Page 16
“I really am sorry,” she said. “But I couldn’t sleep.”
“Yeah, well, neither could I.”
It occurred to Devra then how unlikely it would have been for him to hear her footsteps unless he too had been lying awake, listening to the sounds outside.
As if reading her mind, he said, “I find the hum comforting. That’s why I leave it on at night. I don’t do well with silence.”
“Okay. That’s fair. But I don’t do well with noise.”
“Okay, I understand that. Now. But I can think of far better ways to cope than slashing open poor Frosty.”
At this, he walked the few steps back to his porch and tugged at the lone cord plugged into the external outlet. The change was like a blackout. The bright lights, the whir of the motors vanished in an instant. There was no sound but the slow release of air as the ensemble cast deflated into perfect stillness.
Devra closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, the air flowing more freely through her lungs. “Thank you,” she whispered. When she opened her eyes again, she saw his backlit form in a different way.
He looked positively striking, standing there, tall and broad chested in a tight white tee and fuzzy pajama bottoms, his blond hair flamed by the porch light. He held the cord like a superhero who’d just saved the city.
For an instant, she rewrote her entire impression of Bradley the Menacing Serial Killer. Until she spotted the unmarked white van parked in front of his house.
Her breathing lost its smooth cadence, and she dropped her gaze. She didn’t know a single thing about this man. He could still be anyone. It was December. His being here wasn’t a coincidence. He could—
“I’m sorry about your cat, you know.”
“You’re what?”
“I’m sorry about feeding your cat. I honestly didn’t know she was yours. I only wanted to make a friend in the neighbourhood. You see, my new neighbour really hates me, which has kind of been a bummer for the whole moving experience.”
Devra blinked, unsure whether to laugh or cry. “I guess…I guess it’s sort of my fault too.”
“It is?”
“The bird. The mouse.”
“That was you?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“Okay, wow.”
“I know. I know!” She rubbed her tired eyes. “I don’t know what I was thinking. At the time, I wanted you to…I don’t know. I was so tired and anxious, and I guess I just wanted you to feel what I was feeling.”
“Not sure I see the direct parallel between dead critters and adorable snowmen.” He scuffed his untied sneakers against the cement, shifting out of the shadows and into clearer focus. “But I suppose I can understand how a person might…do strange things when they aren’t themselves. I remember this one time I got so drunk—or, well, I suppose I don’t remember it so much as I was told about it several times over—where I spent the entire night impersonating William Shatner. I’ve never even seen the original Star Trek. Anyway, I guess what I’m saying is, no harm no foul. But just for the record. That was a super creepy thing to do.”
“As creepy as putting your demonic nutcracker statue in front of the living room window so it can stare at me all day?”
“I—Oops.” He chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I didn’t think that one through. He is a little creepy, isn’t he? That’s why I faced him away from me. But his music is lovely. Really puts a pep in your step.” He snapped his fingers. “You should come over and listen to it sometime.”
“Um…I don’t think so.”
“Why not? I’d be the one assuming all the risk by inviting over a knife-wielding animal killer.”
“I didn’t kill the animals. Tabs did. I just…relocated them.”
“Still, super creepy.”
“I’ll concede the point. But you started it. With your creepy unmarked van and how you chased me around the store trying to lure me somewhere alone with the promise of hot cocoa.”
“Lure?” Bradley’s eyes flared. “What are you…?” He let loose an infectious laugh Devra felt in her toes. “Okay, yeah. Not my best pickup line, I’ll admit.”
