The Good Neighbor (18 page)

After a moment of silence, Andy said, “I
still can’t believe he had the nerve to come over here and do such
a thing. How did he know Owen wasn’t here?”

“I don’t know that he knew Owen was
gone.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, look what he did the night before. He
walked in and molested her with Owen lying right there. That’s
guts. Or stupidity.”

Andy chuckled. “In Bernie’s case, it’s both.”
He thought for a moment. “It’s like he was watching Owen’s house.
Like he knew the moment he left. He saw his opportunity and took
it. And he was finished and nearly gone before Owen came back. Had
Carla laid there like he told her, he would’ve been gone.”

I could tell by the tone of his voice that he
was mainly talking to himself. But he made some curious points.
This got my wheels turning.

I swallowed the last of my toast and said,
“You know, it’s almost as if he’s been trying to do this since she
moved in. I think he tried to rape her the night Owen was there,
but he had thought she was alone. So instead of actually raping
her, he just...did what he did.”

“Yeah,” Andy said, catching my point. “That
must be why he was watching Owen and knew when he left.”

“But he would’ve had to have watched them all
day to know Carla was staying over here.”

Andy thought for a minute about that. “Not
necessarily. Maybe he went to Carla’s house, saw no one was there,
and figured she was here.”

“He still would’ve had to be watching Owen to
see when he left. And what if he never left?”

“Maybe he would’ve just waited until the next
time he caught Carla alone.”

“Yeah, or maybe he wasn’t watching at all.
Maybe it was a coincidence that Owen was gone at the time he came
over. He had taken a knife upstairs. Maybe he planned to kill Owen
first.” I shuddered at the thought of anything happening to Owen.
He was a best friend to Andy, and was like a brother to us both. If
anything like that happened to him, we’d be crushed.

“Shit,” was all Andy managed to say. “Have
you been talking to Carla about her theory?”

I finished my milk before telling him I
didn’t know what he was talking about. Then he told me about what
he called ‘Carla’s Two-Year Theory’. It made sense. I couldn’t
believe we hadn’t noticed it. Three deaths in two years on one
street. It was definitely odd.

Then, he told me about how he and Owen had
suspected Mr. Jenson, and how they’d recently cleared him of all
suspicious activities. He’d turned out to be an innocent,
kind-hearted, lonely old man.

“You don’t think...” I couldn’t even finish
the question.

“What? That Bernie might’ve killed three
people living on this street in the past couple of years? Well, a
few days ago, I would’ve said no. But a few days ago I also
would’ve said he’d never break in and rape his neighbor, but here
we are.”

“Oh my god.” A chill ran down my spine,
colder than any I’d ever felt before.

There was a killer among us. A killer and a
rapist. His name was Bernie Patterson, and he lived across the
street from us. Oh my god, indeed.

Andy and Jill had gone home around nine
o’clock. They were tired. Apparently, at least for a while, we were
sleeping in shifts. They’d stayed over while Carla and I slept.
They watched the kids and kept an eye out for Bernie. Now it was
our turn. The kids were getting ready for bed, but we’d have to
keep watching out for Bernie. Who knew what his next move would
be?

I watched out the front window for movement
at Bernie’s. I saw none.

Carla got the kids ready for bed. I stood
outside the guest bedroom and listened as she recited to them a
bedtime story. We’d somehow managed to keep all this from them. It
wouldn’t be long though before they would wonder why they were
staying at my place. In order to keep them innocent about the whole
thing and keep their world from being upset, I needed to deal with
Bernie soon.

When the kids were all tucked in, Carla came
out of the room, leaving the door open a few inches. I put my arm
around her and pulled her to me. She nestled her head against my
chest and I held her tightly.

I realized that I would always feel as though
I’d failed her. I’d left her open and vulnerable to Bernie’s
assault. If I lived a thousand years, I’d never let go of the
guilt. But I had to move past it. If we were to have a future
together at all, I would have to push forward, around the guilt,
and put it behind me. And make sure I never, ever left her in such
a position again.

