Chapter 4 - Pounding on the DoorYesterday morning, I was drinking coffee when someone began pounding on my front door.
Not knocking. Pounding.
"Marlene!"
I recognized Corinne's voice immediately. I put down my mug and opened the door. She stood there in a bathrobe with messy hair and one slipper barely hanging onto her foot. Her face was bright red. She looked furious. For once, there was no smug smile.
"DID YOU DO THIS?" she screamed, pointing toward her driveway. "I swear, Marlene, I will destroy you!"
"Do what?"
"You know exactly what!"
She jabbed her finger toward the street again. "LOOK!"
I stepped outside. Then I saw it, and I nearly laughed.
Corinne's car was completely covered in white paint. Hood, roof, doors, windshield, mirrors, even the headlights. It looked almost exactly like what had happened to my car.
Except hers was white.
I covered my mouth. Corinne spun around. "You think this is funny?"
"No," I said, struggling to control my expression. "I just think it looks familiar."
Her eyes narrowed. "You did this."
"I was asleep."
"That's exactly what you'd say."
I looked more closely at the driveway. Paint trays near the tires. Two rollers lying on the pavement. A half-empty bucket beside the passenger side. Something about that bothered me. Whoever had painted my car had cleaned up everything afterward. No buckets, no rollers, no evidence.
Then I remembered something. "Wait. My cameras."
"What?" Corinne crossed her arms.
May you like
"I installed security cameras after my car was painted."
Something flickered across her face. Only for a second. But I noticed it.
Related Stories
