The Good Neighbor

by R. J. Parker

  ‘What are you talking about?’ She tightened her grip on the phone, as if it could halt the tremor of her legs.

  ‘Good. I hope you didn’t give her too hard a time. Elliot’s understandably concerned about the two of you sharing the same space.’

  Leah realised what he was doing. Elliot must still be in earshot and he was concealing the fact that he’d killed her.

  ‘I think you two meeting was the best thing that could have happened. I bet she was at a loss for words when you walked in the door. No catfighting, I hope?’

  ‘I did what you asked. Let him go now.’

  ‘Was she sorry?’

  Leah didn’t answer.

  ‘She pleaded,’ he continued, as if he was repeating what Leah had said.

  But she guessed he was telling her what Katya had done the night before.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Leah didn’t notice as the refuse collectors passed her.

  ‘Pleading, always uncomfortable to be around.’ He carried on the conversation for Elliot’s benefit.

  The lorry trundled by.

  ‘Why did you have to kill her?’ She spoke low as a man in a high vis jacket weaved around her.

  ‘It had to happen,’ he answered simply. ‘That situation couldn’t continue as it was.’

  ‘You didn’t even know her.’

  ‘Now the two of you have become acquainted we have to decide what to do about Elliot next.’

  Leah could hear a muted protest from Elliot in the background. Relief was overridden by how weak he sounded. ‘What have you done to him?’

  ‘Just a little something to keep him manageable.’

  ‘Why are you doing this to us?’

  There was a pause. ‘So, you would have been quite happy to carry on as you were?’

  ‘I… Just let me know what you need me to do.’ Leah realised it was raining. A droplet landed on her eyelid.

  ‘You know what you have to do. Decide whether you really want him back.’

  ‘Of course I do.’

  ‘Of course you do? So he can cheat on you again?’

  ‘But he didn’t. Elliot and I are over.’ It was the first time she’d said that.

  He hesitated before replying. ‘You’re saying that now...’ But he sounded unsure.

  ‘I’m not. We sleep in separate rooms.’ Was this the way to remove Elliot from danger? Did Tate see him as a rival to be erased?

  ‘You knew he was seeing Katya?’

  ‘Yes.’ Then she responded to the silence that followed. ‘I knew he was seeing somebody. But he was free to. We only live together for convenience now.’

  ‘Is that why you weren’t spending Valentine’s together?’

  ‘Yes.’ Leah waited as he assessed what she’d told him.

  ‘You have no feelings for him, and he has no feelings for you?’

  ‘Not anymore.’ She had to convince him of that.

  ‘So whatever I do to him means nothing to you?’

  ‘Of course it does.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘I don’t want him harmed,’ she said emphatically.

  Elliot grunted and she could hear the chair legs knocking again.

  ‘What about Katya? Even though you’d never seen her face until today…’

  Leah would never forget her stuffed expression.

  ‘You didn’t wish her dead?’

  ‘No.’ Anger filled out her reply.

  ‘I wonder if Elliot will. When he tries to look past the sex and realises she’s just too young for him and considers all the complications that they’ve got ahead of them. D’you think he’ll wish her dead?’

  ‘Nobody deserves to die like that.’

  ‘You forget. I’ve seen you with blood on your hands.’

  ‘That was an animal. An accident.’ Was that why he’d spared her at the house?

  ‘That’s twice I’ve helped you now.’

  She shivered but it was nothing to do with the cold rain running down her face. ‘If you really want to help me, let Elliot go.’

  ‘I can’t do that. You know that.’

  Leah felt the ground tilt. ‘Why not?’

  ‘He’s seen me. Like Katya did.’

  She closed her eyes. ‘Let him go … for me.’

  ‘“Let him go”? Sounds like something you should have done a long time ago.’

  ‘You’re right.’ She had to find a way inside his warped logic. ‘I think I began to do that when I came to see you this morning.’

  He thought about that. ‘And you came to see me?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘You’ve not been with another man outside of your marriage?’

  ‘No.’ She would tell him anything he needed to know, however private. Anything to keep him from hurting Elliot.

  ‘I believe something conspired to bring you to the house last night.’ He seemed certain of that. ‘I had to open up. Even though I could so easily have left you out there.’

  Why did he answer the door? Katya would still be alive, and Leah would still be in ignorance of her. And Elliot would be safe.

  ‘I looked down at you from the window and recognised you immediately.’

  Leah opened her eyes.

  ‘I’d watched you. Two days before. And four days before that. How could I not let you in?’

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  ‘First time, I sat four feet away from you in Langtry’s.’

  But Leah was listening for Elliot. The sound of the rocking chair had stopped.

  ‘You were side on. Didn’t register me. You ordered a cinnamon latte. I played a game. Tried to put a name to your face. But then they called it out and you collected your coffee from the counter. Just sat there stirring it. You were so deep in thought. I had to speculate why.’

  ‘I did what you asked. Let me speak to him.’

  ‘I’d come to the area a week before I called on Alice. Langtry’s was ideal because they don’t have any security cameras in there like they do in the pub.’

  ‘Please,’ she whispered.

  ‘Answer me one question first. What was it that you were thinking about?’