We went downstairs to wait out the night,
wary of any further onslaught from Bernie.

I double-checked all the doors and windows
before settling down on the couch with Carla. She folded her legs
under her and rested her head on my shoulder while we talked
through the night.

I learned many things about her, and I
revealed some things about myself as well. We had such a small
amount of time to get to know each other before things had gotten
so out of hand. It felt a little odd stepping backward like this,
but it was necessary. I knew that we would always be tied to each
other, whether or not we lasted as a couple. Our lives had become
so entwined in the short time we’d known each other, that she would
always be a part of my history, and I would always be part of hers.
Nothing would ever change that. It only made sense to get to know
each other better.

We talked for hours on the couch, pausing
occasionally for me to check out the window for signs of
Bernie.

We ate breakfast at about four. I was
starving and I knew Carla had to be too, but she wasn’t interested
in eating. I had to persuade her to eat the little she ate. I ate
three fried eggs with toast and bacon, but Carla barely ate one egg
and only nibbled on a piece of bacon.

After we ate, we sat on the front porch. I
was surprised and amazed that she suggested it. She said she didn’t
want to be in the house forever, and that being inside made her
feel trapped. I understood that, probably more than anyone.

I noticed her glance at Bernie’s house a few
times during the first hour we were out there. With each glance,
she looked at his house longer, until finally, she was glaring at
it. She had slowly worked up her courage. She was even stronger
than I’d imagined.

We saw no signs of Bernie throughout the
night. We were both relieved.

It was just after six when Andy rushed out of
his house. He threw a suitcase into his car and started to jump in
after it. That’s when he saw us.

“Where are you going with a suitcase?” I
asked.

Andy looked worried. “My brother just called.
My mom’s in the hospital and it doesn’t look good. I don’t know how
long I’ll be.” He looked at the ground, visibly fighting back
tears. I knew that meant he didn’t know how long she had to live.
“Hey, don’t do anything until I get back. Okay?”

“I won’t,” I said, understanding that he was
referring to our conversation about Bernie. “Go take care of
business. Hope she’s okay.”

He nodded and got in his car. Through the
open window he said, “Will you watch after Jill for me?”

“You don’t even have to ask,” I replied.

He backed out and drove away quickly, leaving
the lives of two children and two women in my hands.

I felt horrible as I watched Andy drive away.
I felt bad for Andy because he looked miserable. I knew it was
difficult to lose a parent, especially your mother. I felt bad for
Owen because I knew how close he and Andy were. I knew he wanted to
be there for Andy, but he felt obligated to be here for me. I
didn’t want to keep him away from Andy, but I wouldn’t feel safe if
I didn’t have Owen. That was horribly selfish of me, and I knew it.
But I couldn’t help it.

I wouldn’t let Owen see it, but I was a
nervous wreck. I was terrified that Bernie would somehow manage to
get past Owen and do something worse to me than he already had.

I couldn’t let that fear consume me, though.
I was determined to live my life, and not in fear. Never in fear.
I’d never give someone like Bernie that kind of power and control
over me. If I did, it would be like he was still raping me. I
wouldn’t have it.

I was doing my best to put it all behind me.
I only wanted to move forward with my life. I had no idea how that
was going to work when my rapist lived next door to me.

Owen was doing all he could to protect me. I
did feel safer with him. We’d grown so close in such a short time.
Add to that the trauma we’d suffered through together and we were
inseparable. I knew that it wasn’t good to be so dependent on Owen.
He wouldn’t always be around, that was impossible. And I’d never
been one of those women who had to have a man to live.

So, I knew as we sat on his porch that I
would have to do something in order to regain control of my life. I
wanted my strength back. I wanted my security and independence
back. I couldn’t hide out at Owen’s house forever. And it was
totally unfair to expect him to keep a constant watch over me.

I listened as he talked about some of the
buildings his construction company had built, but in the back of my
mind, I was thinking of other things.

