Read The Good Neighbor Online

Authors: Kimberly A Bettes

Tags: #thriller, #suspense, #mystery, #suspicion, #serial killer, #neighbors, #killer, #pageturner, #neighborhood, #neighbor from hell, #kimberly a bettes

The Good Neighbor (3 page)

BOOK: The Good Neighbor
5.54Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

“Everything isn’t gone, Owen. Only she’s
gone. And if she could do this to you, then it’s better that she
left. How could she put you through this? She had to know what it
would do to you. I’m going to say this, but I don’t want you to
take it the wrong way.” She hesitated, probably thinking about
keeping it to herself. “I’d rather you were alone than with someone
who could hurt you so deeply, so easily. Does that sound
horrible?”

I shook my head. I knew what she meant. And
she was right. But why did it still hurt so badly after all this
time? I closed my eyes and wished the hurt would stop. I wished I
could either rewind my life to a time when Holly was still with me,
or fast forward my life to a time when Holly’s absence meant little
to me. I wondered if there would ever be such a time.

“How long will the pain last?” I asked,
fighting the lump in my throat for the ability to speak.

“Until you find something to fill the hole
she left.”

I looked at her unable to hide the doubt in
my eyes.

“Think about it,” she said. “If your boat
leaks, it’ll leak until you plug the hole, right? In this case, the
boat is your heart.”

I thought about what she said. She was right.
She was more than right. She was spot-on. But then again, she
always was.

“How’d you get to be so smart?” I asked,
smiling to lighten the mood.

“Well, I’ve been around. I’ve seen some
things, done some stuff. Are you surprised that I’m good for more
than filling your trough?”

I laughed. “No. It’s just that you knew
exactly what I needed to hear.”

She smiled. “And I knew when to say it.” I
could tell by the look on her face that there was a reason we were
having this talk. When I saw her glance at the house down the
street, it was clear.

“Andy told you about the girl down the
street, didn’t he?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“Of course. But he was right to tell me.
We’ve been talking about this for a while. It was just complete
coincidence that she showed up like this.”

“Good,” I said. “I was starting to think you
two had killed Elaine so her niece would move here and you could
unleash your plan on me.” She laughed. “You should consider using
your powers to do good,” I suggested.

She stood. “I’ll consider it. I better go.
It’s almost dark. How long do you stay out here?”

I shrugged. “Until I get tired of it.”

She left, bidding me a good night.

I looked at the house down the street. Maybe
they were right. What was the harm in my moving on? Holly was gone.
I couldn’t expect myself to continue to mope after her forever. It
wasn’t fair to expect that of myself.

 

 

 

 

3 Bernie

My head felt like it was splitting open. I
stumbled into the bathroom and threw open the door to the medicine
cabinet. Bottles tumbled out and fell loudly into the sink. I said
some bad words as I fumbled through the bottles until I found what
I was looking for.

I thumped a couple of pills into my hand and
set the bottle on the counter without replacing the lid. Who cared?
I turned on the water. I threw the pills in my mouth and bent over,
drinking water straight from the faucet.

I kicked some dirty clothes out of the way
and walked to the toilet. Without lifting the lid, I pissed,
getting some on the seat. I knew as I was doing it, I wasn’t going
to wipe it off. Hell, I couldn’t even remember the last time the
toilet had been cleaned. But who cared?

I went to the kitchen to grab something to
eat. My gut was growling.

I stood at the sink, holding a slice of pizza
left over from a couple of days ago. I flicked a cockroach off it
and took a bite. It wasn’t bad. Kind of stale. It didn’t matter to
me. I didn’t care what it tasted like. I could’ve been eating
cardboard and I wouldn’t have cared. Food had long ago lost all
flavor and appeal to me.

I looked out the window at the broad next
door. I’d watched her make a few trips in and out of her house
yesterday, and even watched her go down the street to that loser
Owen’s house. I wanted her. It was just a matter of time until I
had her.

I picked up a can from the counter and shook
it to see if it was empty. I heard liquid sloshing inside so I
drank it. It was a very flat, warm soda. As I drank, I felt a
floating roach brush against my lips. It must’ve drowned in the
soda. I made sure not to swallow it as I drank, but I wouldn’t have
cared much if I had.

