‘The apartment building has changed ownership. More details to follow soon.’Notice in my mailbox.
***
The man who we all knew beat his wife was found hanging from the ceiling fan two days later.
***
The couple who were supplying drugs to the neighborhood kids found themselves gunned down in a turf war.
***
My perfume bottle, which was half empty, was gone.
I growled.
That motherfucker.
I got in my car and started for the clubhouse.
That sneaky little shit.
And then... when I got to the chain-length fence... I stopped my car and stared.
I braced my forehead on the steering wheel.
I drove past it and headed to work.
He was the one hiding in the shadows.
After my shift at the hospital, there was a note on my kitchen island.
Year Eight - Age 28
The underwear I had on the day before was gone.
I smirked.
Year Nine - Age 29
Someone followed me home from the restaurant where I had dinner with my girlfriends.
Someone anonymous paid for my meal.
***
The curtains shifted with the breeze.
I knew that scent.
***
I tried to stay awake to see him, but I failed.
And in the morning... I saw it.
How long had it been there?
A black backpack sat at the side of the chair on the floor.