I thought of going home. What would it be
like sleeping in my bed the first night? Would I get any sleep at
all? If I did, would my sleep be plagued my memories in the form of
nightmares of Bernie? Would I be expecting him to return? Would the
thought of him coming back leave me unable to concentrate on
anything else?

I didn’t know if Bernie was planning to do
any more harm to me. After all, he’d succeeded in raping me. Isn’t
that what he was after? Surely that would satisfy his depraved
craving. Wouldn’t it?

I wondered if Owen would let me go home. I
figured he’d try to talk me into staying with him a while longer.
But I had to go home sometime, and to me, the sooner the better. If
I dealt with it all right away, I’d be fine. If I hid out at Owen’s
and let the wounds fester, it would be nearly impossible for me to
deal with it.

After he finished talking, I brought the
subject up to him about me leaving.

His face showed his concern. “Are you sure
about that? I mean, it’s so soon. Shouldn’t you stay here for a
while?”

I told him that it was better to go while it
was fresh. I’d always dealt with things this way. Quickly.

He sighed. “Maybe I should stay with you for
a couple of nights.” I saw the worry in his eyes. He was so afraid
something would happen to me and he wouldn’t be there. I felt bad
for him. Carrying around such a burden must be difficult.

“Owen, I don’t mind if you stay with me. But,
you aren’t always going to be able to be there. At some point, I
have to be alone. Wouldn’t it be better if it was now?”

He thought about it for a minute. He squeezed
my hands in his and looked me in the eyes. “Okay. You’re
right.”

I thought he had given in a little too
easily. It didn’t matter, though. He seemed to have seen things my
way.

After the kids had eaten breakfast, we walked
home. Owen, of course, walked on my right side, keeping himself
between Bernie’s house and me.

I didn’t even look in Bernie’s direction
until we crossed the street in front of my house. It was a quick
glance. I didn’t want to seem inviting if he was looking. It was so
quick I wasn’t sure Owen had noticed.

Ethan and Shelby were happy to be home,
though it hadn’t been home for long. This is where their toys were,
and they rushed upstairs to play with them.

I saw Owen’s worry as they ran up the stairs.
I knew he wanted to check the house and make sure Bernie wasn’t
lurking somewhere. I smiled at him and told him to go ahead and
check, though I was confident he would find nothing.

Finding nothing, Owen came to the living room
where I sat in a chair waiting for him. He squatted in front of me,
one hand on each of my knees. I leaned forward in the chair. His
face was now only a couple of inches from mine. Funny how that
could still make my heart beat faster even after all that had
happened.

“Well?” I asked.

“It’s safe. For now.”

“What do you mean ‘for now’?”

“Well, you don’t think I’m going to leave you
here with that back door like that, do you?” He grinned at me and
shook his head. Without standing, he pulled his cell phone out of
his pocket and made a phone call. He called his company and made
some immediate requests for a new back door and a couple of men to
do the job.

I didn’t protest. It was wise to replace the
weak point of entry. I wanted no repeats of the previous
events.

After returning the phone to his pocket and
kissing me passionately, Owen went through the house making sure
every window and door had a working lock. He pushed and pulled and
banged, making sure all was well.

Then, he put in a call for a home security
system. I thought that was a bit much, but I still held my tongue.
I knew that it was the smart thing to do. It felt excessive, but
necessary.

And that’s how the day went. Owen helped the
carpenter install the door. I watched the alarm system being
installed, and memorized the instructions to go with it. The kids
played with their toys, pausing only when Jill brought over lunch.
She was trying to keep herself busy as well, I suppose. She made
hamburgers, hot dogs and coleslaw. We all gathered in the kitchen
while we ate, with many conversations happening at the same time.
The kids talked toys, the men talked tools, and Jill and I talked
house. It was hectic, but I loved it.

I was thankful for the chaos of the day. It
made coming back to the house easier for me.

That didn’t mean that when I went to bed it
would be as easy. But I’d just have to deal with that later. Right
now, I just wanted to live in the moment. I wanted to appreciate my
great kids, my new friend, and my boyfriend.