American accent
It was a wet November evening. Helen was tired when she arrived at the airport. She had been away for work for three days, and she wanted to go home.
Her flight was late, so she bought a coffee and called her sister.
“The flight is late again,” Helen said.
“Do you want to stay at my house tonight?”
“No, thanks. I want my own bed.”
“But it’ll be late.”
“I’ll get a taxi. I’ll be fine.”
At last, Helen got on the plane. A man was sitting next to her. He was about fifty, with short grey hair. He was wearing a dark coat. A small black bag was at his feet.
“Good evening,” Helen said.
“Evening.”
After they took off, the man looked at her.
“Going home?”
“Yes.”
“Were you away for work?”
“Yes. Three days.”
“Was that your husband on the phone?”
Helen laughed. “No, my sister.”
“So you’re not married?”
“No.”
“Do you live alone?”
Helen looked at him.
“Yes. Why?”
“I’m only talking.”
Then he asked, “Is your sister coming to get you?”
“No. I’m taking a taxi.”
“So you’re going home alone?”
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“People tell strangers a lot.”
“What do you mean?”
“Where they work. Who they live with. When they’re going home.”
Helen felt uncomfortable. But Helen was very tired. After some time, her eyes closed. When she woke up, the man was looking at her.
“How long was I asleep?”
“About twenty minutes.”
“Twenty minutes?”
“Yes. You sleep very well.”
Soon, the plane landed. People stood up and took their bags. The man picked up his black bag.
“Good night, Helen,” he said.
Helen stared at him.
“How do you know my name?”
But he walked away. Helen had never told him her name.
She opened her bag. Her phone was there. So was her money. But her wallet was gone. Her driving licence was in it. Her full name and home address were on it.
Then she checked her coat pocket. Her house keys were gone too.
Helen’s heart started to beat faster.
The man knew her name. He knew where she lived. He had her keys. And he knew she lived alone.
Helen looked inside her bag again. She saw a small piece of paper. She opened it.
SEE YOU AT HOME, HELEN.
For a few seconds, Helen could not move.
Then she ran to a woman who worked at the airport.
“Please help me. A man took my wallet and my house keys.”
The woman called the police.
“What does he look like?” a police officer asked.
“About fifty. Grey hair. Dark coat. He has a small black bag.”
Two police officers went to look for him.
Helen waited. She thought about her empty house and the man with her keys.
Just then, a police officer came towards Helen.
“We found him.”
“Where?”
“Outside. He was getting into a taxi.”
The police opened the man’s black bag. Helen’s wallet and keys were inside.
There were other things too: three wallets, three sets of house keys and three driving licences. They all belonged to women.
“We think he did this before,” the officer said.
“What did he do?”
“He talked to women travelling alone. He asked questions. When they slept, he took their wallet and keys. Then he knew where they lived.”
“And he went to their homes?”
“Yes. He used their keys to get inside and steal things.”
Helen looked across the airport. Two police officers were taking the man away.
He turned and looked at her. This time, he did not smile.
Helen looked at the note in her hand.
SEE YOU AT HOME, HELEN.
“No,” she said quietly.
“You won’t.”
📒 Key vocabulary
- flight – a journey by plane
- coat – warm clothes you wear over other clothes
- took off (take off, took off, taken off) – leave the ground and go into the air
- strangers – people you do not know
- uncomfortable – not feeling happy or relaxed
- landed (land, landed, landed) – come down to the ground after flying
- wallet – a small thing for keeping money and cards
- pocket – a small part of your clothes where you can put things
- beat (beat, beat, beaten) – move again and again, like a heart
- empty – with nothing or no one inside
- towards – in the direction of someone or something
- steal – to take something that is not yours
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