Chapter 9 - Why Mrs. Harris started watching
Mrs. Harris did not spy on the Maddox property for entertainment.
She heard barking.
Except no dog lived there.
That was the strange part.
The first night Emily was confined longer, Cole told her:
“If you’re going to cry like that, bark. Maybe somebody will think you belong in there.”
Emily did.
At first sarcastically.
Then because she thought someone might hear.
Mrs. Harris did.
She looked over the fence.
Saw the tarp.
Saw movement.
Called Rachel.
Rachel answered from the driveway.
Mrs. Harris asked:
“Is that Emily out back?”
Rachel said:
“She’s playing.”
Mrs. Harris believed her for about an hour.
Then after dark she saw Rachel and Cole carrying a black contractor bag toward the pool.
Then another.
Then another.
She became uneasy.
The next morning she saw Emily briefly at the back door.
Emily lifted one hand.
Rachel pulled her inside.
May you like
Mrs. Harris called me.
Thank God she did not decide family privacy was more important than discomfort.
