“That’s still a good movie,” Carol said as the ending credits rolled.
“But a little preposterous,” said Susan.
“Not really,” Louise said, and proceeded to tell them all about the murdering husband in nearby Los Angeles who’d made the news after cutting his wife to bits.
“Gross,” Carol said, wrinkling her nose.
“Everyone has a dark side,” Louise said, making Martin frown.
Zona laughed. “Yeah, Mom? What’s yours?”
“I don’t share chocolate,” Louise said, and everyone laughed. “Not to tell tales on myself,” she continued, “but there was a certain sea witch on my cruise who I might have wanted to shove into the pool.”
“At least you didn’t say overboard. You had me worried for a minute there,” Susan said.
“Still, it wasn’t a very nice thought,” said Louise.
“I’ve had a few like that about my sister-in-law,” Carol said.
“My old boss,” added Susan.
“But I’m sure none of you ever contemplated murdering them,” said Martin. “You ladies are all too nice.”
“I may have contemplated a few fatal ends for both Lukeand Gary,” Zona admitted. “But I never would have acted on them,” she was quick to add.
“All it takes is a person being pushed one step too far and they can snap,” Louise said. “Not you, of course,” she said to Zona.
“Not me,” Zona agreed, then added, “Maybe,” and they all laughed.
But later, after everyone was gone and Louise was in bed and Zona had returned from walking Darling and was sitting on the back patio with a cup of mint tea, she couldn’t help wondering if there was some truth in what her mother had said. What did it take to push a person over the edge?
She thought again about the screaming she’d heard next door. Alec James was a strong man, a man who worked with his hands. If he got angry enough, if he gave a woman a violent shove...
The night was still warm, but she shivered. Time to go inside.
Come morning, with the sun shining and the neighborhood quiet, she had to shake her head over her out-of-control imagination. What percentage of the population ever committed murder like this latest man in the headlines?
She did a little phone research while walking Darling. One obscure article she found claimed that the average person could walk past up to thirty-nine murderers in one lifetime. Yikes! Another short blurb popped up informing her that one in ten thousand Americans were guilty of having killed someone. It wasn’t exactly in-depth research, but that statistic felt less terrifying than the one telling her how many murderers she was bound to walk by.
When she and Darling returned, she saw that while the truck was still in the driveway next door, the red PT Cruiser was gone. Maybe its owner had decided she was in an unhealthy relationship and had left for good.
Alec James was coming out of his house. Just an average guy. Well, more like above average, the way he filled out his T-shirt and those jeans.
She called good morning and held up the full little blue poop bag.See? I am a responsible dog owner.
He gave her a friendly smile and a thumbs-up. It felt... weird.
Were there two Alec Jameses, the one he showed to the world and the one he kept hidden behind closed doors?
“Oh, stop,” she told herself in disgust. She had enough going on in her life and she needed to quit giving headspace to the man next door.
Chapter10
“YOU SHOULD HAVE COME WITH ME,”Fen said when he picked up Bree for a Sunday afternoon of beach volleyball.
“Yeah, I haven’t read a fairy tale in a while,” she said as they drove off down the street in his Wrangler.
“Hey, fairy tales can be fun.”
