Envy to Death: A Novel Shot by Judy Buch

Author:Judy Buch [Buch, Judy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-03-03T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Four

Esteen

Before I could reach the backdoor with the hedge shears gripped in my hands, a door slammed. Being on a corner lot, I caught a glimpse of someone running. Tires squealed, and a maroon pickup roared off.

Usually, I wouldn’t even try to run with my spastic gait, but curiosity had me by the legs, and I moved much faster than I should have. However, this time I didn’t fall and by the time I reached the street, the noise had settled into the natural sounds of a spring day, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

I stood at the front of the house where I had seen the truck drive off. The whole experience had left me shaking. Then a piece of paper fluttered on the welcome mat and caught my attention. I hobbled up the steps and retrieved it.

Huh. A receipt for burger and fries with today’s date. Proof that someone other than my mother or I had been in the house, at least on the front porch. I pocketed the slip of paper, cautiously opened the front door, and walked inside.

My phone lay conspicuously on the kitchen counter which made no sense. Why hadn’t the thief swiped that as well? I texted Detective Wyatt about the events and within a couple of minutes, he texted back.

“You alright?”

“I think so, the culprit took off.”

“I’ll be there soon as I can,” he typed, “but if you need immediate assistance call 911.”

I held tight to the garden shears poised for personal protection, and walked through the downstairs rooms, alert to the slightest danger. Yet everything remained undisturbed.

Upstairs in my mother’s bedroom again, nothing seemed out of place. I laid down the shears and opened the lid to her jewelry box. I noticed her wedding and engagement rings still there. It touched me that she had tied them together with a ribbon, as if treasured, even though many years divorced. In another velvet compartment lay the bracelet with the dangling heart. I remembered that Joni and I had pooled our allowance money to buy it for her birthday one year.

Then after it had been lost for several months, Joni found it. It had fallen inside the swivel chair, the chair intended for the baby’s room. Joni had laughed and said the chair had a bad reputation for ‘eating’ things.

I picked up the shears and entered my own bedroom. I had nothing of any real value in there, except for my smartwatch. I blinked. It was gone. Along with its charge cord.

I stared at the place where the smartwatch had been. Odd, I thought, that the burglar had taken only that one thing.

On the third floor, I stopped in the doorway to my office and breathed easier, seeing my computer still on the desk. But it was curious why it had not been stolen either. I slid onto the edge of the chair and opened the lid, making sure that my important work docs were still in order. They were.

A moment later, I heard a loud rap at the front door and hurried down the stairs to the second floor.

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