Jessica noticed his eyes were wet. He took a long drag on the cigarette.

“The curtains were still drawn,” he said. “There was a gap in the middle where they didn’t quite meet properly, so I stuck my face against the window and tried to look inside. Couldn’t see much. Some burnt-out candles, a half-empty bottle of wine on the table. It struck me then that Eleanor might have been entertaining the night before. You know, a young man. Maybe that’s why she was still in bed. I jumped back from the window, feeling like a Peeping Tom, and gave the front door a couple of good, hard knocks.

“I expected to hear the sound of her footsteps in the hallway, for Eleanor to answer the door in her dressing gown, maybe a little embarrassed. But I heard nothing. The parcel was a new Barbie doll for the little girl, so I shouted, ‘Hey, Barbie’s out here, and she wants to meet her new family!’ But still there was no response. It was eerie, like the house was empty, but somehow, I knew that wasn’t the case. I was debating with myself whether to try again after lunch or leave a note asking Eleanor to pick up the parcel herself from the post office in town when I heard it.”

“What did you hear?”

“A weird click, click, click sound. I knocked again. Still nothing. The noise bothered me. I started thinking Eleanor might have had an accident. A bad fall, knocked herself out, couldn’t reach the phone to call for help. All sorts of dreadful scenarios went through my mind. My wife was always telling me I watched too many of those dumb TV movies they show in the afternoon. But I tried the door anyway, and it was unlocked.”

“And that’s when you found her.”

Chuck nodded. “She was on the carpet, in front of the couch. That’s why I couldn’t see her from the window. I knew just from looking at her she was dead. I didn’t even touch her. I thought of the little girl, and I screamed Alicia’s name a few times and got no answer. I was terrified what I might find in her bedroom, so I just went straight for the telephone in the kitchen and dialed 911. I hid in there until the cops arrived, like a coward. I couldn’t face seeing Eleanor again. All that blood. And her beautiful face all beaten up.”

His chin dropped to his chest, and he shook his head as though trying to rid himself of the memory.

“They had to take my statement out in the yard. They said Alicia was missing, and they told me the clicking sound I’d heard was a cassette in the stereo system that had come to the end of the tape. That bastard had slaughtered Eleanor like a pig while her goddamn music played in the background.”