Page 7

6

I sit on the curb across the street from the tent as the sun goes down. It’s been a full day of excitement, far more than I expected at one of these neighborhood parties. Then again, suburbia is known for all its seedy goings-on behind the scenes. Everyone thinks neighborhoods like this one are genteel and proper because when they look at the beautiful homes and perfectly manicured lawns, all they see is something pleasant.

The truth is far uglier than anyone can even imagine.

The looks on all my neighbors’ faces when Suzanne caused that scene earlier this afternoon tells me they’ve bought into the lie about where we live too. They’ve convinced themselves that people only lash out in big cities, that no one in such a lovely setting like Raven Terrace could ever behave so boorishly.

Of course, they accept her husband’s philandering. That’s something that happens with men. The old boys will be boys excuse. Or maybe they’ve rationalized him cheating on her with the justification that she’s not home enough because she works too much. I can see Harold telling Marilyn poor Jared wouldn’t have to cheat if his wife was around more.

It’s all so perfect on the outside in our little cul-de-sac that the ugliness that exists within the walls of our beautiful houses is hard to believe.

Then again, would they ever imagine in a million years that they’re living right next to a killer? Of course not. Killers live in big cities and look entirely different from them. Or killers all resemble the characters in movies who terrorize with chainsaws and guns.

How shocked they’d be to find out killers don’t look like that at all. Those creations from a moviemaker’s mind aren’t anything like me. I’ve never even seen a chainsaw in person, much less used one. And a gun? Never touched one in my life, although my father had one in the house when I was growing up.

No, you see if you want to kill another human being, you don’t need anything but your two hands. That’s how I always do it. Two hands wrapped around a slender neck squeezing until I see all the life drain from my victim’s eyes. No loud bang. No terrifying sound of a chainsaw. Just silence in my head and the sound of another soul taking their last gasping breaths before they fall silent too.

Lost in thought about that truth, I don’t notice someone’s sat down next to me until I feel the touch of a hand on my shoulder. Ripped from my memories, I turn to see Caroline on the curb beside me.

“Wild day, huh? I thought you might like some company, but if you want to be alone, I can leave. Marilyn and Harold have already gone home.”

It takes me a few seconds to process what she’s saying, but finally, I nod and give her a smile. In truth, I really don’t want to spend any more time with these people, but Caroline isn’t simply a neighbor to me.

She’s a project that as of today seems to have some real possibilities. Now that she’s planted herself right next to me on this curb, I’d be stupid not to take advantage of this chance to find out more about her.

“No, that’s okay. I guess I was just decompressing after all that happened today. I wonder what’s happening in the Meyers home tonight,” I say as I glance over at Jared and Suzanne’s dark house.

Caroline sighs. “He snuck out a few hours ago. I saw him walk between the houses. He was heading over toward the street where Sara lives.”

Her observations intrigue me. How is it I didn’t notice Jared sneaking out earlier?

“Oh, yeah? I guess Suzanne’s not in the mood for talking then.”

I suspected that she wasn’t in the mood for anything with her husband from the moment she lunged at his girlfriend. She probably took a few shots at Jared before he ran away. Serves him right for pulling such a stupid move bringing his mistress to the neighborhood party. He had to know his wife wouldn’t appreciate that.

Caroline huffs her disgust at my comment. “I wouldn’t be in the mood if I were her either. It’s bad enough he’s been stepping out on her, but to invite his girlfriend to hang out with all of us knowing Suzanne was going to end up coming home and seeing that is just heartless. Whatever she’s going to do to him he’s got it coming in spades.”

Even though I know she’s serious, I can’t help but smile as I say, “A woman with a taste of vengeance. How very Kill Bill of you.”

She rolls her eyes and shrugs. “I’d prefer to be thought of as a Boudicca, personally.”

“Boudicca?” The word sounds familiar, but I can’t place it.

Tilting her chin up, Caroline says, “Iceni warrior queen who took out her vengeance on the Romans after they enslaved her people. Killed thousands of Romans.”

“Hmmm. Hell truly does hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

After she leans back on her palms, Caroline smiles and says, “Jared better hope his wife doesn’t have a taste for vengeance of any style, Kill Bill or Boudicca or any other kind.”

I imagine Suzanne picking up some medieval sword and running her husband through. She’s pretty strident on a normal day. What she might be like as a woman scorned God only knows. But I suspect she has other plans for him.

“Ten to one she takes the legal route and crushes him through those means.”

That seems to please Caroline and her desire to see Jared punished. With a smile, she says, “Good. I hope she gets everything she can from him and more. I’m just happy they don’t have any kids.”

