The Good Neighbor

by R. J. Parker

  A pink shape flitted past the window. He kept his gaze fixed there until it appeared again. Looked like Leah had got undressed. He looked down at his feet. Now he felt uncomfortable. He wasn’t a Peeping Tom. Why was he risking himself like this? He returned his eyes to the window.

  A few seconds later he could hear the low hiss of water. Thirty feet away, she was standing under the jets. He imagined her eyes closed against their intensity, that moment that he always enjoyed alone when the droplets ran down his skin and he felt like an entity again.

  He could feel the warmth flowing down to her feet and trickling away through the plughole, see the orange shapes in her eyelids closed against the firm pressure of the water while briefly no breath was being drawn in through the three holes of her face.

  She was washing away the events of the night. That raw animal aroma that had been about her. She’d be soaping her hands again now. Moving the palms harshly against each other even though they were already clean. Was she thinking about him? Was his face inside her skull? A sensation crept over him again, one he had struggled to identify but that felt familiar.

  But its presence had been low-key before now. Had been nagging at him for the past few days. Maybe he should let it overcome him.

  The frosted window started to steam up, blurring the shapes of what he could see.

  Chapter Fifteen

  ‘Turn here.’ Leah indicated the right turning down Minster Street and realised how breathless she sounded.

  Fitch complied. ‘Can you see your husband there?’ He squinted at Langtry’s on the left.

  Leah surveyed the people sitting in the conservatory at the front of the building. No Elliot.

  Fitch parked up in front of the café. ‘Better get out and check.’

  Leah undid her seat belt. ‘Please, wait for me.’

  ‘I can’t get into the house without you,’ he said placatingly.

  Leah opened her door, trotted up the path to the café and leaned through the entrance. The interior was busy but there was no sign of Elliot at the tables or counter. Had he gone home?

  ‘OK. Where’s your place?’ Fitch asked as soon as she slid back into the passenger seat.

  ‘About halfway up and on the left.’

  Fitch accelerated hard but had to stop for a car pulling out of a driveway. ‘Come on.’ He pulled to the side and waved them on.

  She recognised her neighbour’s face glowering from the other car but his expression changed when he recognised Leah sitting beside the police officer.

  Fitch picked up speed again and shot around the curve.

  ‘Number thirty-three. Just park here.’ Leah was almost out of the car before it stopped.

  ‘Wait. Let me go in first.’ Fitch closed his door, eyes on the front of the house.

  Leah waited for him to enter their driveway. His eyes briefly shot to the bushes around the tall grass of the small front lawn before he focused on the front door.

  Leah followed him and he didn’t object.

  ‘Any security system?’

  ‘No.’ Nobody had a burglar alarm in Forley. There were few thefts. The village had been targeted by a gang who had robbed a few properties during the Solstice carnival but that had been over three years ago.

  Fitch reached the front door. ‘Let me have your key then.’ He turned, fingers outstretched.

  Leah pulled the keys from her bag and held up the main one before handing them to him.

  Fitch took them and was about to insert the key into the lock when he paused. He pushed on the door and was able to nudge it slightly inwards. He turned to Leah again, a frown on his face.

  Had she forgotten to pull the front door closed? No, she’d left via the back. Had Elliot left it open on his way out?

  Fitch pushed the door so it swung half in and then leaned inside and examined the lock. ‘It’s on the latch. Was that you?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Your husband?’

  Her shoulders bristled cold. ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Elliot, you said?’

  Leah nodded.

  ‘Elliot!’ Fitch called out.

  No response.

  Fitch held out his palm. ‘Just wait here.’ He stepped over the threshold.

  Leah immediately moved to the front door and watched him pause at the foot of the stairs.

  ‘Mr Talbot!’ He shouted up them, louder.

  Still no reply.

  Leah turned and looked back down the driveway, hoping to see a sweaty Elliot trotting up it. Maybe he would wait at Langtry’s.

  ‘Anybody home?’ Fitch yelled.