  ‘I don’t remember.’

  ‘The second time. Thursday. You did the same. Plain latte instead though.’

  She felt cold creep over her as she saw herself sitting obliviously at her usual table with his eyes planted on her. She really hadn’t seen him, on either occasion. But he was right, she had been lost in her thoughts. ‘I really don’t know.’

  ‘But it was only a few days ago. Lunchtime. You didn’t eat anything.’

  ‘I had a lot on my mind.’

  ‘So I guessed. I envisioned all kinds of scenarios. Were you thinking about Elliot?’

  ‘Yes. Please put him on.’

  ‘Right then, I wouldn’t have believed a woman like you could have been jilted.’

  ‘I have to know he’s OK.’ She still couldn’t hear him.

  ‘You still haven’t answered my question.’

  ‘I told you. I was thinking about him.’

  ‘Specifically?’

  Leah knew she had to be careful. She couldn’t tell him of the thoughts she’d really entertained. That she still felt they had a chance. That would endanger Elliot. Tate clearly saw him as a threat to dispose of. ‘I’ve been seeing a counsellor. I’d had my final session with her that week.’

  ‘A relationship counsellor?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘You said “I”. Does that mean Elliot didn’t?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘He refused to.’

  ‘Shouldn’t that tell you everything you need to know? If Elliot didn’t want to attend, then he must have had no interest in salvaging your relationship.’

  ‘It was that day I decided it was time for me to move on.’ It was a lie. She’d still wanted to work things out. She hadn’t known about Katya. But she couldn’t even intimate that. ‘I’ve answered your question. Let him go.’

>   ‘After all he’s done. Have you forgotten Katya?’

  How could she ever?

  ‘He’s betrayed you.’ He sounded exasperated. ‘He can’t go unpunished for that.’

  Leah could hear the hostility in his voice building. She had to misdirect him. ‘What about Alice Booth? Did she deserve to be punished too?’

  There was a pause. ‘That was a personal transaction.’

  What the hell did that mean? ‘You knew her?’

  ‘Long time ago. Reminded her exactly who I was just before she died.’

  Leah felt sickened that he spoke of her death as if it was something he’d simply been present at and wasn’t responsible for.

  ‘She seemed understandably perplexed when I told her. Alice has been through two divorces since we last clapped eyes on each other.’

  Leah had to know. ‘Why did you kill her?’

  ‘She was like an entirely different person last night. Did you know that after seven to ten years every cell in the human body is replaced? That means that Alice had become a whole new person three times over since I last saw her.’

  Leah remained silent.

  ‘There was no anger. On my part. And you need that bypass when you kill someone. You can’t allow emotions to cloud what you do. It’s a lot harder than people think so I always look upon it as a transaction. Like it was with Katya. I was able to remain removed because I did it for you.’

  Leah shuddered to her core. ‘No, you didn’t.’ Leah wouldn’t allow him to make her complicit.

  ‘Alice was a personal transaction for me. But for the me of thirty-one years ago. I made myself a promise then. A promise I kept. I’ve done it three times before. Alice was to be my fourth and last.’

  How could she begin to navigate a deranged rationale like that? ‘So what did Alice Booth ever do to you?’

  ‘She was only in her late teens. She didn’t really know how intense my feelings had been for her then. She had an inkling, but she didn’t really know to what extent she inverted my world when she spurned me. I tried to remember my teenage rage when I cut up her face. Not to use it as a spur but to remind myself why I was there. I couldn’t summon it though. Not that it’s important. Physical vandalism has to be part of the transaction; scoring their faces makes them less human to me. I was just about to do the same to Katya when her friend came home. If she’d seen my face, I would have had to put her in the bed with Katya as well. I always see my commitments through. That’s what Alice Booth was. When I was seventeen I promised myself if I didn’t find somebody, I’d go and find her. Impact her existence as she had mine. I’d reached a point in my life when I firmly believed there was no one in the world for me. Then I saw you in Langtry’s. And as soon as Alice died you were knocking on the front door. I saw what was in your eyes when we were alone. We both felt that connection. That’s why I have to make a new commitment to you.’

  Chapter Forty

  Leah turned her back to a couple walking by her. ‘There is no connection between us.’ She regretted the words before she’d finished uttering them.

  ‘You can’t possibly say that.’ He sounded genuinely mortified. ‘Not after what’s happened in such a short space of time.’

  ‘We only met last night. It was a coincidence.’

  ‘You really believe that?’

  ‘If you really do want to do something for me … let Elliot go right now. I promise I won’t ever mention any of this to the police.’

  ‘Did you hear that?’ Tate talked away from the mouthpiece.

  Leah strained her ears but couldn’t hear any response.

  ‘She’s pleading for your release. Even after the unconscionable way you’ve treated her.’

  A low groan.

  Leah felt a surge of relief.

  ‘You must have done something pretty spectacular in a previous life to deserve such loyalty from her.’

  Then she could hear Elliot scream.

  ‘Stop!’

  But whatever was happening to her husband intensified and the scream curdled.

  ‘Stop it!’

  It was suddenly cut short.

