Page 17 of The Psychopath Next Door

7

‘I’m bored.’

It was Monday so the shop was closed – we opened Tuesday to Saturday – and Emma was at work. Rose had come into the garden, where I had been mowing the lawn and was now weeding, my least favourite job in the world, especially when it was this hot, nudging into the thirties. Lola sat on the decking in the shade and watched me.

‘Why don’t you give me a hand?’ I said to Rose, going over to join her. She looked at me like I’d asked her to climb on to the roof to fix a leaky gutter.

‘Gardening?’

I resisted the urge to tell her how her great-grandad had worked in the hop fields of Kent from the age of nine. I hadn’t exactly done much gardening when I was her age. ‘Have you done your holiday homework?’

‘Dad, that doesn’t have to be done for five weeks.’

‘Um, have you completedTears of the Kingdom?’ That was the new game we’d bought her for her Switch a few weeks ago. I reeled through a list of things she could do, from watching Netflix to tidying her bedroom.

‘Everything’s boring.’ She approached Lola and petted her. ‘I could take Lola out.’

‘Not on your own.’ Dylan was out with his mates. ‘And don’t say you’re not a baby. Twelve is too young to take a dog out on your own.’

‘But it’s fine now. Safe.’

I turned to look at her. ‘When was it not safe?’

‘I mean ... I’m old enough.’

‘No, Rose. What if she, I don’t know, slipped her leash?’

She tutted. ‘That’s such a lame reason.’

Then, for the second time in a week, a voice came from over the fence. ‘I’ve got something that might entertain you.’ Both Rose and I looked to see Fiona peering over from her garden. ‘Maybe Rose would like to come and meet my new friend.’

‘New friend?’ Rose said.

‘Wait there.’

From my position on the decking, which gave a view over the fence, I watched as Fiona went back into her house. She was wearing cut-off denim shorts and had bare feet, and I could see the dirt on her soles as she walked away, and a little heart-shaped mark on her ankle. As she reached her house she surprised me by looking back over her shoulder. She must have thought I was staring at her body and I quickly looked away.

She didn’t appear annoyed, though. In fact, she smiled. And a minute later she came back holding something black and white and almost unbearably cute.

‘Oh! A kitten!’ Rose rushed over to the fence where Fiona stood, holding the cat out so Rose could stroke it.

‘She’s a little girl, and I need to think of a name for her. Maybe you could come over and help me – if that’s all right with your dad.’

They both looked at me. The kitten looked at me too. ‘That’s absolutely fine by me. Just as long as you don’t outstay your welcome, Rose.’

‘I’ll kick her out as soon as we’ve come up with a good name,’ Fiona said. She winked at Rose, then let her in through the back gate. She paused and said to me, ‘Oh, do you want to come over too? I have cold lemonade in the fridge.’

It was tempting. Rose wasn’t the only one who liked kittens. And there was Fiona, standing there in her little shorts, a hand on her hip, skin glowing with perspiration. Then I noticed Rose staring at me like she didn’t recognise me. Shit, I didn’t recognise myself.

‘I need to finish this weeding.’

‘Suit yourself.’

They disappeared into the house with the kitten and I consciously didn’t look at Fiona’s legs, or her bum in her little shorts, as she walked away. I blamed the heat. I needed a cold shower.

Instead, I finished the gardening, then took the bin that contained the mown grass and weeds out to the front of the house. As I placed it in position I saw Iris, the woman who lived next door to Tommy and Nicola. I’d met her a few times. She was in her early seventies; grey hair, slim and fit. She could often be seen out running in her lime-green Nike gear and baseball cap, and she drove an electric hybrid, proud of her eco credentials. She had its hood open now and was refilling the windscreen reservoir.

‘Oh, hello Ethan,’ she said as I approached.

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