Don’t Look Now

Excerpt

He stood among the crowd of nosy neighbors watching the excavations. One of the homes had burned down recently, which had led to the discovery of the bodies.

His handiwork. 

He’d been so careful to make sure they would never be found. And they wouldn’t have been, if the construction crew hadn’t torn out the foundation. They’d messed with the dirt around it and dug them up.

No way he could have seen that coming. Now the cops would be looking for him. And the timing wasn’t the greatest. It would’ve been better if he didn’t have his next project to take care of. Focusing on her and this was too much. 

But he’d manage. Somehow. Could try looking at it as an extra challenge. 

He didn’t want any complications. 

Not that anyone had asked him. It was time for a change, of course, regardless. He would have to focus on both. It was just a wrench in his plans. Nothing he couldn’t handle if he gave it enough thought. 

Someone bumped him. A guy with a fancy suit. This neighborhood had more lawyers than the local courthouse. 

“Sorry,” said the guy. “Can you believe there are bodies here in Rosy Hills?”

“Inconceivable.” It was hard to be convincing. These people all lived in a fantasy world where nothing ever went wrong for them.

The neighbor didn’t seem to notice his lack of enthusiasm. “You think the Jones’s did it?” 

“Couldn’t say.”

“I wouldn’t mind taking the case. Could use the publicity for my firm.”

He’d called it. Lawyer.

The coroner brought out the first body on a rolling cart. The bags never looked as neat and pretty as the bags on TV. This one was a hideous shade of green and looked like it had seen better days.

One lady gasped and ran from the crowd. 

She shouldn’t gawk if she couldn’t handle it. And it wasn’t like anyone could see the body inside the bag. It would only be bones at this point anyway. Nothing to get bent out of shape over.

After the coroner placed the second bag into the van, the vehicle drove away.

Just two bodies? They must not have discovered the third. 

He’d definitely buried three there. 

Good news was, that was less to get convicted of if any evidence pointed toward him. Not that it should. He’d always been careful. But he hadn’t been as skilled in his early days when he’d buried them. Might’ve made a slip-up — like burying them too close to the foundation. Not that he could have foreseen the arson. 

Who’d have thought this safe gated community had two criminals living within its gates? Now just one. Him. And he wouldn’t get caught. He’d been careful, even if he hadn’t been as skillful.

This just upped the stakes. Added more excitement to the thrill. 

He would have to prepare for the questions. Even if the cops didn’t suspect him, they’d talk to everyone in the neighborhood. Might start poking around as early as tonight. For now, they were busy.

This might set back the Jones’s efforts to rebuild their torched home. Especially if the authorities decided to look around for more bodies. If they found the third, they’d be anxious to tear apart the entire property.

They might even want to look around in other neighbor’s yards.

If they did, they might discover the full extent of his handiwork. 

But for now, they didn’t even know about the last body on the property they were already examining. The chances of them exploring beyond were unlikely. They’d be busy enough with the two bodies.

That was great news for him. 

Not that he could relax. He would remain on high alert as long as the cops were digging around — either literally or figuratively. 

It was time to check on his current project, and then he needed to leave the neighborhood for a while. Wait for the police to finish questioning everyone. They’d be back to talk to him, but at least that would give him more time to plan around this curveball. 

He needed as much time as he could get to pull together a story to throw them off his trail. It would have to be solid and he would need to know it well. Couldn’t slip up and accidentally change even one detail in his story.

Speaking of the cops, two uniformed officers were headed straight for the throng of gawkers. Given that it was the early afternoon, it was mostly housewives with a few of the work-from-home husbands. Maybe some of the wives were in the same boat. But with the money flowing here, it was unlikely. A lot of these husbands saw their wives not working as a status symbol.

His wife didn’t work either, but he had a completely different reason for that. Something he doubted any of the other men in the neighborhood cared about.