The Neighbors

2.12 The Tonight Show

I told Niall about Victoria. About her creepy obsession with Harry in college and her lies. And the fact that her parents lived in the neighborhood and seemed to drive by a lot.

"That's a good lead," he told me. "I'll make sure to talk to her. I'll check out your ex-husband just to be sure. He may be more interested in you now that your husband stands to make a lot of money."

I called Harry immediately after Niall left and told him about the new text message. And then I told him about my suspicions of Victoria.

"What do you think?" I asked. "Do you think Victoria is capable of something like this?"

"Well, she was a little obsessed in college, but I haven't seen her in over a year. Why would she be after me – or you – again, just out of the blue?"

"Because you just signed a record deal. And because she knows where we live!"

"What?!" He practically barked.

"Um, yeah, I didn't want you to freak out about it, but her parents live a few streets over, and I've seen her drive by. And she stopped to say hi to me once."

"Lise, dammit! Why did you keep this from me?"

"I didn't think it was a big deal until now. Niall asked me to think about any old boyfriends or girlfriends of ours from college, and she suddenly came to mind. I don't know why I didn't think about her before."

"Who's Niall?" He asked.

"Detective Niall Horan. The one who's investigating the case," I said.

"He told you to call him by his first name?" Harry asked, clearly unsettled.

"Yes, Harry, what's the big deal?"

"I just don't want him hitting on my wife, that's all," Harry fumed.

"Wow, you are really over-reacting! He's spending a lot of time on this, so it makes sense that we'd get to know each other a little bit."

"Well, I still kind of doubt that Victoria would do anything like this. She was a crafty little witch, but I don't really think it's her," he said.

"Yeah, the school secretary said that the woman who asked about the kids had long brown hair anyway."

"What woman?" He demanded.

"Harry! I told you about this yesterday. Some mysterious woman was asking about our kids at the school. And I talked to the principal this morning to let him know about everything that was going on."

"Oh, right," he said. "I remember. I'm just really busy and I'm trying to keep track of all that's going on at home, too. It's a lot for me to handle."

I don't know why, but that statement irritated me. Without thinking or tempering my tone of voice, I replied, "Well, it's a lot for me to handle, too! And I'm doing it all by myself!"

He was silent for a moment and then said, "Lise, I'm trying to do everything I can, okay?"

"I'm sorry. I just want this to be over."

"Me, too, love. It's going to be a while before I can come home, but guess what? I will come home for the whole week of Thanksgiving – my album will be released on November 22, so I can celebrate with you and the kids."

My heart softened a little bit. "That's great, babe. I'm so proud of you. And I love you."

"I love you, too."

That night, I asked the kids if they would like to have a slumber party in my room. I dragged the pack 'n play in so Danny could sleep there, and then I blew up an air mattress for anyone who didn't want to share the king-sized bed with me. The kids were all tickled at the idea, and I was more relaxed having them close to me.