Neighbors

by Danielle Steel

  “I owe you an apology, and Will. And I want to tell him myself. We found the jade, and the Fabergé box, and a number of other things. I’m sure he didn’t break the horse or take the Swiss Army knife. Charles discovered that Jack and Debbie have criminal records, and we found a stash of stolen items in their room. Some of them have been gone for a very long time. They just left.” She felt dead inside as Tyla looked at her and nodded, and then Meredith went to her study, and sat thinking about them. Charles sat next to her as tears of grief and disappointment rolled down her cheeks, and he took her in his arms and held her, as her heart ached and she sobbed.

  She went to find Will after that and solemnly apologized to him for questioning his honesty at all. He hugged her after she told him and swore he would never take anything of hers. Charles checked with her suppliers that afternoon, and he was right about that too. She nodded when he told her that they had gotten sizeable kickbacks for years. They knew how to work the system, and were total con artists.

  “I’m sorry I was right, Meredith,” he said when he told her and handed her a list of suppliers who had paid them handsomely at her expense.

  “So am I.” She smiled sadly at him. “But I’m glad you told me. They don’t belong here. I guess they never did.” It was a rude awakening for her of who they really were.

  He took her in his arms again and held her. She didn’t cry. She never wanted to think about them again. She had no tears left for the bad people in her life.

  In the end, after she thought about it, she knew what she wanted to do. Charles disagreed with her. She decided not to prosecute them. It would be too complicated to try to figure out everything they’d stolen, and the cash they’d taken. There was a statute of limitations of three years, the police told her, so they couldn’t even be prosecuted for twelve of the fifteen years, and the kickbacks had been paid in cash, which was impossible to prove. They’d gotten away with it and she didn’t want to spend years of pain and grief trying to get money back and put them in jail. It was enough that they were gone, and she’d been able to save a few items, and stop them, thanks to Charles. They weren’t worth the money or the time to pursue them for years for only a fraction of what they stole, and made from their kickbacks. There was no stopping people like them. They would probably find another victim somewhere. She felt sorry for the next person they fooled. Meredith and Charles were sure they would do it again. And Meredith would get little or nothing back. They had been so convincing, and seemed so kind, she had believed every word they said, and all it had ever been, she knew now, was a lie. Nothing about them had been true, and their so-called friendship had been a ploy to manipulate her. It broke her heart, and all she wanted now was to turn the page and move on. There was no way to stop them, or replay the past. She put it down to a terrible experience and a betrayal she would never forget. And it was clear now that the agency she’d hired them from hadn’t done a criminal check. People like Jack and Debbie knew how to work the system, and were adept at finding innocent victims, just as they had victimized her, and her circumstances had played right into their hands. It was a terrible blow to realize how gullible she had been, and just how bad they were.

  Chapter 11

  Charles waited a few days after Jack and Debbie left before talking to Meredith about it again. He was spending most of his nights with her now. He had dealt with similar problems professionally, for his clients, but never in his personal life. So in some ways, this was new to him too. It was an old story for Meredith, who over the years had been cheated on and lied to and stolen from by people she had trusted. She saw clearly now that Jack and Debbie had never been her friends. They were frauds and petty criminals to the end. She had no idea where they were now and didn’t care.

  Charles and Meredith were alone in her study one night, after Tyla and her children had gone to bed. The house was quiet. She had interviewed a couple that afternoon, who had real references that she and Charles had both checked out. She had hired them, and they were going to start on the weekend. The wife was a warm woman from Guatemala, and her husband was Peruvian. They had worked in several fine homes, most recently in L.A. They were very polite, and looked immaculate. Their previous employers were moving to London, so they had let them go.

  “I wanted to talk to you, Meredith, about some of your security systems,” Charles said quietly. “Everything you have in place is state-of-the-art, but technology changes every day. I’d like to update what you have a little for you, not at great expense, just to fine-tune it all a bit. But I’m worried about something else. Because of who you are, you’re a much bigger target than you realize for scams and dishonest people. You don’t need to be paranoid, but I want you to be really careful. I love you, and I don’t want you to get hurt.” He didn’t mention Jack and Debbie by name, but she understood.

  “Thank you.” She smiled at him for the “I love you.” It was good news to her. She was in love with him too, and had said so to him when they were in bed. “I must look like a fool to you. Six months after Jack and Debbie got here, my whole life fell apart. I was out of my head for a couple of years. I couldn’t think. I didn’t care. I was an easy target. I’m not anymore. God knows how much money they stole from me, or cheated me out of. I’m awake now. They hit me at my lowest point. It was lucky for them.”

  “I’ve seen heads of large corporations unwittingly become victims and prisoners of their employees. The right circumstances, a death in the family, the loss of a spouse, an illness, a change of fortune, a weak moment, a hard time, and suddenly the tables turn. I want you to know that I’m here for you. I won’t let that happen to you again as long as I’m around.”

  “I know that about you now, and you were right about them,” she conceded. “I thought you were crazy. It turns out that I was.”

