Neighborhood Watch (12 page)

“Don’t you think you’re overreacting, honey? I mean, why spite yourself just to spite them?”

“So we won’t be as well organized as everyone else in Emerald Lakes, Teddy. You have a problem with that?” she challenged, turning on him, her hands on her hips.

He smiled and put up his hands.

“No, ma’am. No problem. Put the salt and pepper in the stove if you want,” he said.

“Maybe I will,” she said and returned to her delightful disorganization. Strategically, he made a retreat. Conversation remained strained at dinner, after which Kristin cleaned up and retired to the bedroom to watch television. Her emotional outburst and anger had exhausted her and she was asleep by the time Teddy joined her. He turned off the

television and went to sleep trying to recall if Kristin was this emotionally tense during her previous two pregnancies. He knew being with child sometimes played havoc with a woman’s hormones and moods, and decided he would try to think of something to cheer her up tomorrow.

Early the next morning, even before Teddy left for work, the door buzzer rang. Day

security was there.

“What’s up?” Teddy asked.

“Just delivering these,” the guard said. He handed Teddy the new directory pages.

“Would you please substitute them in the directory and destroy the old pages?”

Teddy gazed at the papers for a moment and then shook his head.

“Sure, thanks.” He noticed the guard had a number of these pages under his arm. “You’re delivering this to everyone this morning?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Right, thanks,” Teddy said. He brought the pages to the kitchenette.

“Who was that?” Kristin asked, lowering her coffee cup.

“Security. Delivering this.” He handed the pages to her. She perused them quickly and looked up.

“Just for spite, Teddy. They got this out and done so quickly just to annoy me.”

“Oh, come on, Kristin. You were upset so they got on their pedals and pumped to

eliminate what disturbed you.”

“Me? Disturbed me? Don’t you mean us?”

“Of course. Let’s drop it. It’s over and done with.Why make everyone feel bad?”

“I didn’t write those words, Teddy.”

He nodded.

“The guard said to simply destroy the old pages and substitute these in the booklet.”

“I’m sure everyone will do that first thing,” Kristin said.

“It’s not like they wrote we committed a crime or committed adultery,” he said softly.

Her eyes widened.

“Oh, really? Why do you say
that?
”

He pressed his lips together hard to punish them for permitting the words to escape. It was as if he had stepped on a land mine. During the last trimester of Kristin’s first pregnancy, one of her jealous girlfriends had suggested Teddy was a little too cozy with a receptionist in the office, who just happened to be a bit of a flirt. She didn’t actually accuse him of anything, but the cloud of suspicion hung over them until Jennifer’s birth.

“Just as an example of what else it could have been. Jeez, Kristin, maybe Nikki Stanley is right. Maybe you are a bit paranoid,” he said, regretting it almost as quickly as the words escaped his lips. She slammed her coffee cup down so hard on the saucer, the

saucer split in two. Jennifer, who had been feeding Mr. Sniffles, looked up sharply. Even the puppy paused.

Kristin rose quickly, scooped up the two pieces of her saucer and dumped them in the garbage disposal.

“Sorry,” Teddy said. She didn’t respond. She started to take out last night’s dishes from the dishwasher and kept her back to him.

“Looks like I move into the doghouse with Mr. Sniffles,” Teddy told Jennifer. She looked at her mother and then back at Teddy, but she didn’t smile. She knew when smiles

weren’t appropriate. This was one of those times.

Teddy waited another moment and then got up and went to Kristin. When he put his arms around her, she pulled away.

“Come on, Kristin. I said I was sorry.”

“All right,” she said. “Let’s drop it. I’ve got to get Jennifer ready for school.”

“Right,” Teddy said, retreating. Before he left for work, he tried to kiss her good-bye.

She turned her face so he would have to kiss her cheek instead of her lips. He promised to call and left.

After she got Jennifer off, she decided to take a walk and followed the path behind the house to the lake, where she sat on a large boulder and gazed across the water. The breeze was cool and brisk, and the pine scent was refreshing. It really was a beautiful setting, pristine, with flocks of geese in their A-formation flying north, the rocks in the water glistening like diamonds, squirrels scurrying to and fro with an ecstatic frenzy, and here and there a rabbit tweaking its nose and then hopping into the brush. She watched the ripples in the water, occasionally catching the sight of a fish leaping out to feed on insects.

