Mysteries and Suspense Short Stories Collection - Tamikio L. Reardon (ereader manga .TXT) 📗

Cusack nice to meet you and welcome to the neighborhood. “Sorry I didn’t get around to meeting you sooner my work schedule are really busy.” “That’s ok I understand….this seems like a nice quiet neighborhood.” “Yes it is pretty much I have been living here for nearly fourteen years haven’t had any trouble so far”. I glanced around the streets watching the leaves blow recklessly up against the trees. I looked at Gary….” Umm I work 10 blocks away at the convenient store and I walk home from work five days a week, if you don’t mind me asking does anyone live in that house at the end of the block?” Gary swiftly turned his head toward me; I was startled and stepped back. “Sorry did I say something wrong?”

“Umm no…why do you ask?” “Well I never seen any activity around the house and it looks kind of weird.” “It just does not feel like it belongs on this block, but earlier today I saw a woman’s hand open the blinds but I could not see her face”. Gary quickly recovered from himself and smiled slightly at me. “Well it was nice meeting you Gilbert please do keep in touch.” Gary walked away without looking back

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at me and hurried into the house. Well neighbors being not so nice maybe he just didn’t want to talk about the house. There was an old lady who lived across the streets from me I turned to notice her and she smiled and waved. Turning to go back into her house she did not give me time to wave back.

 

Walking home from work the next day was even more stressful. The day had begun to get chillier and I had only three more blocks to go before I got to my street. When I finally reached my street I slowed down to get a better look at the house on the end of the block. I stood in front of the gate and stared at the house. There was just something about that house that was unsettling to me this place just did not fit here. I just don’t know why I have this feeling every day since I moved here and walked past this house. As I turned to walk away the door to the house opened slightly. I stopped in my footsteps and walked back to the front of the gate. A woman stood at the front of the screen door staring at me with a blank eerie stare. “Hello my name is Gilbert Sheldon and I just moved here about two weeks ago……” The woman continued to start at me with no reaction to my statement. I felt very uneasy and begin to walk away, as I did I heard this whispering hissing sound coming from the woman standing at the front door. She beckoned me to the front of the porch inviting me inside the house. I paused undecided if I should go in, but I had been wondering what the house was like on the inside as I was so fascinated by it. I slowly walked up the porch and went inside with the strange woman.

 

The next morning I was not feeling so well and went to the front door to check the mail. It was 9:00 am Saturday morning and the mailman ran early that day. Getting mail out of my mail box, I noticed it was bright and sunny for a fall October day. I smiled and proceeded to take my mail in the house when I looked up and saw my neighbor from across the street. Again she smiled and waved and gave me time to wave back. She mentioned me to open my screen door. I opened the front screen door and smiled at the older woman. “Hello how are you didn’t mean to bother you this early in the morning, but I have tea at 12 noon would you like to come over for a bit!” “Yes I would love to and you are not bothering me!” I screamed back in the gust of wind. It seems like it is always more windy on this particular street than any other I have traveled on in the last past two weeks. I turned to go back into my house with my mail and sat down to get go through it. Well it seems that I will get to know most of my neighbors after all even though it took two weeks. The only person I know so far is Gary and he was pretty weird and…I never got the name of the woman I met yesterday in the house at the end of the block. I guess I just forgot I will ask the woman across the street during tea time at noon.

 

It was noon and I was dressed to go met the older woman for tea. Leaving my house I made sure the doors were locked and a light was left on in case I came back into the house late. As I approached the walk way and up to the porch the older woman came to the door and greeted me with a smile. She extended her hand “Hello my name is Shelley, Shelley Johnson and thank you for meeting me for tea.”

