I assumed he had gone out or was returning rented chairs and tables.
I carried my bag inside, placed my mother’s food in the refrigerator, and checked the living room.
Nothing had been disturbed.
For one peaceful minute, I believed Mark had kept his promise.
Then I remembered the gate key.
I walked toward the back door, expecting to find it on the patio table.
The second I walked into my backyard, I froze.
There was a massive hole right in the middle of my lawn.
It was not a little pit for a bonfire. It looked like someone had excavated half my yard.
Fresh dirt was piled everywhere. My flower beds were destroyed. The roses had been crushed under heavy clumps of soil. The lavender plants had been torn out completely.
Whatever happened there had clearly taken hours.
I could not move.
My mind refused to understand what I was seeing.
Then the shock gave way to anger.
“Mark!”
I stormed next door, ready to demand an explanation.
I pounded on his front door.
Nobody answered.
I knocked again, harder.
“Mark, open the door!”
Silence.
His car was gone. The blinds were open, but the house looked empty.
There were no lamps, no pictures, and no furniture visible through the front windows.
A little later, another neighbor saw me pacing outside and came over.
Her name was Janice.
She lived across the street and seemed to notice everything that happened on our block.
“Are you looking for Mark?” she asked.
“Yes!” I said. “He had a birthday party in my backyard this weekend. Do you know where he is?”
She looked confused.
“Party? There wasn’t any party.”
I just stared at her.
“We saw him loading all his furniture into a moving truck Saturday morning,” she said. “Honestly, it looked like he was moving away.”
I felt my stomach tighten.
“But… he was supposed to be having people over.”
She slowly shook her head.
“No. He spent the entire weekend digging in your backyard. That’s all he did.”
I walked back into my house, completely unable to make sense of what I’d just heard.
I had barely sat down when someone rang my doorbell.
I opened it to find two police officers standing on my porch.
“Well, ma’am,” one of them said, “I think you know why we’re here.”
He gave me a serious look.
“Would you mind if we came inside?”
I stepped aside and let the officers enter.
The taller one introduced himself as Officer Gerald.
His partner was Officer Beckett. Both of them kept their expressions neutral, but I could tell they were watching me closely.
“Can I ask what this is about?” I said.
Officer Gerald glanced toward the back of the house.
“We received a report about suspicious digging on this property.”
I let out a breath that sounded almost like a laugh.
“Suspicious digging? My neighbor destroyed half my backyard.”
“Your neighbor being Mark?” Officer Beckett asked.
“Yes. Mark lived next door.”
Officer Gerald exchanged a look with his partner.
“How well do you know him?”
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