As soon as the Barbiemobile rounded the corner into his street, he saw the Corolla ahead of him in the carport. f**k. It was only eight-thirty, Carlene wasn’t supposed to be home this early. She’d gone to her parents’ house for a pre-New Year’s Eve cocktail party. Reuben had begged off going, pleading a severe headache. When she left, he was lying on the bed with a wet cloth on his forehead after taking three Panadol and drinking a cup of green tea at her insistence.
‘I’ll stay and help Mum clean up, so I won’t be home till about nine,’ she said. She stroked his forehead. ‘Will you be okay?’
‘I’ll be fine; I just need to rest,’ Reuben reassured her, with a hint of martyrdom. He waited fifteen minutes after she left in case she’d forgotten something, then sprang up from the bed, locked th
