The Murder Next Door

by Ivy Thorne

  Ashley had experienced countless scenarios where he’d done something to harass her and somehow walked away innocent. He’d been manipulative.

  Fast forward a year, and Ashley had found herself in a relationship with him. It had started when she’d been trying to focus on a school assignment in the house’s backyard. It had been a nice day and Ashley rarely had been able to go outside, what with all the schoolwork she’d had. So, she’d decided to take her work into the sun. Reggie had let one of his dogs out. The dog had been barking continuously at squirrels and any other creature that so much as moved. Perturbed, Ashley had yelled for it to shut up. That’s when Reggie had made his appearance.

  “That’s not very nice to yell at a poor dog,” Reggie had said. “He’s just a little stir-crazy is all.”

  Ashley had apologized and, in turn, Reggie had told her she could make it up to him by accompanying him on a date.

  Eager for a fun break from her schoolwork, Ashley happily had agreed to go out with him. He was tall, had dark hair, and was decently attractive.

  I should have paid attention to the red flags, Ashley thought.

  After all the times Reggie had ‘accidentally’ harassed her, one would think she’d listen to her intuition telling her he was no good. But Ashley had been raised in a strict environment. Since leaving her parents’ house, she’d never been quite sure whether her concerns were warranted or not.

  That evening Reggie had taken her to a bar. Until then, Ashley had never so much as sipped alcohol. She’d been twenty-two at the time and was of age, but she’d never been exposed to alcohol as her parents had forbidden it. So, she’d never acquired a taste for it. Reggie had been the one to introduce her to the poison. He’d assured her the drink would help to loosen her up so she could relax and have a good time.

  To this day, Ashley couldn’t remember how she’d ended up in Reggie’s bed.

  Tears ran down her cheeks as she recalled the panic she’d felt waking up next to him. He’d told her she’d just had too much to drink and had fallen asleep.

  “It’s a good thing I keep in shape. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to carry you into the house,” he’d said. “I figured my bed would be more comfortable than the couch. I promise I didn’t lay a hand on you.”

  He’d sounded so gentle and so sincere…

  “Liar!” Ashley blurted out.

  There was no doubt in her mind, Reggie likely had touched her while she’d been out. Ashley also wondered if he’d done something to her drink. But, she had no evidence and never could be certain as to what had happened. The uncertainty about that night infuriated her.

  That man had wasted years of her life. Even now that she’d escaped him, his memory still haunted her. How was she supposed to concentrate on anything with him still around? What if he’d figured out where she was?

  Ashley had considered fessing up to her family. But every time she imagined herself telling them about Reggie and his abusive ways, it always ended with her parents going, ‘We told you so!’ The last thing Ashley wanted to be was guilt-ridden. She’d lived the majority of her life constantly feeling like she wasn’t good enough.

  Being of the Christian religion hadn’t been an experience Ashley had enjoyed while growing up. There’d always been part of her that had wanted to rebel earlier on. Ultimately, she hadn’t out of fear of disappointing her parents. While living with her parents, she’d pretended to be Christian just to please them.

  The truth was, she hated the judgment that was present within the Christian society. If she went to Bible study without having memorized the required passages, the youth pastors would chagrin her. If she didn’t sing during worship time in church, people would look at her judgmentally. She’d always felt like someone was looking down on her. Perhaps this had been a problem with her perception, or perhaps this was just a problem with organized religion.

  Beyond that, Ashley had hated the idea of her non-Christian friends burning for all eternity because they hadn’t accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. There were so many good people in the world who weren’t Christian.Why did they have to go to Hell after they died?

  There were a myriad of happily religious people, and that was fine. For Ashley, though, she’d found she couldn’t commit to the religion. Nor did she find herself able to have faith in many of its tenets. Ashley had heard of parents disowning their children for abandoning their religious faith. Rather than risk this, or disappointing her parents by admitting she no longer followed the Christian faith, Ashley had kept this to herself.

  Ashley opened up a drawer in the desk she was seated at. She had been browsing the internet on her laptop in search of ads for new places to live but had been unable to stay focused due to Reggie’s presence inside her head. She pulled out a key and held it between her fingers in thought. The key belonged to Reggie’s house. She could enter the place at will.

  A horrible notion took shape in Ashley’s mind. She dismissed it at first, but upon recalling one of the many arguments she’d had with Reggie, began taking it seriously.

  At last, Ashley had had enough of Reggie and his gaslighting, manipulative behavior. Although she’d been scared to break up with him, she’d known it was something she had to do for the sake of her happiness. When she’d told him she wanted to end their relationship, he’d freaked out.

  “Without me, you’re just a thirsty whore!” he’d yelled. “I’m the only one who ever will find you attractive. I’m the one who showed you how to have fun. Before dating me you were just a miserable wench, always tending to your schoolwork and never able to let go and have fun. After everything I’ve done for you, you’re going to break up with me?!”