Across the lake where there weren’t any houses developed yet, the woods were deeper and darker. She thought she saw what looked like a hawk swoop down over the water and then fly into the trees. With the deep blue sky and the lazy movement of puffy milk white clouds above her, the scene had a meditative effect. She felt the tension seep out of her body. The profound, pleasurable experience of being in nature replaced her depression and anger with hope and calmness.

Maybe she had overreacted. How small and insignificant it seemed now that she had

time to put it in perspective. A couple of busybodies, women who had little or nothing to do with their lives but devote their time to the nitty-gritty of development life, invaded her privacy and then quickly retreated. Teddy was right: it was the only glitch in an otherwise smooth and easy transition. Jennifer had friends, the school was nice, life was comfortable and simple. Teddy liked his work and how could she ask for a better

environment in which to dabble in her own dream of becoming a successful composer of songs?

She sighed. She shouldn’t have jumped all over him like that and sent him away in anger.

If anything, they had come here to avoid tension, to escape the urban world and all the complications, stress, and pressure. It was just that she had been so shocked to open that pamphlet and confront the most unhappy, tragic event of their lives. The miscarriage had put a terrible strain on their relationship and they had done all they could to put it behind them. Neither of them referred to it anymore. It had reached the point where it seemed like it never really happened.

That’s why she was so positive neither of them had said anything that would lead anyone to suspect it. There was really only one place for them to have gotten the information: Doctor Hoffman, the O.B. who lived in their development. At Nikki’s and Jean’s

suggestion, she had decided to use him. She recalled that Hoffman’s wife, Arlene, was his receptionist. Maybe she had read her file or even discussed the file with her husband and then mentioned it to Nikki or Jean. How unprofessional. Kristin made up her mind she would question her and him about it at her next visit. If she didn’t like what she heard from the Hoffmans, she would seek another physician. Teddy didn’t have to know.

Poor Teddy, she thought, he really jumped in his seat when she broke that saucer. She was surprised at her vehemence herself. She never liked him going off unhappy when he went to work. He was a doctor and his mind should be clear and relaxed when he dealt with people and their eye ailments. Now she felt as guilty about her reaction this morning as she had felt angry. She would make it up to him, she thought. She would cook his favorite dinner, serve it by candlelight and afterward, curl up in his arms.

She stood up, gazed across the lake to take in the beautiful scene one more time, and then started back to her house. The woods were thin here so she could see well into the backyards of other homes. One had a nice redwood deck with steps that led to a pathway to the lake. The next one over had a Wedgwood blue gazebo. There was a swing set, too.

Once again, she thought how peaceful it was, peaceful and safe, a perfect place to bring up children.

Then she turned to her right and looked at the homes that ran along at a right angle to her street.

The sight of someone scurrying quickly over the yard of the first house stopped her. It was one of the security guards, and it looked like he had his pistol drawn. He crouched down and moved up the steps to the patio door. Kristin held her breath. What was going on? She waited and watched. When he reached the landing of the rear deck, he slapped his back against the wall and inched toward the door. He reached over with his left hand and tried the handle. It was locked so he crouched down again and went to a window. He attempted to open it, found it, too, was locked and then, using his pistol handle as a hammer, broke the glass, reached in, unlocked the window, and pushed it up.

Kristin moved closer, keeping herself behind a large oak tree. She heard a woman’s

scream and then silence. Her own heart was pounding. This was the brown and white

ranch-style house she and Jean had referred to when they met the other morning. She tried to recall who lived there and tried to envision the map in the directory that listed the residents.

Scurrying quickly now, she moved around her house to the front and hurried down the walk to the street. There was a security patrol car in front of the house. She looked up and down the street. No one else had come out to see what was happening. She waited a

moment and then continued slowly toward the house. Just before she arrived, one of the security guards came out the front door. A moment later he was followed by the security guard she had seen break the rear window.

