The Man Next Door. Chapter 8.

Mother: Coming here I walked down the lane, looking for any sign of the small red car that followed me up the lane last night. I think I saw it, parked in front of the flats at the bottom of the lane.

I had a scarey feeling when I saw that the man standing next to the small red car was the creepy, evil-looking young madman I had felt afraid of when I first saw him in the yard of a house near your's.

My hair stood on end as I thought about how close he had been to me in that dark lane last night.


Older Daughter:  Wow!


Mother: I memorised the car's number plates and the look of the car, but I couldn't tell what make it was.


Older Daughter: Maybe you should ring the police, in case there are other incidents involving a small red car, that the madman may be responsible for.



A WEEK LATER.
Mother (on mobile phone to daughter): I thought I should tell you that something scarey happened again tonight. As I left your place I saw someone sitting on the fence in front of the flats across the road.

There was something menacing about the figure, and as I got closer I saw that it was the young madman.
He seemed to be waiting for me. His car was parked in front of him.

When he saw that I was about to walk up the street straight ahead, instead of walking past him and up the lane, he looked very angry and agitated, and he jumped up wildly, shouting ..."Shit!"..."Shit"!..."Shit!"...
He headed in my direction, then on towards his car as I moved past, heading up the street.

I think he had been planning to have another go at running me down, or following me up the lane. Now I was afraid he might still drive after me, looking for another opportunity to run me down.

I got to the station alright, but I thought I should warn you to be extra careful, with that crazy man around, so close to your house.


Older Daughter:  Thanks for scaring me!



ANOTHER NIGHT.
Mother:  What on earth has the man next door done to his kitchen window?


Daughter:  Maybe he has installed that shelf half way up the window so he can hang that tea towel from it, to hide behind when he's at the kitchen sink.



LATER.
Daughter:  I just saw the man next door's girlfriend at his sink, and she looked across through the gap beside the tea towel, and caught my eye. Then she waved.


Mother:  How did you respond?


Daughter:  I felt embarrassed, so I moved out of sight.


Mother:  So the laughing girlfriend still visits next door. I haven't heard her laughter lately.


Daughter:  She still visits, but she doesn't laugh any more.



ANOTHER DAY.
Mother:  Did you notice all the work being done next door today? I had a good look at the man next door's girlfriend as she helped him clean up the place. I could see her thick, wavy, dark hair and the long-suffering expression on her face. She didn't seen to be having fun. When I saw her emptying the vacuum cleaner she was wearing a face mask.


Daughter: Yes, they must have done a big job. The man next door was finding a lot of rubbish to put in the trailer he has out the front. And the back of his ute is already overloaded with junk.



LATER THAT DAY.
Mother: When I walked past the house next door the front door was open and I could see young men inside, and the man next door was there, working on something. I could see that there are no floorboards in place along most of the hallway, which is now blocked by a bike, and other bulky items, so people coming into the house have to soon step sideways, into the front room.


Daughter: Now you can see the man next door through his kitchen window, cutting up food. He must be going to have a party. You have to admit, there must be something charismatic about him, the way people like to visit his house, in spite of the chaos there.


LATER.
(Loud but enjoyable music, and the sounds of people talking, indicated that the party was starting.)


(To Be Continued.)