The Woman Next Door Read Free

shocked at the idea of anyone watching them. “Elizabeth Matthews comes and goes at all hours of the day and night, and you have to admit, it is suspicious.” She yelped as the board cracked across her sore rear end once again.
    “It is that kind of thinking that has you bent over the arm of this sofa getting your ass end whipped raw, Catherine. Once again, you have no right to watch Elizabeth’s comings and goings.” He put some arm behind the paddle, and knew that he was going to have to stop soon. Her bottom couldn’t take much more. “Are you prepared to leave that bush alone?” he asked her.
    “Yes!” Catherine hissed. Anything to stop the torture of her behind. She was so sore now that it would be days before sitting would be comfortable. “Please stop, Hubert Eugene.”
    “I’ll stop for now, Catherine, but if there are any more displays like today’s, you won’t have a butt left. Is that clear?”
    Catherine quickly nodded, but her mind was already working on a plan to get rid of that unsightly bush.
    * * *
    Craig Johnson was happy to see the end of his shift. It had been a long and trying day starting with the funeral of one of the most respected police officers in town. Bud Billings died of cancer, a cancer he managed to hide from all of them for several months until the pain got so bad he needed hospice care. Then he got the call from Mr. Huffy, asking his help with a situation before his wife got herself into serious trouble. Mr. Huffy thought that a police visit was called for, and Craig did his best to put fear into the women. He hadn’t expected to find himself attracted to their neighbor, but he was, and she was all he could think about the rest of his shift… even when his head needed to be on the murder they were trying to solve. He expected to work late after they got the call from the crime scene, but it was one of those rare times when they were waiting for information from out of state and there was little he could do at this point.
    It gave him time to go see Elizabeth and deal with her temper. Another police officer would have arrested her, and Craig was going to impress that upon her cute little rear. He pulled up in front of her home, happy he was driving his own vehicle. His dark eyes scanned the yard, and he smiled when he saw the undisturbed burning bush. He certainly didn’t want to arrest Hubert’s wife. His Dad would not be pleased if he did something like that, and he doubted Hubert would be pleased either. Craig walked up the sidewalk, wondering if Elizabeth was prepared for him to arrive. He rang the doorbell and waited. There was no answer. He knocked, wondering if her doorbell was broken. Still, there was no answer. Craig was ready to leave, but first he peeked in the window of her garage door. Her car was there. The little brat was hiding from him!
    He marched to the front door, knocked and rang the doorbell. When she didn’t answer, he tried the door and found it unlocked. Now he was alarmed. What if someone broke in and harmed her? He called her name and started searching. He found her in the kitchen, and quickly called 9-1-1 as he knelt beside her on the floor and felt for a pulse. It looked like she’d fallen off a rickety old stool and hit her head on the counter when she fell.
    It didn’t take the paramedics long to arrive, and they immediately started an IV and readied her for a trip to the hospital. “I know this woman,” one of the paramedics said with a frown. “It’s Elizabeth, and she works in the ER at River Crossing.”
    “Yeah, she’s the best. Let’s get her there so they can help her, John.” The other man seemed concerned, too, and Craig stopped them for a moment.
    “Do either of you know if she has any family I can contact?”
    “Her contact information will be on her employee records at the hospital.”
    Craig nodded, and then grabbed her purse, her keys and her cell phone to bring along to the hospital. He locked the door behind him, and