For my dad whom I miss a little more each day Wish he was here to read this
CHAPTER 1 If there’s one thing I know for certain it’s that Mike Warren is always late Calm down he texts I’m coming I sigh heavily as though he can hear me from his house which almost leans against my own they’re so close together From the outside the houses themselves are nearly identical except there’s a dog perched in my living room window Billy’s old eyes stare me down as if to ask Why don’t you take me with you anymore I offer him a weak smile before turning back around facing Goodie Lane You ready Mike asks startling me as he finally joins me on the sidewalk He lowers his Yankees hat over his eyes and offers me one of his smirks before flicking on the end of my ponytail Are you ever going to be on time I ask tossing my hair out of his reach It’s six thirty-five Wow Parker Five whole minutes Yes Five Whole Minutes Late What can I say I need my beauty sleep in the morning Unlike some people He raises an eyebrow in a way that makes me blush He notices and laughs Just kidding Parker Don’t be so serious I scowl at him and start to jog in place You warm Who isn’t It’s ninety degrees out here Then let’s go They’re not coming Of course they’re coming They come every morning
I wave my hand across the street motioning to the empty lawns Look No one’s there He whistles under his breath just as one of the front doors opens Told you Here comes Ms Bea I follow his gaze just as our neighbor glides out of her house on a pair of delicate heels As usual her face is painted as if she’s ready for an old-movie premiere even though it’s six thirty in the morning red lips rosy cheeks spider-leg lashes and smooth plastic-looking skin despite the fact that she’s supposedly older than my grandma Jane A layered gold necklace hangs around her neck shimmering against her long emerald gown Her hair is black and woven into an elegant knot on the top of her head Good morning Ms Bea Mike calls waving and smiling from my driveway Ms Bea arches a penciled eyebrow What’s good about it she snarls Sun’s shining Mike goes on He smiles at the sky for emphasis Some nice fluffy white clouds Ease up I hiss at his side You’re laying it on too thick She loves it he whispers back Then to Ms Bea he shouts Your roses look extra nice today Before she can answer the rest of the neighbors pour out of their homes and shuffle onto their own manicured lawns Like Ms Bea they’re well-dressed actually they are overdressed in uncomfortable-looking old-fashioned clothes Their skin looks flawless and they wear frowns that rival Ms Bea’s Mike waves and smiles at them but they ignore him turning their attention toward their roses and their watering cans just as they have been doing morning after morning for the last two weeks ever since Mike and I started our investigation
You’re staring Pretend to stretch I whisper dropping into a forward bend and feeling the familiar burn in the backs of my calves Mike follows my lead his head close to mine You see anything new he asks I peer up at the Oldies our nickname for our neighbors It’s hard to see from here I admit straining my eyes across the street Ms Attwood’s nose looks pointier and slightly crooked Kind of like a cartoon witch’s You see it Mike peers up from his stretch Noted he says Check out Dr Smith He’s swinging that watering can around way easier than he was last week It’s like his shoulder doesn’t bother him anymore Noted I stand upright and stretch out my quads signaling for Mike to do the same I hear Billy scratching at the window whimpering to get out and join us Sorry bud It’s too hot Billy stops scratching as if he somehow understands his eyes looking even sadder than normal sweet brown eyes that have lost their sparkle since Dad died last year It was Dad who first suspected that something was up with the Oldies They’re kind of creepy don’t you think he’d ask Mom and me at dinner It’s kind of like they never age They’re old but not old enough if you know what I mean Leave those people alone James Mom would plead No one likes living across the street from a nosy cop What about a nosy daughter At this he would smile and ruffle my hair Together we’d laugh and continue to exchange our theories about the Oldies despite Mom’s disapproval In the beginning we’d suggest the easy-to-explain stuff Botox titanium limbs plastic surgery It wasn’t until later that the more
