Brutally Honest: 16 - Situation
I think everyone keeping up with my daily rants about the "trio of terror" living next door to me, know pretty accurately by now what they were all about. An unpredictable bunch who kept to themselves yet were driven to complete insanity over time. How they got like that I guess I'll never know. Anyways, years drew by and they become more and more isolated. Especially Aubrey who was regularly seen wondering the road on his own, rambling sweet nothings to himself though still looking quite content about it. They continued to linger in this unhinged state of limbo until...
So, coming back from a quick sprint to the supermarket, I was pulling up to my road. I must have been gone, say, two hours max. Making a left, I witnessed a scene that will stay with me for life. The fear of the situation up ahead, literally took my breath away. Three police vans were parked up next to their house. Two right beside it and another on the other side of the road. Though, that's not the worst of it. Surrounding the wretched premise was a stretch of traditional black and yellow police barrier tape, condoning off the area. Like a... dare I say it, crime scene! I kid you not, one of the most surreal moments of my life. A few of the neighbours had gathered outside, choosing to stand wisely on the opposite side of the road. None of the three occupants were visible. Presumably, they were inside one or two of the meatwagons. I parked up a street away and rapidly paced up toward the sizeable crowd, chattering loudly with each other.
What the hell is going on?" I remember asking a kindly gentleman by the name of Amos living across the road from me. "He's killed her. She's dead." He mumbled, looking at me upset and sombre.
My eyes opened wide with terror. To be honest, that had actually been my initial suspicion, though simultaneously praying it wasn't the case. I mean, however much I wanted them gone, death was never the intention to that effect!
"Oh my god!" I exclaimed, putting a hand to my mouth. "What? Which one?"
"That's not what happened." A voice piped up from behind me. It was yet another recognizable face a few doors down. "Drugs, it was. He must have had a huge stash in there, which the police got tipped off about. Good riddance, I tell you. Hope this'll be the end of this enduring nightmare on our road."
It didn't take long to figure out that nobody had any idea what was really going on. Just a bunch of excitable gossip and clueless hearsay, fluttering through the air. First things first, I had this incredible urge to get home and fast. Trotting across the street, I shifted onto the pathway of my front garden when a thunderous boom stopped me in my tracks. I spun around, scared shitless!
"Before you go in, can I have a word?" It was a relatively tall policeman, looking gravely concerned. I must have appeared white as a ghost to him. "Yes, sir. What can I do for you today?" That's the drivel that comes out of me when I've been properly shook. Though I was also quite certain the suspected events that had occurred during my leave to the supermarket, had nothing to do with me. He moved closer, still exhibiting an image of serious worry.
"What do you know about the family that live in there?" He asked, tilting his head in the direction of the devilish lair. "Nothing, officer. Just that they were a bit strange and kept to themselves. Is everything alright?" Clearly, they weren't.
"May I ask you to stay indoors for now." He stated in an authoritative manner. *"If we require anything further assistance, be available. If you don't mind, of course. Goddamnit, what in the hell has happened? I thought to myself.
I stepped inside. Checked all the rooms of my house, though I'm still not entirely sure what I was searching for. Extreme nervousness was setting in. Real frantic anxiety. I just had to know. Well, there was only one person who may well have the answer, as he always seemed the first to know about significant events in our neighbourhood, such as this. Ben, being another neighbour, who took a substantial amount of pride in his ability to... Well, "know". I grabbed my phone and dialled the number. Two rings and he picked up, almost like he was expecting my call.
"Ben!" I said, clearly flustered and in dire need of an explanation. "What in God's name is going on?" Somehow, he knew. To this day, I never found out how and who told him so speedily, but he laid down the truth of the matter. And, to put this bluntly, it took me weeks to recover from the shock...
A horrible situation was presented before two of the younger occupants next door. "The mother" had passed away in her sleep. Apparently, she had died of natural causes in bed. Both of her crazed spawn panicked when they discovered her and didn't know what to do. They thought it best to keep it a secret and not tell anybody. Until, the daughter, out of sheer desperation, decided it best to called the cops. Oh, and when did she die?
8 Days ago!!!
Needless to say, I never saw any one of them ever again...