I don’t comment on that since I don’t understand why anyone would want to have kids. She doesn’t need to know that, though. I want to get to know her, and the surest way to put up a roadblock to that is to announce I don’t like children. In my experience, very few women want to hear that, even the ones who aren’t crazy about kids themselves.

We fall into an easy silence as I watch the oranges and purples of the sunset spread across the sky. It’s been a long day, but I have to say this ending makes me happy I’m right here seeing the beauty the world has to offer. I never cease to wonder at how gorgeous nature can be.

And how grotesque human nature often is.

When the sun finally disappears behind the mountains in the distance, I look over at Caroline. Now seems as good a time as any to begin probing for information.

“So was your old neighborhood as exciting as this one?” I ask, punctuating my question with a chuckle to make it seem like I’m not planning to ask her far more about her life before she arrived here.

Caroline thinks about it for a moment and then tilts her head left and then right. “In some ways, yes, but I’d have to say no, overall.”

“So you had the clumsy cheating spouse episode of The Housewives of Suburban Philly where you lived before? Oh, that’s right. You’re from Maryland, right?”

A slow smile spreads across her face. “How do you know that?”

I can’t stop my smirk as I answer, “Nothing stays secret here for long. I told Kimmy my name is Adam today, and ten minutes later when I came out to the party, everyone already knew it. As I said, nothing stays buried here. I think Tim might have mentioned you came from Maryland.”

None of that makes her happy as the smile slides from her face, so I quickly joke, “Between Tim and Kimmy, they give the FBI and the CIA a run for their money.”

That makes her smile return, so I add, “I didn’t mean to pry. Sorry if I did.”

I mean none of that. I want to pry. I want to open Caroline up with a slice down the middle of her body and peel back the layers to find out the truth about who she truly is. However, I know people, and from what I’m reading from her right now, she feels like her privacy has been violated, so I’m hoping an apology will smooth things over.

She waves her hand and gives me another smile, but it’s forced as she says, “It’s fine. I guess I just don’t remember telling either one of them anything about where I came from. I’m usually pretty careful about sharing details with strangers.”

Sure I’ll never get anywhere with her if I don’t do something right now, I figure it’s a good time to make her laugh, so I say, “Strangers? Kimmy would crumble like a week-old coffee cake if she heard you call her that. I bet she’d be happier to be called something truly horrible like a murderer than the dreaded stranger.”

Caroline’s eyes open wide at my attempt at a joke. “You don’t like her, do you?”

Very clever. I see my new neighbor can deflect as well as I can.

I turn to face her as I attempt to make her believe I don’t dislike Kimmy. “Not true. I think she’s got a very sweet way about her.”

“But you don’t like her. I can tell by the way you’re trying to come up with something to compliment her on.”

Shaking my head, I find myself in a position where I have to defend myself. Rarely do I let myself get forced into something like this. Caroline Townsend is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

“I think she’s sweet. Is she my type of woman? No. But that doesn’t mean she’s a bad person. She cares about this neighborhood and the people in it. I can appreciate that, even if I don’t tend to be as social as she is.”

For a second, I’m struck at how truthful I’m being right now. None of that was even a tiny lie. I do like Kimmy’s sweetness and how she genuinely cares about her neighbors. She’d drive me insane with her constant need to get people together, but that’s a me thing, not a reflection of her personality.

“Well, I like her. It’s nice to see a smile on someone’s face all the time. She doesn’t have a perfect life, but none of us do. What makes Kimmy different is she never lets anything get her down. I admire that.”

“I do too.”

Caroline slaps my knee and laughs. “I’m glad I could make you see things my way.”

“You know, I liked her before you came to her defense. Not that your admiration for her isn’t admirable.”

The streetlight above us makes her amused expression look almost like a caricature, exaggerating her mouth and the size of her eyes as she grins at my clumsy attempt to flatter her. “Admiration is admirable? Smooth.”

I don’t try to hide my amusement that she’s called me on my sloppy use of the language. “You like my way with words? It’s a gift.”

That makes her laugh, and it’s like a blast from my past when I hear it. Suddenly, I’m taken back to years ago, although I can’t exactly place when or who I was with who laughed like that. All I know is the sound of her having a good time makes me happier than I’ve been in a long time.

Just as she’s about to tell me if she actually does appreciate my turn of phrase, Kimmy walks up to us and stops a few feet away. She’s holding a package of napkins and the bag of hard candy.

“Hey, guys! I hope you had a good time today.”

Caroline immediately answers, “We did! Well, I did. I don’t know if I can answer for Adam, though. I thought it was a great time. Thanks for putting it all together, Kimmy.”

