Chapter Thirty
When I realizedhe’d spotted me, I had to think and move quickly. I dashed over to the next house, which was only a few feet away, and dove into the big scratchy bush. The leaves were so dense that sunlight barely filtered through. I thought for sure he was going to come over and check it out, but he was obsessed with the trees and foliage in the small parkway. Good for me.
While he’d watched the trees like a hound dog, the ants and spiders feasted on me, but I didn’t move a muscle. Normally, I would’ve brushed them away and climbed out from under the bush, but I laid there silent and unmoving. I had to. He was out there listening, waiting. One movement, one shout, and it was all over. So I let them crawl on me, let their stings prick at my skin, and I didn’t even flinch. And Dr. Clemmons had said I didn’t have any self-restraint.He should see me now. What a fucking quack.
Brushing off the twigs and dirt from my hair and clothes, I was happy that he’d finally left. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could’ve stood the bugs crawling all over me. That was a close call. Now I knew better than to risk coming over before sunset. It wouldn’t happen again.
I walked down the sidewalk, engrossed in thought when I literally bumped into the woman with the dog—Patricia. Again!
“It’s you again. Hello. Are you taking advantage of our beautiful Indian summer evening? We won’t have too many of them before the cold sets in. I can already feel the chill in the night air.”
Turning my head in such a way that she couldn’t see my full face, I grunted my agreement, hoping it’d be good enough for her to leave me the hell alone. But it wasn’t my night. She kept talking and trying to engage me in conversation.
“It’s nice to see people walking in the neighborhood. It makes me think of when I grew up and everyone was out and about on a nice night. We didn’t even lock our doors. We didn’t have to.”
Shut the fuck up!Why did people impose themselves on others? I’d never done that, and I found it extremely rude when people insisted on doing it to me. This old lady had crossed the line. She could also identify me when the cops started asking questions once they found Raven Harris’s bloody body.
“Where did you say you lived, ma’am?”
“Across the street in the red brick house with yellow trim. I just painted the trim last summer. I love it. I always wanted it yellow but my husband didn’t. He was very conservative and traditional. For him, it was white trim or brown, nothing else. When he died a couple of years ago, I was so sad, and a friend of mine suggested I lose myself in a house project. So I painted the trim yellow. I know a lot of peop—”
“I’m sorry but I have to go. Maybe we’ll meet again sometime soon.”
“Oh… yes. I’m sure we will. Goodbye.”
I mumbled my goodbye and rushed to my car a few blocks away. I’d be back, but I had to wait until it got darker. I decided to grab a bite to eat before I returned.
Three hours later, I waited until the old lady and her dog came out for another walk before she closed up her house for the night. She didn’t disappoint me. And that time, I purposely bumped into her. She was elated to see me and we engaged in tortuous chitchat. Then I asked her to come into the alley with me because I wanted to show her something a bit strange that I’d stumbled onto that evening.
Being the busybody that I’d suspected she was, she gladly followed me into the alley.
“What is it you want me to see? It’s so dark I don’t think I’ll be able to see anything. Teddy has good eyesight even though he’s going on eleven years. That’s not so old for a small dog.”
“That’s fascinating,” I said as I led her deeper into the dark alley.
“Oh… I tripped. I don’t think I can go any farther. I don’t want to fall and break my hip. People my age have to worry about that.”
“We’re exactly where we need to be. Come over and look at this. I’ve got a flashlight.”
When she came over and bent down, I went around and stood behind her. Flashing a beacon of light on the concrete, I said, “Do you see it?”
“No. What am I looking for?”
“Eternal silence.” And with one blow from my heavy-duty flashlight, I crushed her skull. She didn’t even cry out, it was that swift. I then proceeded to beat her to death. I got rid of a lot of anger in that beating, and I felt so much better as I walked down the alley.
Careful not to have anyone see me, I hurried along the shadowed sidewalks until I reached my car. As I drove by the front of the duplex, I saw that they weren’t home yet. Staring at it for a few moments, I thought about how far I’d come in taking charge of my life and not letting people bully me around.
I’d eliminated the pesky old woman who could identify me. Now the road was clear.
I was ready to kill Raven Harris.