  “No, they were just very evil people, and clever about how they did it. It’s usually a very simple system that works best. The rest of us just don’t think that way. It’s sad to have to be so careful, but in your position, you have no other choice.” She nodded agreement, and they went to bed shortly after that. She nestled into his arms. He was a tall, powerful man, and in every possible way, she knew she was safe with him. He wasn’t going to let anything bad happen to her. It was a wonderful feeling, and she was glad now that Jack and Debbie were gone, and pleased too that Tyla and her children were living with her for now.

  Meredith dropped Will and Daphne off at school the next morning.

  Two hours later, the school called Meredith to pick Will up. He had a stomachache again. Meredith was worried about him, and he went straight to his room when he got home. It was the first stomachache he’d had since the night his father had almost killed his mother. He asked her an odd question on the way home.

  “Do you think Mom would ever go back to Dad? Or meet him somewhere?” he asked her.

  “I hope not. At least until your father gets some very serious help. Meeting him now would be a very foolish thing to do.” He nodded, and when he got back to the house, he disappeared to his room. Meredith tried to be careful not to malign their father to them, for their sakes.

  “I think I’ll sleep for a while,” he told her. And when she stopped in to see Tyla, she was in particularly good spirits, the best she’d been in a long time. Meredith told her about Will’s stomachache, and she looked surprised.

  “Maybe this time it’s something he ate.”

  “I didn’t think of that.” Meredith smiled, and then remembered. “Justin used to get stomachaches when he was upset too. He also wasn’t above faking it, to get out of school, like the day of a test.”

  “Will has done that too,” Tyla admitted, “though he’s a pretty good student, except for math. Andrew is always hard on him about his grades. Maybe he was afraid of a bad grade today.”

  “Maybe so,” Meredith said, and went back to her study. She had a mountain of papers on her desk. She liked taking
Tyla’s children to school. It reminded her of happy times, and they were such sweet children. She hoped things would settle down for them soon.

  * * *

  —

  Meredith was still at her desk when Tyla slipped out of the house. She was going for walks now, to get some air. She felt stronger, and her wounds were healing. She was still talking to Andrew on the phone more than Meredith thought she should. She didn’t think she should talk to him at all. He had told her about an anger management class he had signed up for, and told her he wanted to see her and the kids. He said he missed them terribly, and was so deeply sorry about what he’d done to her. He had begged her to take him back, or at least see him, and talk to him in person. Tyla said she felt sorry for him when they talked. He said he didn’t even have a picture of the kids with him, he was staying in a dismal furnished room at a hotel, and missed their home. He had been temporarily suspended by the medical board, pending resolution of the charges against him, and he was deeply depressed about it. Tyla and the children were still receiving support by court order and Andrew was terrified about what he would do if he could never practice medicine again. How would he support himself? And what if he went to prison?

  Will was watching at the window when his mother left the house. She walked down the street in the direction of their home. He had noticed that she headed in that direction most of the time on her walks. He wondered if maybe she missed their house too. He missed his toys. They’d only brought a few with them and he wanted to go back for more. But his mother didn’t want to bring too much to Meredith’s and clutter up their room.

  Meredith came to find Tyla a few minutes later, to ask her something, and was surprised to find that she’d gone out. She had said she was tired that morning, although she was in a cheerful mood. Meredith peeked into Will’s room to see how he was feeling, and if he was asleep. Instead he was standing at the window, looking out.

  “Hi, Will, how are you feeling?” she asked with a smile.

  “I’m okay,” he said as he turned to look at her, and his eyes were sad.

  “Do you know where your mom is?”

  “She went for a walk, that way.” He pointed toward their house.

  Meredith thought about it for a minute after she’d left the room, and she got a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Why had Tyla been almost euphoric? Was it a coincidence, or did she have a plan? Was she going to see Andrew?

  Meredith went downstairs and grabbed a coat out of the closet. She didn’t know why, but she wanted to make sure Tyla was okay. It was a gray, foggy day. Meredith was in front of the Johnsons’ house a few minutes later, and she saw that the lights were on in the living room on the ground floor, and suddenly panic set in. She was sure that Tyla had gone to meet Andrew. Maybe he had wanted to see her there. She hoped that she was wrong. But why was the light on? Or had Tyla just gone to spend a little time in her home, to try and exorcise the ghosts there?

  She rang the doorbell, and a second later, the door was whipped open and Andrew was standing there. He looked ragged, with dark circles under his eyes. He needed a haircut, he hadn’t shaved, and he was wearing running clothes. He looked angry and disheveled with wild eyes.

  “Is Tyla here?” Meredith asked him in a cool voice, trying not to look surprised to see him there.

  “Why don’t you see for yourself,” he said, and as he did, a powerful arm yanked her inside, and she could see Tyla cowering in a chair, with a trickle of blood running down her chin from her lip. His eyes looked crazy, and Meredith could see that he was going to do the same thing again. He had already hit Tyla, at least once.

