark. The group hoped to find whatever it was that the arrow pointed to on Sapphire's drawing. Alex knew it must have some sort of value, possibly a family heirloom or a precious jewel. Otherwise, who would go to all this trouble to hide it so well?

The car squealed as it came to a stop outside the semi-detached brick house. Alex remarked again at how surprised she was that Matt's car was still going. Sometimes, he'd turn up to work in a four by four instead, but he preferred this one. His mother's old car.

'I like it,' he'd said, when Alex had asked. Matt didn't seem to want to go into more detail than that. He'd looked out the window and quickly changed the subject.

The house itself was small and on a council estate. All of the homes were crammed in along the street like a tin of sardines. On the outside, the white paint had faded into a miserable grey with years of wear and tear showing in the dark cracks. Sapphire smiled as her home came into view. It gave her comfort, despite knowing that the house was now empty.

Alex climbed out of the passenger seat and peered up at the house, examining it. It wasn't out of place; all of the homes were in a similar state of disrepair. Yet somehow, Alex couldn't picture Nadia living in an area like this. At work, she'd been stand-offish, stuck-up even, so it was a shock to find out she lived here.

Alex felt her throat catch as she spotted some scraps of police tape floating in the wind on the front fence. They hadn't even cleaned up properly. A spark of anger fizzled in her stomach but she soon quelled it. Getting emotional wouldn't help, she needed to keep a clear head.

At least the police had finished, which meant the house was now unguarded. 

The four of them walked into the front garden, wondering what to do next. Hopefully, nobody had found whatever it was they were looking for yet. Before they got to the house, Alex had been hoping a window would have been left often—no such luck. Everything was tightly secured.

'Well, that's that then,' Raf said, naively sighing with relief. 

He desperately didn't want to be there. Raf wanted to help Nadia as much as everyone else, but he had other things on his mind. He wished he was at home, curled up on the sofa with Roxy.

'No! Come on, we've got to find a way in. We didn't come this far just to back down,' Matt responded, his eyes glowing with excitement as he searched the exterior of the house, thinking about what they'd find. 

Alex took a step back, checking again for any open windows.

'It's no use, they're all shut,' Raf chipped in.

 A gloomy expression came over Matt's face. He wasn't going to be stopped this easily. 'Well then, we'll just have to open them ourselves.' 

It was only then that Alex noticed the brick he'd picked up from the bushes. 

'I can get us in.'

Raf, Sapphire and Alex all took a hesitant step back, eyes wide. Matt tossed the brick up and down in his hand, toying with it.

'Matt,' Alex tried, but he showed no sign of stopping. 'I think this is a bit-'

'Think about what you're doing! This is a crime, for god's sake!' Raf cried in a shouted whisper. 'They might let us in anyway if we say we want some clothes for Sapphire!'

Matt shook his head. 'Nah, that would take too long.'

Sapphire glanced up to Alex, confused, fear showing in her eyes.