I watched the broad pushing her brats on the
swing set in the back yard. Noisy little bastards, they were. But I
could put up with it if it meant getting some of the mother. I’d
crawl through burning embers on my gut, naked, if it meant I could
get some of her. She wasn’t like the women I usually brought home.
They were just bar whores, used up and past their prime. She was in
her prime, and didn’t appear to be used up. Yet. It was only a
matter of time until I had her.

Of course, if things worked out between us, I
don’t know what I’d do about those stupid kids. Maybe their father
would take them. The last thing I needed or wanted was a couple of
snot-nosed heathens running around my house. I didn’t have the
patience for that sort of thing. All I wanted was her. I wanted to
do things to her that you couldn’t tell other people about even if
you were in prison. Things that I’d been dreaming of doing to
somebody, anybody. Her moving in next door was meant to be. It was
almost like she was asking me to do it to her.

Watching her now, I was pretty sure she was
inviting me over. Her shorts were short. Her top was tight. Yeah,
she was asking for it, alright.

I decided that perhaps later tonight, after
all the nosy bastards on this street went to sleep, I’d slip over
to her place and give her a little bit of ol’ Bernie Bear.

 

 

 

 

4 Owen

I rang the doorbell at Carla’s house and
hoped she answered quickly, leaving me no chance to change my mind.
It had taken me two days to convince myself of what I’d known all
along. After mulling over Jill’s words, I realized that she was
right. It was time. But I still wasn’t sure I should be here. Even
if this was the right time and the right thing to do, was this the
right person? Maybe I should just go home and forget the whole
thing.

Before I could talk myself into turning and
leaving, Carla threw open the door and smiled.

“Hey. Come in,” she said happily, standing
back so I could enter. After she closed the door behind me, she
asked, “What’s up?”

I looked down at her and tried not to notice
how sexy she looked, though she wasn’t trying. She hadn’t meant to
look sexy this morning when she’d thrown on a t-shirt with faded
writing, or when she’d slid into a pair of faded jean shorts. And
I’m sure she’d pulled her hair back into a ponytail in a hurry, not
realizing how sexy it was that some wisps of hair had fallen
loose.

“I wanted to stop by and see if you needed
help with anything. You know how movers can be. They throw it in
the house, you move it yourself later.”

She laughed. “That’s true. They were great,
though. They put everything where I told them to. I wish they’d
stuck around and unpacked for me. That’s what I’ve been doing all
day.” She began walking away, asking, “You want something to drink?
I just made some lemonade. The kids’ favorite.”

I followed her into the kitchen, where she
poured two glasses of lemonade and set them on the table. We sat
and drank.

“So where are the kids?” I asked.

“They’re out back playing on the swing set.
They love it here. In Dallas, we lived in an apartment, so they
didn’t have a yard. Even if we had, it would’ve been too dangerous
for them to be out by themselves like this. It’s nice to be able to
relax and not worry so much about them. I think they like the extra
freedom too. It’s all I can do to get them to come in at
night.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely more relaxed
here.”

Neither of said anything for a few minutes. I
noticed that even without makeup, she was one of the most beautiful
women I’d ever seen.

Finally, she asked, “What do you do?”

“I own a construction business.”

“Are you on vacation or something? I mean,
it’s the middle of a work day.” She smiled. “I know it’s not my
business and I don’t want to be nosy...”

“No. It’s fine. I don’t go into work anymore.
I used to, but I haven’t been in to the office in about a year now.
If there’s anything I need to do, I do it from home.” I hadn’t been
to work since Holly left. I couldn’t stand the questions or the
pity that I would receive there. To change the subject and because
I wanted to know, I asked, “What about you?”

“Well, in Dallas, I was a secretary. But now,
Aunt Elaine left me healthy amount of money. I think I’m going to
stay at home with the kids for a while. See what that’s like.” She
smiled at me, and I got chills. Funny how I could get chills when
my heart had been warmed. “What about the other people on this
street? What do they do?” She put her elbow on the table, folded
her hand into a fist, and rested her chin on it.

I leaned back in my chair. “Well, let’s see.
There’s Andy and Jill. They live on this side of me. Andy’s my best
friend. They’re both really great people. Jill’s a librarian, and
Andy works at a factory over in the Industrial Park. His crew works
swing shift.”

“Swing shift? What’s that?”

