My Neighbor's Secret by Rowe Lauren

Author:Rowe, Lauren
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SoCoRo Publishing
Published: 2023-12-02T00:00:00+00:00

18

AUGGIE

Iknock on Charlotte’s front door, and when she opens it, she practically rips the thing off its hinges. “The peephole was your grandma’s idea!” she shouts, as Lucky greets me at my feet. “Althea was Lloyd’s friend. His guardian angel. Not his victim. Althea adored Lloyd, and he adored her!”

I’m too flabbergasted and confused to reply with anything except, “What?”

Charlotte grabs my arm and yanks me inside, shouting, “I can’t wait to show you everything.”

A few seconds later, I’m sitting at the card table in Charlotte’s living room with Lucky on my lap and the video camera and cassettes in front of me, while Charlotte bounces and bops around in front of me, too amped, apparently, to sit down next to me while explaining the situation to me.

“Remember those names on the cassettes?” she says. “The names besides your grandma’s—Mabel, Clara, and Jeannie? Those weren’t the victims of a gross peeping Tom. They were Lloyd’s beloved family members—his wife, daughter, and granddaughter! They all died in a horrible, terrible head-on car crash. Lloyd’s son-in-law, too. Everyone died that day, except for poor Lloyd.” With tears welling in her eyes, Charlotte launches into a detailed explanation about everything she discovered today about Lloyd Graham and his family. She tells me about some internet research that confirmed the crash and all its tragic details. And about Lloyd’s wife playing the piano, and the way they loved to waltz around. A baby’s christening. A fifth birthday party. But as sweet and tragic as it all is, after ten minutes, I can’t take it anymore. Charlotte still hasn’t gotten to the part about my grandmother.

“What about Althea,” I interject. “What did you see on the cassettes about—"

“I’m getting there, honey. Please, be patient. Trust me, you need to understand what happened before Althea came along to understand her friendship with Lloyd and, therefore, why she suggested the peephole.”

That last part blows my mind. I can’t fathom it. “Why do you think she suggested the peephole?” I ask, despite her request for patience. Surely, Charlotte’s made some bizarre leaps in logic to arrive at a conclusion that insane and far-fetched.

“Because Althea herself said the peephole was her idea in a video!”

My jaw drops. “What?”

Charlotte pats my head like I’m her doggie. “Never fear, I’ll show you everything. But before we get to the peephole, I want you to watch all the Althea cassettes in order, just like I did, so you can watch Lloyd and Althea’s friendship form and grow. The first time Lloyd took a video of Althea was four years ago—a full ten years after the cassette before that one.”

Charlotte drags a chair right next to mine at the card table, sits down, and grabs the video camera. While she’s busy inserting the first Althea cassette into it, I say, “Four years ago is when my grandma moved into the building. She wanted a change of scenery after my grandpa died.”

“Press play.” She hands me the video camera. “Keep in mind these are

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