Replay
'I've earned this,' Kendrick Harrison said, pouring himself a double measure of Jacky D's and downing it in one go with one quick flick back of the head. 'Whew! Whew! That's good stuff!' He shuddered, the liquid gold warming his belly up.
'Right, to business.' He picked up a DVD. Across the back, written on a small white label in red felt block capitals, was the word THURSDAY. Having already watched the footage earlier on in the day, he just couldn't resist watching it again. It was riveting.
He slid the disc into the DVD player on the desk and switched the monitor on. The screen flickered, static fizzled, and the light from the monitor illuminated the otherwise dark room.
He poured himself another generous shot of whiskey. He didn't down it in one go, however, but just took a sip. A clear head was needed for the night ahead, although he'd have loved nothing more than to have drunken himself into a comatose stoop.
Flanking him to right was a bookcase stretching the length of the small study; science books filled every inch of space, hardbacks and paperbacks, mostly covering the subject of electromagnetism. To his left, the rain lashed against the window. The previously sunny day had given way to a nighttime downpour.
He picked the remote control up of the desk and pressed the green play button. The screen flickered, went blue, then the shop's interior appeared in darkness. A small amount of fiery orange light was spilling in through the shop window from a nearby streetlamp. Other than that, the only light was the cursory glow from a big fridge near the counter where Mr. Raj stored the dairy produce. The low hum from that fridge was the only sound that cut the silence. It was peace and quiet, serenity in the aisles.
Calm before the carnage.
The camera was positioned above and behind the counter to get a good clear picture of anyone that decided to rob the shop. Having been done over previously in the past, Mr. Raj was keen to make sure that it wouldn't happen again and hoped that the camera would act as a deterrent.
The time and date were displayed in the bottom right-hand corner: 26/11/08 - 06.02am. Mr. Raj, who used to live above the shop, changed the tapes over at six o'clock every morning. A routine that had never once been deviated from before but would never be carried out again.
Kendrick hit the fast forward button. He wanted to view all the tape's daylight footage again just to make sure he hadn't missed anything. Darkness soon gave way to daylight as gold-lined beams of early morning sunlight filled the shop.
At 07.30 Mr Raj appeared, moving at breakneck speed around the shop, in and out of view, then topping up the float in the till, ready for another busy day.
