But Mr. Kline was a mere shadow of his wife. I had the impression that he was not allowed to go out – although it seemed absurd to me. It was clear that Angelica had him completely under control, but I never understood why.
Chapter 26
I met Angelica at the one and only barbecue that ever took place at the Dark House. The Klines and Derek Dagger suggested a barbecue, so that they could get to know their neighbors.
My husband and I were among the first to arrive in the little courtyard. We were welcomed by Paul Flakers right away:
“Welcome to Meadow Road!” he said, in greeting.
“We’ve been living here for over six months,” I reminded him.
“Oh, yes,” he said absently. Flakers spoke a lot, and very loudly, and he didn’t realize when he was getting on people’s nerves.
“Have you met the Daggers?” he asked.
“Yes, I’ve met both of them,” I replied. Before Flakers could say any more, Derek approached us.
“Great that you could come!” said Derek and shook me and my husband Simon by the hand so heartily that it almost hurt.
“Please take a seat.” He headed towards where Angelica was sitting at the table.
“How are you?” she asked. “I hope you’re hungry.”
“Starving,” Simon answered.
I was about to sit down beside Angelica, when she said: “Please not here. That’s Derek’s, I mean Mr. Dagger’s place.
“Aren’t we going use first names?” Simon suggested.
“Good idea,” I said. “I’m Hanna.”
“Angelica.” Simon spoke to Dagger while I spoke to Angelica.
“Where’s your husband?” I asked.
“He’s not feeling well,” she answered appeasingly. “And besides, he doesn’t feel all that comfortable at events like this. He’s taking care of our daughter.”
“Oh! I didn’t know you had a daughter.”
“Yes, her name is Maria. She will be four in March.” Angelica glowed when she spoke about her daughter. I could tell that she was very happy.
“What do you do?” I asked her.
“I work at the town hall,” she replied, but she didn’t go into any detail, and I didn’t ask any more questions.
Then Paul Flakers and Morton Gould, who hadn’t said anything all night, sat down at the table, and Derek Dagger, who’d been standing till then, and his wife, Claire sat down too. Derek had put a plate full of meat and sausages on the table beside the pasta salad, with the words:
“I’m happy to welcome all of you to our barbecue, and I’m delighted that the weather is so fine. We haven’t lived here very long, but I think I speak for the Kline’s too, when I say that we can’t complain about our neighbors. Here’s to good neighborly companionship.”
We clinked our glasses, and then Angelica’s father joined us at the table.
“I’d like to introduce my father,” she said as the old man sat down.
“Hello,” I shook the old man’s hand. Derek had turned the music up meanwhile, so I had to speak loudly.
Angelica’s father, Frederick, was an imposing figure. He was very tall, with snow-white hair, and although he walked with a stick, his slight limp did nothing to reduce his air of dignity.
“How’s Maria?” Angelica asked.
“I’ve just put her to bed,” her father answered, taking a swig of wine.
“Do you also live here, or are you just visiting?” I asked.
“I’m living with my daughter, as long as it’s still possible,” he answered amiably, but I got the impression that my question had been too personal.
“I read her a story,” he said, turning to Angelica.
“Excuse me?” she hadn’t been listening. She was staring at the door, as though she was expecting somebody else.
“I read Maria a bedtime story,” Frederick repeated.
“My father is a born story-teller – and reader,” she said. “He used to read entire novels to me in bed when I was a child.”
“Entire novels?” I asked.
“They were just stories,” Frederick laughed.
“I still remember, one New Year’s Eve. You and your brother demanded a ghost story, and I chose the one about the monkey’s paw.”
I looked at him questioningly.
“It’s about a cursed oriental monkey’s paw that grants the owners three wishes. Unfortunately, each wish has dreadful consequences. First the owners wish for money. They get it, but only because their son dies in a terrible accident, and they get the money from the insurance. Then, his mother wishes that her son would return from the dead, and demands that the monkey’s paw fulfill the wish. That very night, as the parents wait apprehensively at the window, watching for their son, they see a creature approaching their gate in the darkness. The father feels uncomfortable, because he realizes, that only the devil can bring his son back to the land of the living, and that his return is blasphemy against God, which will have dreadful consequences for them. So, he uses the third wish to send his son back to the other side, without having spoken a word to him, or having seen him.”
I looked at the old man, wide-eyed. Suddenly, there was a loud shout that shook everyone to the core.”
“Damn it! Why does that always have to happen?” said Derek, who was at the barbecue, hopping from one foot to the other, whilst blowing his hand. Apparently, he’d gotten some hot fat on it.
“All okay,” he called, laughing, as everyone turned towards him. Frederick was still looking at me. Then he began to laugh too.
“The two of them looked at me just like that, when I read them that story,” he said with a broad grin. “Angelica couldn’t sleep that night. I think she expected that the devil himself would come knocking on her bedroom door.”
“Where’s your son?” I asked, once I’d gathered myself again.
“That’s a difficult one,” Frederick said. “He was from my first marriage. I have no idea where he is. I probably wouldn’t recognize him today. I last saw him when he was twelve. My ex-wife got custody. He must be your age now. They moved away, and we had less and less to do with each other. Finally, we lost touch with one another entirely. I’m sure he doesn’t even think about me anymore.” The old man looked sad, and I asked no more questions that evening.