  The look in Reggie’s eyes had been one of malice. Ashley had feared he’d attack her if she stood by her decision. He’d never seriously injured her in the past, but there had been plenty of moments where he’d grabbed her against her will. Those times had scared Ashley more than she’d ever been scared before. To protect herself from his violence, Ashley had decided to go along with what he’d said. She’d told him he was right and that she wasn’t appreciative enough of him. This response immediately extinguished his fury. So long as she’d go along with whatever he thought, he would treat her well.

  After the argument, Ashley had stayed up that night until she’d been certain Reggie was asleep. She’d called herself a cab, packed up all of her essentials, and made arrangements to stay with her aunt. Since then, Reggie had been calling her nonstop. He’d leave hateful messages in which he threatened to come after her.

  In one particularly vulgar voice message, Reggie had called her a ‘defiant bitch who deserved what he had coming for her.’

  “Au contraire,” Ashley murmured, the key clutched in her hand. “The next time you’ll be seeing me is at your funeral.”

  ***

  Detective Wiggins and the other officers at the Wallsberg police station didn’t see the report of the suspicious woman as anything worth investigating. However, it wasn’t as though they had any other leads to pursue. So, they allowed Dane to follow through on it. So long as Dane went into the funeral home in the guise of an attendee and didn’t stir up a fuss, no harm would be done.

  Marla received this information via a text sent from Dane’s phone. She was seated on a bench located on the sidewalk down from the front entrance of the funeral home. Upon considering crouching between a line of shrubs that divided the side of the property, Marla had decided the bench would be far more comfortable. Leaves were attracted to her frizzy hair and she wasn’t crazy about the idea of getting scratched by all the pointy branches. This way, she had a clear view of the funeral home’s front doors. She texted Dane to inform him of her location.

  Marla kept her head down so the front of her cap shielded her face. This way she reduced the risk of someone recognizing her. If Ashley were to dash out the front of the funeral home, Marla would be ready.

  A champagne-colored sedan passed her on the street. It was Dane’s
vehicle. She could see Dane’s silhouette in the driver’s seat. He was dressed for a funeral service, and he looked hot.

  Go get ‘em,’ Tiger! Marla thought. She then reflected on how stupid the phrase was and promised herself never to utter it out loud.

  Chapter 18

  Ashley felt panic creep into the base of her throat when she saw Reggie’s body lying peacefully in a casket. He looked strange, as though his skin was made of plastic. Having been all too familiar with his appearance, it unsettled Ashley to see him looking the way he did. His throat and jawline appeared bloated. Beneath a blazer, he wore a turtleneck to cover the gash on his throat. There was a funny floral chemical smell emanating from his casket.

  Ashley tore her eyes from the body of the man she’d once called her boyfriend. Around her was a sea of people sobbing and clutching tear-soaked tissues. Their faces were pink and wet and their expressions were twisted in grief. She was responsible for their pain.

  Multi-colored flower arrangements stood on pedestals of different heights on each end of the casket. Ashley pretended to admire them as she collected herself.

  You shouldn’t have done this, Ashley thought.

  Ever since she’d exacted her vengeance on Reggie, a voice had surfaced within her mind. The voice punished her every day for her wicked deed. Along with the voice were the memories of that night. They flashed before her like vivid nightmares. Anger had completely controlled Ashley. She’d purchased a knife advertised as being extremely sharp. It was intended for culinary use, but that wasn’t how Ashley had planned to use it. With the weapon hidden in her bag, she’d then taken the bus and had spent the waning daylight hours in the bar where she had had her first date with Reggie.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, if you all could make your way to the chapel and find a seat, the ceremony will be starting shortly,” announced a white-haired old man.

  The man gently guided the mourners out the door of the visitation room and down the hall, leading to a chapel filled with pews that stretched across either side of the room. A narrow runway was left down the center to make room for the casket.

  Before joining everyone else, Ashley glanced around the visitation room. Above Reggie’s casket was a television displaying images of Reggie on a loop. In some of the photos, Reggie was a small boy, whereas in others he appeared as an adult. It was especially hard for Ashley to see the man who’d manipulated and abused her as an innocent child. At what point had he become a monster?

  The tables held Reggie’s memorabilia. To represent his occupation as a construction worker, a hardhat was positioned next to a framed image of him. His favorite band’s albums were laid out, as well as his infamous collection of baseball cards, and pictures of his dogs. Ashley remembered when Reggie had put down his dog. When she’d moved in, he’d had two dogs. He’d been forced to find a new home for one of his dogs as its barking had resulted in noise complaints. The other was old and had been sick.

