See No Evil

"Anna Volente, keep your mind on your work." How many times in the past had I heard those words from my dad or mom or one of my teachers? Even from Glenn, now that I thought about it, though I tried to think of him as little as possible. Of course I knew I should be concentrating on the project at hand, the hanging of the window treatment I held. But how could I ignore the strange man skulking in the backyard of the unfinished house kitty-corner from the backyard of the completed model home I was working in? He wasn't one of the construction workers. I was certain of that. They had all gone home a couple of hours ago, lunchboxes and thermoses in hand, leaving me alone to finish my work in the warm, sultry August evening. The prowling man wasn't dressed right for building anything either. He wore khakis and a red short-sleeved polo shirt hanging outside his slacks. I couldn't tell from this distance if the dark mark he had over his heart was an alligator or a pony or a spot of dried gravy from his dinner. I studied him. His clothes might be ordinary, but there was something not quite right about him, though I couldn't decide what it was with the lowering sun shining so brightly in my eyes. I raised my hand to shield my eyes. Was he just moving awkwardly, like someone who had a sprained ankle, or was he really skulking? Either way, as far as I knew, at this time of day no one should be anywhere near any of the houses in this very new, very upscale development. I excluded myself, of course. From high on my ladder at the tall back window of the living room which ran the depth of the model house, I eyed the interloper. If I'd been hanging one of the front or side windows, I wouldn't have seen him. If I'd been standing on the floor, I wouldn't have seen him. The fence across the backyard and the plantings artistically fronting it, especially the weeping cherry, would have blocked him from view. I frowned. Should I tell someone about him? Call someone? Oh, Mr. or Ms. 911 Person, there's a man walking around in the backyard of one of the houses in Freedom's Chase. And what is this man doing? Walking around in the backyard of one of the houses in Freedom's Chase. That's it? Call me back when he does something illegal, okay? But isn't trespassing illegal? Then again, what if he was just looking around with the idea of buying a house here? "How much longer will you be?" The question, asked from behind me in a very male, rather abrupt voice, startled me, and I almost lost my precarious footing. I put a hand out and caught the upper sash to steady myself. With my sudden movement and less firm grip on the material, the heavy window treatment I held began to slip from my grasp. The slick silk flowed south with determination, a fabric Mississippi heading for the wooden Gulf of Mexico. See No Evil "No!" I couldn't let that wonderful fabric get all wrinkled, maybe even damaged, not after all the hours I'd put in working on it. I lunged for it, the man outside forgotten, the man inside ignored. Then the curtain was forgotten too as I belatedly realized that you can't lunge when high on a stepladder. Maybe, I thought desperately as I flailed my arms, I could sort of step backwards and find the floor without falling flat on my back or stepping on the precious material. Of course that would be quite a step; the floor was several feet down. "Watch it! You're going to fall!" the man behind me yelled helpfully. Tell me something I don't know! I scrunched my eyes shut as I felt myself plummet in a graceful sort of slow motion, at least until gravity got hold of me. Then it became full speed ahead. Lord, don't let it hurt too much! How would I ever finish my decorating job if I broke my leg"or broke anything, for that matter? And then theRoper, Gayle G. is the author of 'See No Evil ', published 2007 under ISBN 9780373442294 and ISBN 0373442297.