  Nobody answered.

  Perhaps he’d left the door on the latch because he didn’t think she’d be going out. She’d only decided to drive to the house after he’d left. There was no reason to panic. She entered the hallway.

  Fitch turned to her. ‘Stay outside, please.’

  Leah took a step back but remained in the hall.

  ‘I’ll check upstairs first.’ Fitch swiftly climbed.

  Leah heard him moving about up there. Doors opening, floorboards creaking and then his return along the landing before he descended again.

  ‘Not up here. I thought you said nobody else lived here with you.’

  ‘They don’t.’ But she knew why Fitch was asking. ‘Just the two of us.’

  ‘OK.’ Fitch had reached the bottom of the stairs and nodded, awkwardly. He’d obviously seen unmade beds in both rooms. ‘I’ll just check the downstairs.’ He changed the subject quickly.

  ‘He must still be out. Shall I try him again?’ She took her phone from her handbag.

  Fitch nodded again and turned to the closed doors down the hallway.

  A rattle.

  Both of them froze. It had come from the kitchen.

  ‘Mr Talbot?’ Fitch gestured for her to stay back.

  It came again, louder this time.

  If it was Elliot, why wasn’t he answering? Maybe he’d only just come back and still had his earbuds in.

  Fitch seemed nervous and didn’t proceed further.

  ‘Elliot!’ Leah called now.

  They both waited. No sound.

  ‘What’s going on?’

  Leah turned to find Elliot standing behind her, face flushed red.

  ‘Why did you ask me to go to the café?’

  Leah shushed him and turned back to Fitch.

  He gestured for quiet and they waited for the sound in the kitchen to come again.

  Chapter Sixteen

  ‘Who’s this?’ Elliot nodded at Fitch.

  ‘The police.’ Leah hissed. ‘Wait.’

  Fitch took a couple of paces towards the kitchen but halted when the same noise came again.

  Leah thought the rattle was familiar, but it was accompanied by a series of thuds.

  Elliot joined Leah but his expression had frozen. He exchanged a look with her but didn’t speak.

  Fitch put his hand on the kitchen door and pushed it inwards.

  From over his shoulder, Leah could see into most of the room. It looked empty, but the sound intensified. The acoustics said it was definitely inside.

  Fitch pushed the door open all the way and moved across the wooden floor tiles towards the French doors.

  Elliot crept past Leah and was the first to the doorway but hesitated there as the officer moved tentatively on.

  Fitch froze, his head directed downward. ‘Looks like you’ve got a visitor.’

  Leah slid past Elliot in the doorway and joined Fitch, her gaze following his.

  There was a duck, a green-necked drake, standing stock still by the French doors. It eyed them both with a shiny black eye.

  Leah’s shoulders dropped and she breathed again.

  ‘How the hell did that get in here?’ Elliot said from behind her.

  Fitch turned to them. ‘It’s not a pet then?’

  ‘There’s more ducks in Forley than people. It must have come in through the open front door.’ Leah was thinking out loud.
<
br />   The duck turned back to the chain hanging beside the vertical blinds and tugged it with its beak. It rattled and the action knocked the blinds against the glass.

  ‘Is this what the emergency is?’ Elliot addressed them both.

  Leah turned to him. ‘Did you leave the door on the latch?’

  ‘No,’ he immediately answered. ‘I … don’t think so anyway.’

  Leah sighed.

  ‘So you called the police because you heard that in here?’

  She exchanged a look with Fitch and shook her head. ‘There’s a bit more to it than that.’

  Fitch crouched to the animal. ‘Shall we open the door and let this fella out then? I think he’s had more of a fright than us.’

  Leah could see the dark wet droppings at the base of the door. ‘Key’s here.’ She took it from a pot on the dresser and handed it to him.

  ‘I’ll have a check around outside as well.’ He unlocked the door and shooed the duck. It scuttled out, flapped its wings and flew ten feet before resting again in the middle of the overgrown back lawn.