“He works two weeks on the day shift and two
weeks on the night shift. It’s weird, but he likes it.”

“He’s the red-haired guy?”

“Yeah. Jill’s the short, blond. They look
mismatched, but trust me when I say that they’re perfect for each
other.”

“Do they have any kids?”

I shook my head. I could see the
disappointment on her face. She was hoping for playmates for her
children, naturally. I hadn’t realized until now that there weren’t
any children on Hewitt Street.

“On my other side, is a retired chef named
Louis. If you ever see him, you’ll know immediately who he is. He’s
a large man. He’s not home much, though. He travels a lot, mostly
abroad.” I got up and walked over to her pots and pans which were
hanging above her island. I looked through them and pulled a large
skillet from its hook. Holding it up to show her, I said, “This is
his.”

She looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

I pointed to the signature across the bottom
of the skillet. “This is Louis’ signature. This is from his line of
cookware. He also has several cookbooks on the market.” I replaced
the skillet and returned to the table.

“Wow. A famous chef lives across the street.
That’s awesome.” She was very excited about this, so I didn’t want
to remind her that she may never see or meet him. I enjoyed her
excitement too much to dash it. She stared across the room at her
stainless steel pots and pans for a while before giving me her
attention again.

“Who else is there?”

“Directly across the street from Louis, is an
empty house. There was an elderly couple lived there until last
year. They passed away within days of each other. It’s been empty
since.”

“That’s sad,” she said.

“Next to that house, right across the street
from me, is Mr. Jenson. He’s a reclusive man. He looks to be in his
sixties or seventies. No wife, no visitors. He keeps to himself. We
don’t know much about him. He’s lived here a couple years.” I
didn’t tell her about his mysterious bags. I was trying to assure
her that living here was going to be great. Telling her that Jenson
could be carrying bodies out of his house in a trash bags would
only scare her.

“And between him and you, is Bernie
Patterson. I hope you haven’t met him yet.”

“Why?” She raised her eyebrows as she
asked.

“Let’s just say, Bernie’s single, and looking
to not be.”

She nodded, understanding what I meant.

“He’s getting pretty desperate these days. He
spends all his free time at bars, looking. I’ve seen him bring a
few of those women home. It looked like he’d scraped the bottom of
the barrel if you know what I mean. It wasn’t those ladies’ first
time coming home with a guy they met at a bar. He seems so
desperate to find someone, and so lonely. I feel bad for him.”

She took our empty glasses to the sink and
rinsed them. I did what I could to not watch, but I only have so
much will power. She was so attractive without even trying. And it
didn’t seem that she knew how beautiful she was. I couldn’t help
but wonder about the kids’ father. I didn’t know the story, but I
couldn’t imagine anyone leaving someone so sweet and so beautiful
and so kind.

Of course, they say you never really know
someone until you live with them. And even then, you never really
know them.

“So no one in the neighborhood has kids?” I
could hear the disappointment in her voice.

“No. But I don’t know everybody. I just know
the people immediately around me. You know, the people I see all
the time. I don’t know anyone on the streets around us. I guess
I’ve been a bit of a recluse myself lately.” I sure hoped she
wouldn’t inquire as to why I’d become such a recluse, not even
going to work.

She faced me, leaning against the sink. “So
you didn’t say who lives across the street from me.”

“Oh. That’s Hazel, the sweetest lady you
could ever hope to meet. She’s eighty, I think. She’s a widow.” In
a voice you would use telling a campfire ghost story, I said, “If
you get too close to her house, she’ll feed you. To death, if you
let her.” We both laughed.

She thought for a moment. “Want a tour?”

“Sure.” I’d never been farther than the
kitchen when I’d help Elaine carry in groceries.

After maneuvering around boxes for the tour,
she asked me to stay for dinner. I declined at first, telling her I
didn’t want to be any trouble. She assured me that was silly,
because she had to make dinner anyway.

BOOK: The Good Neighbor
5.54Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Oveja mansa by Connie Willis
Enslaved by Brittany Barefield
Roosevelt by James MacGregor Burns
Kentucky Groom by Jan Scarbrough
The Wild One by Taylor, Theodora
Mr. Calder & Mr. Behrens by Michael Gilbert
Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving
Now and Always by Lori Copeland