- 2.
There were only eight of us in the group buy
chat. Our building was fairly new, and not many
units were occupied yet. Six floors, four
apartments each, and only ten families had
moved in so far, mostly single guys. Three of us
were on the fourth floor: me in 401, the
mysterious family in 404, and 402, a regular
single guy.
After 504’s message, 402 replied:
“Don’t be crazy. You think he actually, you
know… killed his own son?”
<
601 chimed in:
“You never know… A few days ago, I saw the
guy from 404 kill a cat.”
402 seemed shocked: “Dude, stop messing with me!”
302 countered: “So what if he killed a cat? That
doesn’t mean he’d kill a person! And it’s his
own son!”
601 quickly explained:
“First, that’s not what I meant. I’m saying he
might have violent tendencies.
Second, his relationship with his wife seems…
strained. I’ve never seen them together.
And finally, has anyone actually seen his wife?”
That got everyone thinking. I racked my brain,
and even as a neighbor on the same floor, I’d
never seen her. 504, 402, and 302 all confirmed
<
8:55
they hadn’t either. Everyone agreed it was
weird.
Finally, 302 suggested: “Should we call the
police?”
But 504 hesitated: “What if it’s nothing? Isn’t
that wasting police resources?”
974
I thought he was the one most concerned about
the situation.
As everyone debated, 402 said: “This is
ridiculous. They live right next to me. I’ll just go
ask.”
504: “Okay, be careful. And see if you can
figure out what’s going on.”
601 and 302 told him to be polite and just
express concern, not accuse anyone of
anything.
<
I was wide awake now. I jumped out of bed and
tiptoed to the front door. Because of the fire
escape landing, our peepholes didn’t face each
other’s doors. I didn’t open the door, I just
pressed my ear against it.
I heard a door close. That had to be 402. He
was polite enough to knock gently instead of
ringing the doorbell.
Then, something strange happened. There was
no conversation. I didn’t hear 404’s door open,
but I distinctly heard it close again.
I was baffled. That was it? Were they
whispering? Or was something else going on?