  ‘What’s been going on?’ Elliot asked as soon as Fitch had followed it into the garden.

  But Leah’s focus was on the back gate at the bottom. It looked like it was closed tight, and, although she felt embarrassed that the grass was almost up to the officer’s thighs, it didn’t look as if anyone had recently crossed the lawn.

  Fitch scanned the area and the duck scampered into the overgrown buddleia patch at the left of the garden. The officer reached the gate, opened it and looked up and down the alleyway that ran behind the houses.

  ‘Are you OK?’ Elliot knew she didn’t scare easily.

  She didn’t turn to him but nodded as she waited for Fitch to pull the gate closed. ‘Somebody’s been murdered.’

  There was a pause before Elliot responded. ‘What?’

  Leah turned to face him. ‘When I had my accident last night I stopped at a house on Plough Lane. When I couldn’t get a response from you, a man there helped me.’

  Elliot’s eyes dipped to the floor.

  Leah folded her arms. ‘I went back this morning to thank him and there were police cars outside.’

  Elliot met her gaze again. ‘He’s dead?’ He asked incredulously.

  ‘No. A woman lived there. She’s dead. I think the man who opened the door to me, who said his name was Martin Tate, was the one who killed her.’

  Elliot’s eyes widened as he allowed that to sink in.

  ‘He told me he’d called the police about the deer so I told him where we live so they could contact me. That’s why the police officer escorted me back.’

  Elliot shook his head. ‘Jesus.’ His body language said he was about to hug her.

  But even though she needed it, Leah kept her arms tight to her chest.

  Fitch walked back through the French doors. ‘I don’t think anybody has been in the back.’ He addressed Elliot. ‘That front door wasn’t forced. You really can’t recall if it was you that left it on the latch?’

  Elliot blinked as he attempted to remember.

  ‘Do you generally put it on the latch?’

  ‘Sometimes. Not often.’ Elliot shook his head.

  ‘Even if it was you, somebody could have come in though.’ Leah tried to calculate how long she’d been absent. Just over half an hour? Maybe longer?

  ‘Yes, but I think it was likely to be just our little visitor in the garden.’ Fitch was looking back through the doors again.

  Leah hoped he was right.

  ‘I’ll check upstairs.’ Elliot turned to the door.

  ‘I’ve been up but it won’t hurt to double check all the rooms. You’d know if anything has been taken or disturbed. I’ll wait here while you do that. Take your time.’

  Elliot nodded and trotted out.

  But Leah didn’t feel reassured. It stood to reason that Martin Tate would have fled. But as she watched the duck flutter upwards and onto the top of the back garden wall, she recalled that the front door hadn’t been wide open when they’d arrived at the house.

  Maybe it had blown almost shut after the duck had wandered in.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Elliot came down the stairs. ‘All fine by the looks of it.’

  Fitch was waiting with Leah in the hallway. ‘OK. Good.’

  ‘You checked the windows?’ Leah asked him.

  ‘Yep.’ Elliot sounded like he hadn’t but nodded to indicate he had.

  ‘Should I check?’ She met his eye.

  ‘I confirmed that when I went up.’ Fitch stepped in. ‘I’ll get back to the crime scene now but maybe you should both look around and reassure yourselves that everything’s as it should be.’

  Elliot reached the bottom of the stairs. ‘Should we really stay here?’

  Leah realised that Elliot was as spooked as her.

  ‘That’s your call.’ Fitch zipped up his jacket and then took in their expressions. ‘If you can’t remember leaving the door on the latch…’

  Elliot shook his head. ‘No. I don’t. Maybe we should stay somewhere else tonight.’

  ‘OK. Give me a number I can reach you on.’ Fitch turned to Leah. ‘I’ll get an officer to drive your car back over later today.’

  Later today? Did they need to examine it because she was a suspect? Was that why Fitch had insisted on bringing her home in his car?

  ‘Is there anything inside it you need? Aside from that bottle of wine?’ Fitch quipped.

  ‘Bottle of wine?’ Elliot repeated.