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“The pleasure is all mines thank you for having me, my name is Gilbert Sheldon.” The woman smiled at me strangely and nodded her head yes….you was always such a polite young man….. I ignored the statement and let her lead me into her house. As like the woman across the street at the house at the of the block it felt familiar like I had been in both houses before. She invited me to site at her dining room table. The place was nice and cozy that of an older person who has lived here about twenty, thirty years plus. She sat at the table in the chair next to me still carrying that eye to eye smile on her face. She sat the tea in front of me and patted my left hand. “I noticed you moved here about two weeks ago?” “Yes that’s right I am kind of disappointed that I did not get to meet any of my neighbors on my first day of moving in.” “Most of us like to give new neighbors time to settle before we met them”. “Oh I see….” Do you mind if I ask you a question?” “Why yes go ahead”. “I met one of the neighbors yesterday next door to me; Gary Cusack and I met the woman who lives in the house at the end of the block. “Yesterday she invited me in and I have no knowledge of what her name was I just forgot….do you know her?” The older woman smiling at me and shook her head. “Yes that’s Eva Gally”. Finally a name to the strange woman in that house how could I forget I just don’t recall ever knowing her name from yesterday. The older woman scooted her chair closer to me and I felt quite uncomfortable. “You really don’t remember do you?” I looked at the older woman she was still wearing that strange smile on her face. “Remember what?” She sat back in the chair with both her hands placed in her lap. “Since your new to the neighborhood and everyone here is always busy I can tell you most about the neighborhood if you have time?” “Sure I do”. “Well ok….let’s see….where should I start…..” “Ah yes, so you have met Gary Eva and Me these are all the neighbors you really need to know around here”. I just looked at the older woman speechless; I think it’s time for me to be heading back to my home. As I started to stand up with an excuse to leave here she looked up at me and told me sit down. So I sat down always obeying my elders I really did not want to be rude to my neighbors on the first couple of days. “Let me tell you a story which is a true story about this neighborhood. The house at the end of the block was owned by a woman named Eva Abigail Gally. She was married to a man named Walter Gally. Walter died about fourteen years ago and Eva was left in the house alone. They had no children it was just the two of them and Walter worked long hard hours he was hardly ever home with Eva. One day Eva woke up late and noticed her husband’s car was still in the driveway at ten o clock in the morning. Walter normally left at 7am for work but it was really odd that his car was still in the driveway at that time. Eva checked the house and found Walter in his studies. When she walked into the studies Walter was sitting in his office chair with the back of the chair facing the office room door. Eva slowly walked over to the chair calling Walter name as he did not answer her. She slowly turned the chair around and found Walter…..dead apparently he had died of a heart attack that night in his studies. Eva was not right after that and she often had meetings at her home to communicate with the dead and she thought she could bring Walter back. Even though Walter was hardly at home with her due to work Eva still somehow stayed occupied and happy. One night Eva had a meeting in her house with three other people including her. They were going to communicate with Walter and try to bring him back. Something went terribly wrong that night with her and the other three people in that house. The next day someone in the neighborhood reported something strange about the house and the police came out to check on the house. It was reported that Eva and the other three people were……found dead

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inside the home. The police officer need more back up and had to report back to the station. For some strange reason the police did not return to the house until the next day. This time they found the house burned down beyond recognition. That house an along with Eva Abigail Gally has been burned down for fourteen years.”

I sat stunned beyond belief listing to this story. I could not believe what this woman was telling me. I looked at her with my mouth wide open….”but I was just in the house with the woman yesterday!” “What you’re telling me can’t be true!” “Do you know who the other three people in the house were with Eva Gally that night?” “Of course I don’t!” “How could I!” The old woman looked at me with that smile but now agonizing. “Eva had things to keep her happy while her husband was away…..but she really did love Walter very much. I am afraid he could not take her cheating and neither could she. Later on after the autopsy was performed on all five including Walter, the police had learned that Walter did not die of a heart attack he died from poisoning. Walter was poisoned. The other three people who were in the house that night were Gary Cusack, Shelley Johnson and…..Gilbert Sheldon”. I jumped up from the table knocking it over along with the tea to the floor. I had heard enough this could not be true! I turned to run to the door but the older woman stood in front me blocking my way. “Gilbert….you were a very nice decent man but I could never understand why you cheated with Eva Gally and you knew she was married to your boss Walter Gally!” I paused in front of the woman and still could not believe my ears. I stood in front of the big picture window in Mrs. Johnson’s living room. To catch my breath glanced out of it looking at the house at