They saw her approaching, but they didn’t stop.

“What’s going on?” she asked as they opened their car doors.

“False alarm,” the driver said. She recognized him as the man who had come to their house that first night, Spier.

“Yeah, thank goodness,” the other guard said as he got into the vehicle.

“Everything all right?” she asked Spier.

“Fine,” he said, smiling. He got into the vehicle and they drove off.

Kristin hesitated, looked back, saw there still wasn’t anyone else in the street, and then impulsively decided to march up to the front door. She pushed the buzzer and waited. No one came to the door. She thought about it a moment. Maybe there wasn’t anyone home and that’s why the security guards came running. But then, who did she hear scream? She looked down at the doormat and saw the residents’ name: Del Marco. Del Marco . . . the ones Jean said had an oil leak in their car.

She considered pushing the door buzzer again and decided against it, but as she turned and started down the walk, the door was thrust open. Kristin turned to see a tall, dark-haired woman, her hair disheveled, wearing a robe but barefoot. She had what looked like a frying pan clutched in her raised right hand like a club.

“I’m sorry,” Kristin said. “I didn’t mean to disturb you. I was returning from a walk to the lake when the security guards came and I saw one break into the rear of the house. I just wanted to see if everyone was all right.”

The woman’s arm slumped to her side. She leaned out to be sure the security guards

were gone and then gazed at Kristin.

“You’re the new resident? Morris?”

“Yes. I’m Kristin.”

“Welcome to Emerald Lakes,” she said and slammed the door.

“What part didn’t you understand, Teddy?” Kristin asked, annoyed. She shifted the

receiver from her left to right ear and leaned against the counter.

“They broke into the house? Why didn’t they just ring the doorbell?”

“Curious, isn’t it?” she said, the sarcasm dripping. Teddy thought a moment. “Well?

What do you think? Should I report it to Nikki and have it included in the monthly

newsletter? It isn’t as juicy as a miscarriage, I know, but . . .”

“Maybe they tried the doorbell, but Mrs. Del Marco didn’t hear it. She could have been in the bathroom or something, and they were worried. I’d rather have a broken window than a dead wife,” he said. “Besides, I’m sure the window will be replaced at the

homeowners association’s expense.”

“I’m not worried about the cost of the window, Teddy. The woman, Mrs. Del Marco, she came to that door with a frying pan to strike someone. I think she thought the security guards had returned. Why would she do that?”

“Maybe she was upset with the way they had come tearing into the house. Maybe she

was in the shower.”

“Maybe,” Kristin said, “but the way she said, ‘Welcome to Emerald Lakes.’ It was as if she had said ‘Welcome to hell.’ ”

“Oh, come on, Kristin.”

“You weren’t there.”

“She was upset so she was sarcastic. It’s understandable. I’m sure she feels sorry about it by now.”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, I do. Relax. You want to go out for dinner tonight? Hank was telling me about this Italian place in Middletown, just what you like, a hole in the wall, mom-and-pop

operation, authentic.”

She thought a moment. Maybe it was better they get out. She could cook his favorite meal another night.

“I think we both need a night out, honey. Alone.”

“Alone?”

“Yeah, why don’t you call one of the teenage girls listed in the directory under baby-sitters.”

“I like Jennifer to meet and get to know whomever we leave with her, Teddy.”

“So? Have the girl come over early and spend some time with her. Call . . . Jean and ask her who she recommends.”

“I don’t know if I care for her opinion about anything except laundry detergent,” Kristin said. “I’ll rely on my own instincts.”

“Fine. Gotta go.”

She cradled the phone, thought a moment and then went to the homeowners directory to study the names listed under approved baby-sitters. Who approved them? How were they approved? The doorbell interrupted her train of thought. She closed the directory and went to the foyer.

“Hi,” Jeannette Levine said and thrust a box of candy into Kristin’s hands. “Peace

offering,” she said and tilted her head.

“What?”

“To make up for what I included in your interview. I’m sorry. It was on the notepad so I just typed it in. I guess I won’t make editor after all.”