“I don’t. Not really. We’ve been neighbors for almost two years. He asked to use my yard for his brother’s birthday party. I gave him the gate key and went to my mother’s house.”
Officer Beckett opened a small notebook.
“When did he ask?”
“Friday afternoon.”
“And when did you leave?”
“About an hour later.”
“Did he say what time the party would begin?”
“He said Saturday afternoon.”
Officer Gerald folded his arms.
“There was no party, ma’am.”
“I know that now.”
My voice cracked. I hated how weak it sounded.
“He lied to me. He dug a giant hole in my lawn and disappeared. I don’t understand why you’re acting like I had something to do with it.”
“We aren’t accusing you of anything,” Officer Gerald replied. “We need to establish what happened.”
I led them into the backyard.
Neither man spoke at first.
The hole looked even worse under the porch light. It was nearly rectangular, with sharp sides and a deep center. The loose soil around it had started to slide back down.
Officer Beckett walked along the edge.
“This wasn’t done with a shovel alone,” he said.
“What does that mean?”
“He likely used machinery.”
I remembered the peaceful weekend at my mother’s house. While she had been arguing with me about dating, Mark had been tearing apart my yard with heavy equipment.
The thought made me sick.
Officer Gerald crouched near one of the dirt piles. He picked up something small with a gloved hand.
It was a torn strip of blue plastic.
“Did you own a tarp?” he asked.
“No.”
“Did Mark?”
“I have no idea.”
He placed the plastic inside an evidence bag.
I stared at the hole.
“What was he looking for?”
Neither officer answered.
Officer Beckett walked toward the back fence.
He shone his flashlight over the broken flower bed, then stopped near the corner where my roses had once grown.
“There are tire marks here,” he said.
Officer Gerald joined him.
“Small excavator, maybe.”
I wrapped my arms around myself.
“Can you please tell me why you’re here? Someone reported him digging. Fine. But why did you say I knew why you came?”
Officer Gerald looked embarrassed for the first time.
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