Stare Down by Ellen Parker

Author:Ellen Parker [Parker, Ellen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary, Suspense
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2015-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Dave leaned against his Prius and examined the western sky. All the darker shades of gray were displayed in lobulated clouds. Ignoring the color and concentrating on the shapes alone, it could be a textbook photo of fatty tissue. He tipped his head and closed his eyes to savor the first gust of cool air.

Until a few minutes ago, the day had been sunny and hot, only a degree off the record at the airport. “Midwest May weather,” he mouthed to the sky, “everything except boring.”

“Are you coming inside?”

He snapped his eyes open and turned to face Mrs. Gossen standing on the back step. “Soon. Do you need something?”

“I don’t know about your generation, doc. Mine. We have enough sense to come in out of the rain. Laundry room,” she continued without pause, “when the sirens go off I expect to see you. Safest place in the building.”

He lifted a hand to acknowledge her. His next-door neighbor loved the sound of her own voice. Or perhaps she feared silence. Either way he understood during their first meeting it was best to treat her as social media. Don’t say a word you don’t want the entire world to know by sundown.

“You can do me a favor by taking this out to the dumpster.” She pointed to the half full trash bag at her feet. “Yes, I know the truck won’t be by until Monday. I’m also aware the tuna tin will be stinking up half the apartments by then. You like tuna? What did you cook the other night? It smelled good. Almost a light barbeque. I took the liberty to introduce myself to your guest. Your uncle? Nice man. It’s easy to see where you get your good looks.”

Dave set his backpack next to his car and took the few steps to her garbage sack. Should he even try to slide an answer into her monologue? “That would have been the spicy beef stew in the slow cooker.”

“Crock pot sort of cook. Figures. My daughter uses hers a lot. Works out good, she’s got one of those jobs which require overtime almost regular. I’d like to see her be home a little more. But the money’s good. She took the grandkids to Florida on their spring break. She gets to travel more than I ever did. Change of times. Oh, I’m glad for her, don’t get me wrong.”

“Pardon me.” He picked up the bag and crossed the parking lot to the dumpster. A single panel of privacy fence shielded the large bin on a concrete pad from the street. When he turned around, Mrs. Gossen had gone inside.

He shrugged, picked up his pack, and looked at the sky for another long moment. The clouds rolled toward the east, pulling their unique excitement over the city. He let his mind drift back to another storm, the year he was nine.

“Last one to the park feeds the dog.” He and his Cousin Aaron raced toward the neighborhood playground on their bikes.

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