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Back The Mother Next Door Save as PDF
Chapters (84)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise
  3. Dedication
  4. About the Author
  5. HALLOWEEN
  6. Seven Weeks Before Halloween
  7. ONE
  8. TWO
  9. THREE
  10. HALLOWEEN
  11. Six Weeks Before Halloween
  12. FOUR
  13. FIVE
  14. SIX
  15. HALLOWEEN
  16. Five Weeks Before Halloween
  17. SEVEN
  18. EIGHT
  19. HALLOWEEN
  20. NINE
  21. TEN
  22. HALLOWEEN
  23. ELEVEN
  24. TWELVE
  25. Twenty-Five Days Until Halloween
  26. THIRTEEN
  27. FOURTEEN
  28. HALLOWEEN
  29. FIFTEEN
  30. SIXTEEN
  31. SEVENTEEN
  32. EIGHTEEN
  33. NINETEEN
  34. TWENTY
  35. HALLOWEEN
  36. Eighteen Days Until Halloween
  37. TWENTY-ONE
  38. TWENTY-TWO
  39. HALLOWEEN
  40. TWENTY-THREE
  41. TWENTY-FOUR
  42. Eleven Days Until Halloween
  43. TWENTY-FIVE
  44. TWENTY-SIX
  45. Eight Days Until Halloween
  46. TWENTY-SEVEN
  47. TWENTY-EIGHT
  48. TWENTY-NINE
  49. HALLOWEEN
  50. THIRTY
  51. Four Days Until Halloween
  52. THIRTY-ONE
  53. HALLOWEEN
  54. THIRTY-TWO
  55. Two Days Until Halloween
  56. THIRTY-THREE
  57. The Night Before Halloween
  58. THIRTY-FOUR
  59. HALLOWEEN
  60. THIRTY-FIVE
  61. Halloween, Present Day
  62. THIRTY-SIX
  63. THIRTY-SEVEN
  64. HALLOWEEN
  65. THIRTY-EIGHT
  66. HALLOWEEN
  67. THIRTY-NINE
  68. HALLOWEEN
  69. FORTY
  70. HALLOWEEN
  71. FORTY-ONE
  72. FORTY-TWO
  73. FORTY-THREE
  74. FORTY-FOUR
  75. HALLOWEEN... NOW
  76. FORTY-FIVE
  77. Seven Months Later
  78. FORTY-SIX
  79. FORTY-SEVEN
  80. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  81. ALICE SWANSON’S
  82. Reader's Guide
  83. Questions for Discussion
  84. Booklist

“I’m sure that would go well.” I heard a noise. The phone dropped, then Pia cursed.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Tried to light my cigarette and dropped the phone,” she said. I heard the strike of a match and her intake of breath.

“You’re smoking again?”

Pia had always been on and off, but she hadn’t smoked in years.

“Don’t judge me. Stress.”

I couldn’t blame her. The stress was getting to me, too. I closed my eyes. We’d been okay for so long. Had put stuff behind us as much as possible. I couldn’t let us collapse now. Couldn’t let Pia’s bad habits, my nightmares, Alice’s omens, and Bettina’s anxiety come back. Goddamn Jackie. I wasn’t looking forward to having it out with her, but at this point it was necessary. “So, can you ask Jimmy-O or not?”

“Sure, yeah,” Pia said, exhaling smoke from her lungs. “Though that would mean me in a Red Lobster watching his cousin slurp lobster meat out of a shell.”

“I’ll love you always and forever.”

“Okay...but I’m still not convinced it’s Jackie,” Pia said.

“First steps first,” I said. “Let’s find our dear friend and see what she’s been up to. I have a feeling she’ll be able to give us some answers. Oh and, Pia? Don’t say anything to the others.”

There was a pause. “Are you sure? If someone’s taking photos of us, they should know.”

It would be hard for Pia to keep her mouth shut, but I’d have to trust her. “I will tell them. In a few days. Promise. Let’s just get more info first.”

So if I need to, I can strike fast.

I got through the workday on autopilot. I left right at 5 p.m., chatting with two other coworkers on the way to my car so I wouldn’t be alone. The days were getting shorter. It was getting darker.

I kept thinking about the photo. That took some nerve. It was brazen. Cocky. Not really Jackie’s MO, but then again, I hadn’t seen her in so many years. People change. That was the worst part of it: I didn’t know what was next. Or when.

And I hated feeling out of control.

The house was empty when I got home. Cole was at swim practice, and Paul was at work. I entered the mudroom, my brain still running through the message, then stopped. The door that led to the kitchen was closed. We never closed it because Barney’s water bowl was in there.

I snatched Cole’s old baseball bat and threw open the door. “Hello?”

Barney came tearing up, jumping on me, tail wagging. I lowered the bat. “Hey, boy, okay, boy, calm down.” He bounded off, probably to go fetch me a toy.