  But Leah was imagining officers fingerprinting Elliot’s car. ‘No. We’ll need the car back soon though, if we have to drive somewhere.’

  ‘Of course. Give me the keys and your phone number and I’ll let you know as soon as someone’s on their way.’

  She did, Fitch tapped the number into his phone and then sent her his. ‘You two going to be OK?’

  Leah nodded for both of them. ‘Just really unnerved by the whole thing.’

  ‘You’ll let us know as soon as you catch this guy?’ Elliot looked apprehensively out at the driveway.

  ‘I’ll keep you in the loop. You’ll be here for the next hour?’

  Leah nodded.

  ‘OK. I’ll be in touch soon. If you see anyone who makes you suspicious, call me straightaway.’ He strode quickly back to his car.

  Elliot closed the door and made sure it was securely in place. ‘I think we should leave as soon as we can.’

  ‘You really think it’s necessary?’ But Leah had already come to the same conclusion.

  ‘Even if I did leave the door open, this guy knows exactly where you are.’

  ‘Dad won’t mind if we both descend on him.’ Leah’s mother had died in 2018 and she frequently felt guilty about how she’d only seen him at weekends since the funeral. But then she caught the look in Elliot’s eye.

  ‘I could go to a friend.’ His gaze was on the bannister.

  Why had she assumed the situation meant they would go somewhere together?

  ‘I mean, if you’d prefer it if I went with you…’

  Leah couldn’t tell if the offer was genuine. And she didn’t want him accompanying her out of a sense of duty that he’d happily dispensed with for the past couple of years. ‘I’ll be fine. It’ll be good to spend a bit more time with Dad.’

  ‘If you’re sure…’

  She didn’t respond to that.

  ‘I’ll throw some things in a bag.’ But he remained at the bottom of the stairs.

  Had she just turned him down when he was trying to help? Or had he already made his mind up about sleeping at a friend’s? ‘Will you need your car then? I can always call the breakdown people and find out how long they’re going to be with mine.’

  ‘It’s fine. Take the Vauxhall when they bring it back.’ He still loitered awkwardly.

  ‘How will you get to…?’ She realised she had no idea where he’d be going.

  ‘I’ll sort something out.’

  ‘If you’re su
re.’ It was like the politeness of strangers and she hated it.

  Elliot put his foot on the stair but paused. ‘Why did you have a bottle of wine in the car?’

  ‘I took it over as a thank you for helping me.’ She didn’t meet his eye now.

  ‘Why would he let you into the house if he’d just murdered somebody?’

  Leah was still perplexed by that. There had to be an explanation. A reason for his presence that the police were yet to discover. ‘We don’t know the full story yet. Perhaps he had every right to be there. But there was a meal on the table. He told me it was his. Didn’t mention her at all.’

  ‘You went right inside?’

  She couldn’t blame his disbelief. ‘Yes. Everything seemed so normal. There was a dog and the smell of cooking. I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong to tell him where we live.’

  Elliot filled his lungs and seemed about to say something but checked himself and nodded. ‘Looks like you might have had a lucky escape.’

  But had she? Leah couldn’t tell him what had passed between them.

  ‘I think we should both be ready to leave as soon as the car gets here.’

  ‘You don’t have to wait here with me.’ But Leah knew what his reaction would be.

  ‘I’ll get a few things ready, but I won’t be going until you’re in that car.’ He didn’t wait for her response but headed upstairs.

  Leah walked back into the kitchen and tried the back door. Bolted with no signs of tampering. She locked the French doors and then methodically checked the windows.

  Her phone buzzed and she took it from her handbag. It was a text message from an unknown number. Leah opened it.

  We need to talk about our kiss last night. Can I see you again?

  Chapter Eighteen

  Leah felt a cold hollow open in her chest and immediately put the phone on the kitchen counter. It was like he’d touched her again. Her eyes didn’t shift from the words on the screen. How had he got her number? When she’d passed out, had he gone through her contacts?