Page 52 of The Neighbor
“So crimes of passion, huh? No planning whatsoever?” I ask him, not believing for a second he suddenly decided to strangle my sister that summer day in the woods.
He doesn’t answer at first, and for a second or two, I don’t know if the drugs are working slightly faster than I thought they would. All my research said I’d have about an hour before he died a very painful death. I made sure to choose a drug that would hurt at the end. He doesn’t deserve to quietly slip into a nice sleep as he passes away.
When he does speak, he struggles to get the words out. “I didn’t…it wasn’t…planned. It wasn’t. Crime of…passion.”
“Well, she wasn’t raped, and the police said there was no evidence of her having had sex within the two days prior to her death. So what passion do you mean, Adam? Or was that the problem? She wouldn’t have sex with you, so you killed her out of rage that you couldn’t get what you wanted?”
My use of the word rape seems to offend him. He grimaces and shakes his head, as if that crime offends him but murder doesn’t. What an odd set of ethics this person has.
“I never raped…never raped,” he says, struggling to say the words either because of the drugs or his aversion to the idea.
Either way, I don’t think he’s lying. And I don’t care.
“Well, a gold star for you, Adam. You didn’t rape anyone. But murder is worse than rape, you know. It’s one thing to hurtsomeone and scar them for life. It’s another to take their life away from them. You’re a murderer. You killed my sister, and now you’re feeling exactly what she felt. Is it hard to breathe yet? I was told by an expert that the drug I used makes it very difficult to take a breath of air in by the end.”
He opens his mouth, but nothing comes out except a gasp. The sound sends chills down the back of my neck. It’s raw and base, all he deserves.
Finally, he gets a word or two out, but they make no sense. I’m not interested in what he has to say now anyway. Nothing will change what he did or what’s going to happen to him in a few minutes.
His fate was sealed the moment I found out where he lived five months ago.
“Do you know how long it took to find you, Adam? You hid yourself well. I have to give you that. It was inevitable, though, so don’t beat yourself up too much.”
Unable to speak now because of the drug’s effects, he shakes his head rapidly like he’s having a spasm. He wants to defend himself or tell me he knew who I was all along, but he can’t.
No matter. There’s no defense for what he did, and I’m not interested in his bluster that he knew who I was. He never knew his killer was stalking him from right down the road, waiting for the precise moment when she could carry out her plan to avenge her sister and her family.
“The day I finally found you was like the Universe tapping me on the shoulder and pointing the way to my destiny. And yours, of course. I imagined about a million ways to do this. Some were far grislier. Some were way more painful. You see, I’ve been carrying around a lot of hate for you all these years, Adam. You killed my only sister, and then my parents. Oh, you didn’t strangle them like you did with Amanda, but it was the sameoutcome. They died brokenhearted over their daughter’s death. This is for them as much as it is for her.”
Gasping for air, he clutches his throat in what has to be the most ironic action ever taken in this world and whispers, “You didn’t win.”
I stand up to leave, knowing he doesn’t have much time left. Stopping right in front of him, I lean down and position my hands just inches away from his throat, careful not to touch his skin.
“Yes, I did. Now go to hell.”
I walk away as he fights to breathe, and I think it’s possible that sound is going to keep me going for the rest of my life. The killer finally got his, and no, I won’t be caught.
Just like Adam, I’m careful. Society will take care of the rest. His death will be on the news, maybe, if it’s determined he didn’t die by natural causes. A clever coroner might realize that. So possibly he’ll be the focus of some stories on the local news for a few days. If they find out he was murdered, the police will try to find the killer, but without any leads, the case will go cold.
Exactly like my sister’s.
And by the time of Kimmy and Marilyn’s block party in September, Adam Prentiss will be nothing but a memory, merely one of the people who lived here and doesn’t anymore. That’s how suburbia works.
For as kind as your neighbors may seem, life goes on and they forget you in the blink of an eye. You’re only worthy of gossip if you’re around. Once you’re gone, you’re history.
When he lets out a tiny cry of agony, the best he can muster as the poison finally reaches his heart, I smile and let out a heavy sigh. That sounded like it hurt. Good.
I look back at Adam and see the drugs have done their job. I need to make sure I note that in my research just in casean author uses this in a book. This happened far faster than I expected.
When I step outside, I notice the humidity doesn’t feel as oppressive as it has for the past week. Maybe the heat wave is breaking. That would be good. Sitting out on my porch every morning has made me feel like a wrung-out dishrag. It had to be done, but I’ll enjoy my morning coffee better once the temperatures aren’t eighty degrees by seven am.
The neighborhood is deathly quiet tonight. I look down the road and see no one’s lights on. Odd since it’s only around eight-thirty. The streetlight in front of the Meyers’ house flickers like someone’s using it to send Morse code. I watch it for a few seconds before hurrying back behind the houses to make my way home.
As I walk past Aaron’s house, I see him standing in front of a window smiling at me. I’ve never seen him look this happy in all the time I’ve lived here. I hope he found a reason to go on. He seems like a nice guy who’s been dealt a rough hand in life.
I hear the window open, and in a low voice he says, “I knew you didn’t like him as much as he liked you.”
His words make me stop dead, and for a split second, fear fills me. If Aaron tells anyone I was here tonight, the police are going to suspect me.