Page 6 of The Neighbor

I look out the window while I wait for the credit report to populate. Kimmy and the brood are hiking their way back to her house, but this time each of the boys has an armful of white butcher paper and bottles of paint. Good luck with that.

However, Caroline is nowhere in sight. Did she stay behind at Marilyn’s?

A glance over toward that yard gives me my answer. There next to a red rose bush she and the older woman stand talking. Each of them smiles and nods, and every so often, Caroline throws her head back in laughter. I wouldn’t have thought anyone would find Marilyn that amusing, but perhaps I was wrong. Maybe she is that funny.

Except I’m never that mistaken about people.

My job is to find out everything there is to know about a person, and in the ten years that I’ve been doing it, I’ve gotten very good at reading people. I can tell when someone’s lying, and I can tell when they’re nervous or scared.

Marilyn is never that hysterical, so why is Caroline pretending to be that entertained by what she’s saying?

I turn back to look at my screen and see a credit report much like most people’s. Her score needs a little work, but that’s mostly because she doesn’t have a long history of credit.

Another red flag.

How does a woman in her late twenties not have a decent length credit history? Her longest credit card only goes back three years. She has no student loan debt. No car loan. Most surprisingly, no mortgage.

I snap my head around to look out the window at Caroline as she stands laughing with Marilyn. Nothing about this woman makes sense. No mortgage? How the hell did she buy that house?

Then it dawns on me. The house isn’t hers. It’s mortgaged to another name. That must be it.

Quickly, I begin searching the property to find out who’s behind Park Circle’s newest resident. Now I’ll have something to work with because once I find out the name of the man or woman who owns the house, I’ll be able to piece together some details about little miss green house.

My hands shake at the thought that I’m about to unravel at least part of the mystery of Caroline Townsend. I scan the words in front of me to find out the true owner of 12 Park Circle. My heart beats wildly as I feel the truth just seconds away.

And then I see it. This isn’t possible.

The owner of 12 Park Circle, Raven Terrace, Pennsylvania is Caroline Townsend. She purchased the home for just over four hundred thousand dollars less than a month ago.

Not possible. Someone has made a mistake. Who is this woman and what is she hiding?

I have to know. It’s going to kill me if I don’t find out. I will unravel this mystery. It will just take more time and something I generally don’t like to engage in very often.

Personal interaction.

That will happen at the Dog Days of Summer party Kimmy and Marilyn are so busy planning at this very moment. I’ll talk to Caroline and find out all I can about her. If I can, I’ll find a way to get inside her house so I can search for any papers that will tell me who she really is and how she’s able to afford that house.

Happy to know I won’t be forced to accept whatever lies she’s telling, I make my way over to the front window and watch her still talking to Marilyn. The laughing has stopped, though. Ifollow their gazes and see they’re looking at Aaron’s house next door.

That explains why nobody’s having a good time anymore.

The older woman sees me and waves, and although I usually prefer not to engage when I’m working, I make an exception to that rule today and return the gesture, adding a smile to make it seem like I’m not watching them.

Caroline turns to look at me, and for a moment, I don’t see the usual friendly neighbor expression everyone but the mourning husband next door gives me whenever they see me. No, the look she gives me is nothing short of piercing.

I wave and smile to her too, and after a few seconds, her expression brightens and she waves back, giving me a big smile. But I know she doesn’t mean it. Her first look was her true one.

The question is why is Caroline Townsend so unhappy to see the mild-mannered consultant who works from home and doesn’t bother anyone? Perhaps she knows out of all of these people, I’m the one who can learn the truth of who she really is.

3

As soon asI open my front door, the sounds of Kimmy and Marilyn’s party hit me like a rude slap to the face. I waited as long as I could today before I decided to join the festivities. More than once I told myself I didn’t need to go to this thing. Just because I live in this neighborhood doesn’t mean I have to be a part of every damn event that happens outside my door.

Then every time that thought popped into my head, I reminded myself today isn’t about celebrating the dog days of summer or even being a good neighbor. No, today is for finding out about Caroline Townsend and uncovering the secret she’s keeping from the world.

True to the party theme, the heat of the day has settled in on Park Circle earlier than usual. It’s only noon, yet sweat almost instantly begins to form where my hairline meets my forehead. Whoever thought sitting out in this kind of weather celebrating our little cul-de-sac is a good thing must be out of their mind.

As that thought marches through my brain, I see Kimmy waving at me. She seems excited about something. I tepidly wave back, wondering what her big grin could mean as she hurriedly rushes toward me.