Rear Window

I could see him standing at the table with a knife in his hand; he had rubber gloves on and was cutting something. He appeared uneasy as he went about his work.

“Who are on earth are you spying on now?”

I turned quickly, and the cord of the binoculars tightened round my neck like a noose.

“God! Do you have to creep up on me like that?”

The Blonde stood in front of me, looking out of the window. “You’re turning into a peeping Tony. Why are you behaving like a stalker?  Haven’t we had enough stalkers in the family lately?

“Are you referring to my mother?”

“You know exactly who I mean.”

“I’m not stalking; I was watching the cat, to see if I could find out where she goes at night. Then I saw this guy in his kitchen cutting up something on the table.”

“Which guy?

“You know – the guy opposite with the Volvo, the one with the really annoying walk.”

The blonde shrugged her shoulders and started laying the table with a clatter of cutlery. She stopped suddenly. “So what exactly is he cutting up?”

“I can’t… quite… see….”

I lit a cigarette and moved closer to the window and adjusted the zoom. “Wait! It looks like some kind of meat, and he’s putting the chopped-up pieces into a……..into a bin bag.”

The Blonde made a puffing sound with her cheeks. “I’ve made you a steak pie for dinner is that OK?”

“I’m not sure I fancy meat tonight.”

She came up behind me and put her hands on my shoulders and whispered in my ear. “How long has the cat been gone?”

“About two hours. I watched her go along that path and then turn left, towards his house. Then I lost sight of her.”

The Blonde lit two vanilla candles and placed them on the table. “How can you see out of those things? Come and have a drink and stop worrying about the cat.”

“They are infrared. I think I’ll go out and see if I can find her.”

“Oh for goodness sake. Last week you wanted to get rid of the cat. Now you are behaving as if you’ve lost the love of your life. Do you think she’s been kidnapped, or catnapped? Or do you just want to spy on Volvo-man?”

I stood, with one hand on the door. Maybe The Blonde was right. I was overreacting. Things aren’t always what they seem. Then again, what if something had happened to her?

“I’ll just go and check. I won’t be long.”

As I closed the door, I heard The Blond mutter something under her breath as she uncorked a bottle of Prosecco.

Night was falling quickly, with visible speed, like a black sea creeping over the earth. I followed the path the cat had taken and then turned left towards his house. I thought of calling her name. I even looked for blood on the path, but it was too dark to see.  As I reached his house, he was still in the kitchen. A square of light showed at the back of the house, and now and again his figure crossed the light.

The Volvo stood in the driveway, and I could hear the faint ticking as the engine cooled. The darkness was thickening. Maybe she had been scared by something and was hiding under the car. I moved around the square of light thrown from his rear window. Just then I heard a noise behind me. As I turned, the kitchen door opened, and steps sounded on the wooden porch. Volvo-man’s steps. He was carrying the black plastic bag. He was struggling with the weight of it. He still had gloves on, and I could see the sweat glistening on his brow.

I ducked down below the bonnet of the car as he came closer. He looked around furtively, and opened the trunk and heaved the bag into it. He locked the car and turned back towards the house. Then he stopped dead in his tracks, and I could hear his breathing coming in short bursts. He looked back at the car, as if he had lost something. He lifted his eyes as if he was looking directly at me. He stood motionless, his lips parted as if about to speak. I crouched lower, one foot advanced for a step I dare not take.

A pair of headlights came slowly from the right along the road. He turned quickly, climbed the steps to his kitchen and closed the door. I reached the pathway in two huge leaps and made my way back home.

As I walked into the lounge, The Blonde looked up from her book, her eyes searching me. “Well…..did you find her?”

I lit a cigarette, opened the back doors and walked out onto the patio. “No, I didn’t.”

She came up behind me and put her arms around my waist. “We’ll probably get a ransom note in the morning. I’m kidding! She’ll be home soon, I’m sure she will.”

I looked over towards the dark woods; I couldn’t help but wonder, what might be lying in the trunk of that Volvo.

I turned to The Blonde and stroked her face. “What are you reading?” I asked.

“The Shining.” she said, her eyes twinkling under the moonlit sky.