  After coming back from the vet’s, Reggie had taken out his anger and sadness on Ashely. As a nice gesture, she’d made him dinner, though she wasn’t the greatest cook. Reggie hadn’t liked the meal. He’d yelled at Ashley for dirtying his kitchen and wasting his food. Out of guilt (induced by Reggie), Ashley had bought him a pizza.

  These items were supposed to represent who Reggie was, but Ashley didn’t feel as though they did. What should have been displayed were the emotional scars he’d left. Ashley wondered if Reggie had been with any other girls before her. He’d never mentioned any previous relationships while she’d been with him. But Ashley had a feeling she hadn’t been the only woman he’d hurt.

  “Ma’am, would you care to follow me to the chapel?”

  Ashley turned to find the old man funeral director smiling kindly at her in the entrance to the room. It was while following him that she questioned the reason why she’d decided to attend the service. Did a part of her feel repentant? Had she thought by bidding Reggie farewell and joining in the mourn fest that she’d somehow magically become innocent of his murder? There was one thing Ashley knew for sure: she was not proud of what she’d done.

  The pew was empty, save for her presence. Reggie hadn’t seemed to have much of a friends and family group. Anyone who was a relative of his sat in the front row. Ashley was left-center and alone. This was preferred as it would have been more than a little awkward to be crammed together with people who’d had the fortune of not knowing Reggie’s negative side.

  It was frustrating to look around the chapel and see so many people shedding tears for the man who’d made Ashley shed tears. None of them ever had known about her. Many of them probably didn’t even know what a bastard he was. Ashley studied the people who sat in the other pews. Perhaps one of these attendees understood who Reggie was. Surely the man’s parents had known him to be an ass. It was then that Ashley realized she’d never known much about Reggie’s background. She’d never met his parents, though she’d known he was an only child. Anything he had mentioned could have been a lie. Lying was one of the things Reggie had done best.

  A realization hit Ashley as she listened to the stories people had to tell about Reggie. She’d come to his funeral to find out exactly what sort of impact he’d made on others. She had to know whether his murder had been warranted.

  What you did cannot be justified. You don’t have the right to condemn people for their sins, the voice in her head told her.

  Ashley whimpered, her lip trembling as she recalled just how much blood there had been. Somehow she hadn’t expected the blood to erupt everywhere the way it had. She’d also hoped the amount of alcohol she’d drank before setting out to kill Reggie would have aided her in repressing the memories of his death. For that to have happened, she’d have had to drink a lot more. The alcohol’s true purpose had been only to shatter her nerves about eliminating the man before he eliminated her. It had helped to stir up the anger and hate while dulling the uncertainty.

  “Reggie’s first word was ‘dog.’” A woman Ashley presumed to be Reggie’s mother stood behind the podium at the front-center of the chapel. Ashley could see the resemblance in the woman’s deep brown eyes, and the way her forehead wrinkled when she spoke. She seemed oddly composed for a mother who’d just lost her son.

  “At the time, Reggie hadn’t known what a dog was. I didn’t own a dog unless you count my husband.”

  Several chuckles resounded throughout the crowd.

  “I’m serious,” the mother stated, “my husband was a dog. He had an ugly temper and wasn’t the kind of man I wanted to influence my son. So, we divorced.”

  Ashley wondered if being abusive was a genetic trait. If so, it sounded as though Reggie had inherited his nastiness from his father.

  “Reggie had a soft spot for animals. When he was ten years old we went to the adoption center and picked out a puppy. That dog was his best friend until the day Reggie started middle school. On that day, I was forced to take the old dog to the vet to be put down. Reggie never forgave me for doing that. I should have told him it was time for the dog to be put out of his misery, but I didn’t because I had thought it would be easier on him. After that, Reggie retreated into himself. I never really knew much of what was going on in his head. He kept to himself, and didn’t associate much with other boys and girls his age. When he was a teenager he struggled with rejection and getting girlfriends and, unfortunately, he’d inherited my husband’s explosive temper. At times he would seem so sweet and caring. But, whenever something happened to upset him, he’d turn ugly.”

  It was interesting to Ashley how well Reggie’s mother seemed to know him. Had they been close without Ashley’s knowledge? Had she known how much of a pervert her son was?

  For the first time since she’d started her eulogy, Reggie’s mother began to show emotion. The tears streamed down her face and the sobs distorted her voice.

  “As a mother, I can’t help but feel somewhat responsible for what’s happened to my son. It was my job as his parent to protect him,
and I feel as though I’ve failed. At the same time, however, I know we mothers can’t always be around to protect our children. The person responsible for his death is the person who killed him. At times my son was cruel, but he was also sensitive and kind. He loved animals more than people, especially dogs. I know he could be mean, and I know he made bad decisions, but I still love him. I don’t know what he did or why he found himself murdered, but I know he didn’t deserve to die the way he did. No one deserves that.”