  ‘What have you done?’ She could hear a low breathing at the other end but wasn’t sure if it was Elliot or Tate. The phone clunked and momentarily she thought he’d hung up.

  ‘They say a man’s tolerance for pain is higher than a woman’s. I think that’s nonsense.’

  ‘What have you done?’

  ‘Would you rather it was you? After all the pain he’s already put you through?’

  Leah wiped the rain from her eyes.

  ‘Would you take his place?’

  Leah released a faltering breath.

  ‘You’d really do that for him?’

  Her fingers and the phone shook at her ear. ‘Yes.’

  ‘And if you had him back, you’d forgive him?’

  She couldn’t answer that.

  ‘Even though you’ll still both be over because his pride wouldn’t be able to handle what you did to save him?’

  ‘Yes,’ she heard herself say. But what did he really expect her to do to free Elliot?

  ‘Do you know what I did to Alice Booth?’

  Leah suddenly realised that the young couple had halted on the other side of the street. They were both looking back at her with concern.

  ‘Are you OK?’ The man mouthed.

  She nodded and realised there were tears on her face. ‘Just … just my boyfriend. We’re … in the middle of something.’

  The man nodded uncertainly, and the woman made meaningful eye contact with her. They moved off.

  ‘Boyfriend?’ Tate repeated.

  ‘Where should I go from here? Tell me,’ she spat.

  ‘When I was seventeen, Alice Booth lived in my head. The best version of her, the most pristine, glowing Alice existed for a year inside my skull. But the reality was disappointing. I hope you won’t disappoint me.’

  Leah watched the couple walking away from her, felt the abhorrence for him souring in her throat.

  ‘There were three others. They all promised something to me they never delivered. But Alice was my first. That’s why I left her ’til last. That’s why I took my time. And when it was done, I felt emptied out. I knew that moment had always been coming and I was just wondering what there was left for me afterwards, when you knocked on the door. Right at that very moment. The girl who had intrigued me. Was I wrong to believe there was some significance in that?’

  Leah had no idea how to respond. If she said no, would that endanger Elliot even more?

  ‘Even after our intimate moment, do you still insist there’s no connection?’

  She had to think fast. ‘I can’t talk to you properly here … in the street.’

  ‘But if there’s nothing between us, why would you want to talk to me at all? Just to save Elliot’s miserable skin?’

  ‘What you say is true. You seeing me. Me coming to the house just as … you were looking for a new purpose…’

  He didn’t reply, let her continue.

  ‘Maybe this is all too much for me to process.’

  ‘I can see why that would be.’ But his tone was cold.

  ‘Let me come to you.’ There was no other way.

  ‘In good time. I still think you need convincing.’

  ‘Of what?’

  ‘Of what you’ll need to do. Maybe your neighbours can help.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘The ones who were at the window when I left your house. After I stood outside your bathroom they watched Elliot argue with Katya while I did too.’

  Chapter Forty-One

  ‘What are you saying?’ Leah felt a sickening jolt and immediately started striding towards the high street.

  ‘Mr and Mrs Trent made the decision to involve themselves.’

  ‘They’re nothing to do with this.’ She was heading home.

  ‘Exactly the reason they shouldn’t have been spying.’

  ‘Please, tell me you didn’t harm them.�
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  ‘The police are watching your house, but I had no problem getting into the property next door.’

  Was this a bluff? When had he come back? After he’d taken Elliot? She’d been with the police for a couple of hours. Her heart and pace quickened.

  ‘Little pathway behind your house and theirs. The back door was open. Should still be. Maybe you can help them out.’

  ‘What did you do?’ Leah wanted to yell but kept her voice low as she passed a family unpacking shopping from a car.

  ‘I was a little pushed for time. Not ideal circumstances for me. I like to be able to inhabit a place. When I work, I prefer not to have any interruptions. Unless it’s you, of course.’

  Leah was reaching the end of Medford Avenue. She didn’t want to cross the busy road to Minster Street, but her legs were propelling her there.

  ‘I’ll call you soon.’

  ‘Please, don’t hang up.’

  But he did.

  Leah started to run but had to halt and wait at the roadside as the traffic rolled leisurely by. Darting through a gap in the cars she quickly made it to the other side, jogged by the pub and made for the turning of her street.

  She passed Langtry’s. If she hadn’t walked in there for coffee the same time Tate had, would he have opened the door to her after she’d hit the deer?

  The rain eased and she slowed as she got halfway down Minster Street. One or more of the cars parked by the house would have an officer inside. All she had to do was knock on a window and tell them exactly what had happened. That way, she wouldn’t have to go into the Trents’s house. Would Elliot have a better chance if the police handled it? But Leah was positive the best way of saving his life was doing exactly as she’d been told.

  She took a left down a side road, crossed over and spotted the overgrown entrance to the alleyway behind the houses. Would an officer be positioned here? She checked each car as she passed them but none of them were occupied.

  Peering through the overgrown reeds that bordered the stream Leah couldn’t see if there was anybody waiting there. The track curved around so she could only see as far as the first ten feet or so. She entered the path, the wet weeds on her shins. They swished coldly against her jeans as she strode along the dirt, passing the back gates of each house and slowing as she reached hers.