I swear to God Kimmy doesn’t hear a word after Caroline says she can’t speak for me. Her eyes zero in on me, laser focused on my face as she waits for her chance to ask me directly if I enjoyed myself. Nothing like being put on the spot.

“You did have a good time, Adam, didn’t you? I’d hate for you to say you didn’t. I know there was that little hiccup earlier, but things got better after that, didn’t they?”

I feel completely responsible for Kimmy’s emotional state at this moment, not exactly a position I want to be in. As much as I’d love to tell her the truth, that’s not something anyone here in Raven Terrace gets from me, so I quickly concoct a lie I know will make her feel better.

“I did, Kimmy. I’ve been to two of your parties, and I have to say nobody puts on an event like you do. Thank you for that.”

A smile lights up her face, and I swear she wants to hug me right now. “Oh, that’s so wonderful! I do have to give Marilyn her due, though. She contributes a lot to these parties. I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without her.”

“Then you two are the consummate party planners, for sure.”

That compliment is too much for her, and she leans down to hug me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders as I stare up in shock at her. “Oh, that’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me all day, Adam. Thank you so much!”

Her arms squeeze me tightly, and all I can think of is thank God she likes that baby girl of hers or she might hug the stuffing right out of her. I give her a tiny squeeze in return, sure if I don’t she’ll ask if something’s wrong.

When she finally stands up, she’s beaming a smile ear to ear. “This has been a great party, for sure. September is going to be a great one too, so keep an eye out for your invitations.”

“What’s the theme going to be?” Caroline asks, sounding genuinely interested in the answer.

Strangely enough, that seems to confuse Kimmy. She moves back a step, shoulders sagging, and answers, “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe something fall or harvesty, but October is more harvest time. I’ll have to ask Marilyn.”

“Perhaps something back-to-school themed. That could be fun. You could get a chalkboard with the cursive letters written on top like you see in old pictures of schools. Maybe apples too,” Caroline suggests to Kimmy’s delight.

“Ooooh, I love that idea! I’ll be sure to tell Marilyn. You can always join us, Caroline, if you’d like.”

I expect her to politely beg off, so I’m surprised when she says she’d love to. So much for being the shy neighbor nobody knows much about.

Curious if these parties continue into the colder weather, I ask, “So what happens when winter rolls around? No parties? Or do you guys do a fire pit kind of thing?”

It’s meant as a little joke, but Kimmy takes it very seriously. “Well, last year we brought the parties inside to our houses for the cold months. November we did it at my house, and then in December we went to Marilyn’s house. January was at the Meyers’ house…”

Her voice fades off to nothingness, probably because she’s worried about what’s going to happen to Suzanne and Jared. I could joke that maybe it will be Jared and Sara hosting the January neighborhood get-together, but I keep that to myself. The last thing I need is Kimmy breaking down in a pool of tears over the Meyers’ break up. It’ll be the talk of the cul-de-sac until the next event.

Caroline immediately senses Kimmy’s mood and stands up to take her hand in hers. “Not to worry. I’m sure everything will work out. Thank you for all you do for this neighborhood, Kimmy. You’re the best neighbor a girl could dream of.”

That gets Caroline a big bear hug, and as I watch the two women, I’m impressed with how kind the two of them are. Kimmy probably couldn’t hurt a fly, and Caroline clearly has more than a healthy dose of empathy in her.

Not that I’ve ever found any use for that trait.

When Kimmy finally releases Caroline, she flashes me a big smile and says, “Take care of her. We need more of her kind in this neighborhood. I need to go return these napkins to Marilyn’s, but I’ll see you two later. Have a great night!”

She trots off toward her fellow party planner’s house, leaving Caroline and me alone again as Tim begins to dissemble the tent. If I was the good kind of neighbor, I’d offer to help, but I have other plans in mind for tonight. Caroline seems to be in the mood to talk, and I’m in the mood to listen and learn.

But before I can restart our conversation, she looks down at me and says, “Well, I better go too. Have a good night, Adam.”

“Thanks. You too,” I say, not trying to hide the disappointment in my voice.

Something about the way she said my name hit my ears wrong. I thought we were having a nice conversation and she was enjoying herself, but when my name came out of her mouth, it was almost like she was spitting out something distasteful.

This woman confuses me. First, she throws me the dirtiest look I’ve ever gotten in my life that day she was in Marilyn’s yard laughing and having a good time with her. Then she seemed to like talking to me tonight, but the tone of her voice when she said my name screamed something closer to hate.

I will find out what’s behind her behavior and what she’s hiding. It’s only a matter of time. If I was interested in Caroline Townsend before today, now I’m downright obsessed to learn her secrets.

And if it kills me, I will.