  “Andrew, why don’t we just let it go for today,” Meredith said calmly. “You don’t need more trouble, and neither does Tyla, or your kids. You’ve all got enough to worry about.”

  “Oh listen to Little Miss Goody Two-Shoes. I wouldn’t be in trouble if you hadn’t filled her head with a lot of crap. She knew how to behave before. If she doesn’t drop the charges, my medical license will be revoked. How am I going to make a living if that happens?” His eyes probed Meredith’s. The terror of being poor again was devouring him.

  “Then let’s not make it any worse than it already is,” she said quietly. She wanted to get Tyla out of the house and escape herself before he exploded and lost control.

  “I didn’t come here to cause trouble,” Andrew said. “I came here to get pictures of my kids. She said she’d give them to me. I don’t even have a picture of them with me, and I’m living in a hotel that’s a dump, thanks to her.” He pointed angrily at his wife. He was a madman, and Tyla had fallen for whatever promises he had made, or her own misplaced guilt for his situation, which he accused her of every day on the phone. That this was all her fault. And like most abused women, she believed him. Meredith wondered if what Charles had said was true, that women who had been abused almost always go back to their abusers.

  “I’m sure you’ve got things to do,” she said clearly, “so do we.” She beckoned to Tyla, but she was too afraid to move. Tyla was terrified of what he’d do if she tried to get past him to the door. She knew what he was capable of. They all did now.

  Will had already called Charles by then, as soon as Meredith left the house. He kept Charles’s cellphone number in his wallet. He spoke as fast as he could when Charles answered.

  “I think my mom went to meet my dad at our house, and Meredith went after her.” He was talking fast, and sounded breathless.

  “Did they tell you that?” Charles questioned him, and sensed the urgency in Will’s voice.

  “No, I’m guessing. I saw them go.” Charles didn’t hesitate for an instant. He promised Will he’d call him back and called the police. Charles called an inside number he had for law enforcement officers, for emergencies, and he didn’t hesitate to use it when he needed to. He told them the possible situation, that Andrew was dangerous, under a restraining order, and awaiting trial for a brutal attack on his wife, and he might be holding two women captive in his old home.

  “Come on, Tyla,” Meredith said to her again, easing toward the door herself so she could open it, before Andrew got violent with either of them. Meredith had barely moved when Andrew grabbed her by the throat, jammed her up against the wall, and banged her head hard.

  “You started all this, didn’t you, you bitch,” he said to her. “You filled her head with ideas about freedom and independence and not listening to me, and now she won’t let me come home. She’s not even living here. She’s living with you, and your fascist boyfriend who thinks he runs the world.”

  Meredith didn’t say anything and was wondering how they were going to get out of the house, as she saw two police officers approach the front door with caution, and suddenly the window exploded, with broken glass flying everywhere, and the two officers broke in. One of them jumped through the ground floor window, the other one reached inside, opened the door, grabbed Andrew, and they had him on the ground within seconds, and handcuffed his hands behind his back, as Tyla came running toward Meredith, and threw her arms around her. Andrew was screaming obscenities at Tyla from the floor as they dragged him out of the house, and saying what he was going to do to her if he got his hands on her again. Meredith looked at her and rubbed her head. Andrew was out by then.

  “How did you know I was here?” Tyla looked mystified, as she wiped the blood off her face. She had told no one she was coming to the house to meet him.

  “Will told me you’d gone for a walk and had come this way. He was watching you. I think he knew. And when he said it, I knew too, so I came to check on you.”

  “Did you call the police before you left the house?” Meredith shook her head.

  “Maybe Will did. Tyla, you can’t see Andrew again. He’s going to kill you.” Everyone knew and believed it, except her.

  She hung her head in shame. “I know that now. I felt sorry for him, so I agr
eed to meet him.”

  “You can’t afford to do that. You have two children who need you, and he will kill you the next time, or one of these times.”

  “I won’t see him again.” The police were outside, when Tyla turned off the lights in the house and closed the door. The lock was broken and the window. Someone would have to come and fix them. She had seen this movie too many times. They all had by now. The police said they’d come to Meredith’s later to get a statement from them both.

  Tyla and Meredith walked back to her house, and Charles pulled up when they arrived. He had been at his home nearby when Will called him. “Are you both okay?” They nodded, but Tyla had a cut lip where he had slapped her, and Meredith had an egg on her head from hitting the wall.

  “Did you call the police?” Meredith asked him, confused about how he knew.

  “Will called me. He thought you were going there, so I called the hotline. Was Andrew there?”

  Tyla looked embarrassed and remorseful as she nodded. “I agreed to meet him to give him some photographs. He looks terrible.” The police had taken Andrew to jail.

  “They won’t let him out on bail now,” Charles told her. “They’ll send him for a psych evaluation, at some mental hospital with a locked ward, where he belongs. They may not let him out until trial.” Which would be a relief for all of them.

  They walked into Meredith’s house together, and Tyla went upstairs to Will’s room to tell him they were okay. She came out a minute later, holding a scrap of paper, with Will’s writing on it in pencil.