Chapter 27
“Do you like her?” Paul Flakers asked, when Angelica went to check on her daughter.
“Who?” I asked, a little more brusquely than I had intended.
“Angelica Kline, of course,” he replied, somewhat irritated. Then he continued in a friendlier tone. “You’ve been speaking to her all evening.” I didn’t enjoy being asked what I thought about Angelica by a strange man. After all, I’d only known him for a short time. And I liked her a lot, so Paul Flaker’s inquisition irritated me all the more. I simply gave him an empty, diplomatic answer:
“She’s nice.” But Flakers seemed not to hear, or he didn’t take any notice.
“They’re a lovely couple.” I was surprised.
“Have you met Angelica’s husband, Sebastian?”
“Of course,” Flakers replied. “So have you! He’s been sitting beside her all evening.” At first, I didn’t understand what he meant, then I realized that he’d mistakenly taken Derek Dagger for Angelica’s husband. For some unknown reason, I never forgot that conversation.
Two days later, I met Maria for the first time, when I went to visit Angelica one afternoon. She was a gorgeous little girl. Very intelligent. I also expected to meet her husband, Sebastian. I hoped that he and my husband would become friends, because Angelica and I were well on the way to forming a friendship. But he wasn’t at home. While Angelica was making the tea, I spoke to Maria, who was playing with a little electric train set.
“Did you set it up all by yourself?” I asked, bending down to the little girl. She looked at me with her big eyes.
“Didi helped me,” she explained. “Before I could ask who Didi was, Angelica walked in with two cup
s of tea. She looked at her daughter adoringly, and I sensed how much she loved the child. I was so moved that I had to fight back the tears.
Simon and I had been trying to have a child for such a long time. We’d been to dozens of doctors, but nobody seemed to know why I couldn’t get pregnant. I drank some tea quickly, before Angelica could notice how emotional I was, and it was so hot that I burnt my tongue.
“I bumped into Claire Dagger yesterday. She wants me to come and visit her,” I said. My eyes were almost glued to Maria. Angelica made a derogatory gesture.
“And? Are you going to?”
I nodded.
“I don’t think too much of her,” said Angelica with an expression on her face that left no questions open, regarding her opinion of the other woman.
“Why not?” I asked. “She seemed pleasant enough at the barbecue.”
Angelica, looking disdainful, repeating the derogatory gesture she’d just made.
“In my opinion, she’s too shallow.” With a questioning look, I prodded for more information.
“She seems to be enslaved by her husband,” she began at last. “Did you watch how she behaved? She doesn’t let him out of her sight. It’s as though she’s in bondage.”
I didn’t reply, but I found myself thinking about what Paul Flakers had said, when he’d mistaken Dagger for Angelica’s husband. And besides, the relationship between Angelica and her husband didn’t seem particularly well-balanced either. I didn’t say anything more, preferring to steer the conversation in another direction.
“What do you know about Eileen Evans,” she asked. I shook my head.
“I’ve never spoken to her. She never seems to leave her apartment, and if she does, it’s always in the evening. But she has a lot of visitors,” I said.
Angelica leaned towards me, whispering, so that Maria couldn’t hear:
“I think she’s a prostitute.”
“I suspected as much,” I replied quietly.
“If I was the landlord, I’d have thrown her out long ago.”
I felt differently about it, but I didn’t say so. I told myself that Angelica was just worried about her daughter, but the excuse only appeased my own guilty conscience at not having contradicted her.
The doorbell rang, and Angelica got up to open it. Then she came back and sat down again.
“Was that your husband?” I asked. Angelica nodded. Maria simply continued to play.
“Do you have anything to do with Kyle Benton, or his daughter?” Angelica asked.
“I thought she was his sister,” I said, surprised.
“Oh?” she said, draining her cup. “Obviously, I got things mixed up.”
Chapter 28
That evening, I thought about the conversation I’d had with Angelica. Simon was obviously not particularly interested in the fact that Angelica’s husband hardly seemed to exist. And he didn’t seem to be interested in Angelica or Maria either. Although I couldn’t deny Angelica’s arrogant manner, I still liked her. But I could imagine that it wouldn’t be easy to live with her. Or was that what made her so appealing? But it was absolutely clear to me, that she was the dominant partner within her marriage.
A few days later, I visited Claire Dagger. She was exactly as Angelica had described her.
“Have you found a job yet?” I asked, shortly after I arrived.
“It’s not that easy! Much harder than I thought,” she said. “I’m afraid nobody’s going to employ me that easily anymore.”
“Why not?”
“I haven’t worked for such a long time. I worked in a tax office for five years, but then I was fired. And besides that, I have a slight handicap. She pointed to her leg. I hadn’t noticed before, but she had a slight limp.
“Is it that bad? Does it affect you so much?”
“Not at the moment, but I simply can’t sit for too long anymore,” she sighed.
I decided not to say anything else for the moment. Claire Dagger seemed likable enough to me, but she also liked to have someone telling her what to do. Angelica’s impression of Claire was not far off.
