Page 80 of The Man Next Door
“There are no other bones,” said Gilda, sounding disappointed.
“That doesn’t mean anything. Remember the Raymond Burr character inRear Window—what was his name?—Mr. Thorwald! That man had butchered his wife and buried her all over,” said Louise. “No, wait. He buried her body in the river and put her head in a hat box. Was that it? Well, anyway, he cut her up. And we have a bone and here’s the hole.”
“Good point,” said Gilda. “For all we know, the rest of her could be in the man’s freezer. Like the man in LA.”
They were about to go back to the house when Alec James drove up and pulled into his driveway. Louise’s stomach dove for her toes.
“He can’t take us both down here in broad daylight,” Gilda assured her, and Louise swallowed her terror and raised her chin.
He got out of his truck and started toward them at a casual stroll. “Is there something you’re looking for, ladies?”
“No. My dog found it,” Louise said.
“And what was that?”
“A bone,” she said.
“A bloody bone,” Gilda put in.
“From that hole,” Louise added, pointing to it.
His brows pulled together and he frowned. “A bone,” he repeated.
“A human bone,” said Louise.
His eyes got big. “You’re kidding, right? You think your dog buried a human bone on my property.”
“No, I think my dog dug up a human bone on your property,” said Louise. “What do you make of that?” she added, and watched for his response.
“I think that sounds a little far-fetched,” he said.
“Not necessarily,” Gilda said boldly.
Martin happened to be driving past. He stopped his car and let down his window. “Am I missing a party?” he called.
“It’s not a party,” Louise replied. “Darling is back, and he’s found a human bone. Here,” she added, pointing to the incriminating hole.
That was all it took to get Martin out of his car.
“I find that very odd. Don’t you, Mr. James?” Louise said to her neighbor as Martin hurried over. They had a witness now. Alec James wouldn’t dare touch her. “I’m just wondering how a human bone came to be buried inyouryard,” she challenged, and raised both eyebrows.
Alec James stared at her, at first not comprehending, then he gaped. “Wait a minute. You think...?”
She let her raised eyebrows speak for her.
“Oh, yeah, right. I’d murder someone and bury them in my flowerbed.”
“Evidence doesn’t lie,” said Gilda.
“This is nuts. They think I’m burying body parts in my front yard,” he said to Martin as he joined them. “Because if I was going to cut someone up and bury that person, I’d bury part of them in my front yard where everyone could see me,” he finished in disgust.
“Nobody would see you at night,” Louise informed him. Well, except her when she was observing him from her bedroom window. When had he found the time to do it? It must have been very late at night.
And this was only one bone. Where was the rest of the woman? She remembered the scene fromRear Window, with creepy Mr. Thorwald going back and forth from his apartment on a dark and stormy night, methodically getting rid of the grisly evidence. She shuddered and inched closer to Martin.
“Hiding in plain sight, like inThe Purloined Letter,” said Gilda.
Alec James began to laugh, and Louise’s fear was replaced by irritation. “Oh, you laugh now,” she said. “We’ll see who has the last laugh when I call the police.”
