How Did You Know?

Neighbors can lead to trouble. 300-word flash

How Did You Know?

“Here comes trouble,” I heard as I came into our backyard. I froze for a nano-second. Then realized it was just a common expression and didn’t indicate that someone knew.
“What’s this? I asked casually.
“I thought we’d have a neighborhood BBQ before the snow flies,” my husband commented as he manned the grill.
“First and last cookout of the season,” I replied approvingly.

“Where did you get the ground meat?” I asked, a chill running through me.
“I found a whole mess of it in the freezer.” I cursed myself for putting it there. I should have tossed it in the town dump.
“I wanted to invite Todd from next door, but he isn’t answering his phone.”
“You know how he likes to gamble. He probably left Friday,” I said.

I sat down with an Italian sausage on a bun and stared at it. Suddenly, I couldn’t swallow! I’d been putting up with Todd since we first moved in beside him. When my husband left for work and eventually deployment, he would always show up at the door acting all neighborly and solicitous.
I believed him until he forced his way inside and attacked me. It was humiliating! I couldn’t tell my husband, because I knew he wouldn’t wait for the police.

What was worse, he kept trying to do it again. This weekend I snapped. When he pushed in, I took a cast iron frying pan and I beat him until he died.
I needed a way to get rid of the body. So, I ground up what I could in my meat grinder and stuffed it in the freezer until I could get rid of it. The rest I buried in the ball field down the street, it made a perfect pitcher’s mound!