“I went to visit Angelica a few days ago,” I said.
“Yes, she said so. I bumped into her a recently. She seems to like you.”
I was flattered, but at the same time, I felt a bit uncomfortable because of what Angelica had told me about Claire.
“She’s very likable. But a little arrogant, perhaps,” Claire said.
“Have you ever met her husband?” I asked. She obviously shared my opinion of Angelica.
“No”, she said, after a brief hesitation. I leaned back in my chair.
“It’s as though he’s hiding from us,” I said, almost to myself. Claire Dagger looked at me questioningly.
“I have the impression,” I continued, “that Mr. Kline is being hidden away from us. He wasn’t even at the barbecue.” Claire nodded.
Chapter 29
I visited Angelica more and more often in the following weeks, and I even took care of Maria a few times, when Angelica had to go out for brief periods. I never saw Maria’s father though. Once, I asked Angelica about him directly. But the moment I opened my mouth, I asked myself whether I was going too far. After all, it had nothing to do with me. But Angelica just laughed.
“Sebastian works all day, sometimes even at weekends,” she said. But I still found the situation somewhat curious.
“Maria seems to know virtually nothing about him,” I said, a little accusingly. “I spoke to her briefly about your husband.” Angelica’s mood changed in a flash.
“I’ll thank you not to speak to her about him anymore,” she said. “Their relationship isn’t the best at the moment.”
“Have you tried…”, I started, but she interrupted me almost immediately.
“Can we please change the subject?” she asked. Actually, it wasn’t a question at all, but rather, a command. I didn’t reply.
“I’m sorry,” she said, a bit more calmly, “I really don’t want to talk about it at the moment.” I looked her in the eye.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “If you need anything, just give me a shout.” I gave her a hug, and then I left.
I went back to my apartment. I had no idea what to make of Angelica’s behavior. I’d realized that she was able to sound absolutely honest, even when she didn’t mean what she said. But when she asked me to change the subject, she seemed to have lost that ability for a moment. Suddenly, I envisaged her as a completely helpless woman.
I didn’t speak to her about her husband again – at least not for a while. It didn’t seem to interest Claire in the least, but I didn’t have nearly as much to do with her, as I did with Angelica. In the following months, I didn’t see Sebastian Kline either, and in time, I stopped thinking about him.
Chapter 30
But then, somebody else made me think about Sebastian Kline again. I was busy cleaning the stairwell – at the time, the residents were still responsible for cleaning the common spaces. When I got to the ground floor, a door suddenly opened, and Paul Flakers came out.
“Have you heard the latest?” he asked animatedly.
“What?” I asked, trying hard to sound friendly. Of course, I was curious.
“Come inside first,” he said. He closed the door behind us. “Two days ago,” he said conspiratorially, I went up to the attic, and on the way, I found the little Benton girl – what’s her name?”
“Tanya,” I prompted.
“Yes, exactly, Tanya,” he continued. “She was sitting on the stairs, crying.”
“Perhaps she had an argument with her brother,” I suggested. I hated Paul Flakers’ secrecy.
“Of course,” he said, “but who puts his sister out of the apartment at 11pm? I sent her back in. Have you noticed anything like that?” I said I hadn’t, hoping that that would be the end of the conversation. I opened the door and went out into the hallway, but Flakers spoke again.
“You’re very friendly with Ms. Kline, aren’t you?” I nodded. �
��Do you remember how I mistook Derek Dagger for her husband at the barbecue?”
“I remember.”
“You corrected me,” he said. I wished Flakers would go back into his apartment and leave me to my cleaning.
“Then why did Dagger kiss Angelica Kline yesterday?” he asked.
Chapter 31
I was confused. I simply didn’t want to believe that Angelica, with whom I’d become so friendly, was having an affair with one of our neighbors. How could it have happened? Neither of them had been living there that long.
One possibility was that Flakers was lying. But what if it was true? Who could I discuss it with? Simon would dismiss it as neighborhood gossip, which didn’t interest him. He would probably advise me to keep out of it.
I lay in bed thinking about it, and at last, I fell asleep. The next day, I decided to speak to Angelica. Even if the whole thing was only a product of Flakers’ wild fantasy, Angelica had a right to know what people were saying about her.
But, over the next few days, I wasn’t able to pluck up enough courage to speak to her about it. I was annoyed that Flakers had managed to spread doubt and mistrust with a single sentence.
Meanwhile, I had also met Kyle Benton and his sister, Tanya. As Flakers had already told me, she was slightly handicapped, but I took to her quickly – which was more than I could say for her brother, Kyle. He was too brash for my liking.
But, Angelica seemed to like Kyle from the beginning. That puzzled me. He made an obvious effort to impress her. The friendlier Angelica got with Kyle and Tanya, the more strained my relationship with her became. She was often irritable and inattentive.
I still liked her, but she had the ability to hurt one deeply, with a single word. And she didn’t even seem to notice it. Our relationship began to sour. The knowledge of that alleged kiss between her and Dagger, which she didn’t say anything about, had put me in a difficult position. But still, I couldn’t pluck up sufficient courage to speak to her about it.
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