Caitlin breathed deeply as she turned off the ignition and peered through her smudged windscreen. The kitchen light was on, and a dark shadow moved inside. “She’s home”, Caitlin sighed. She paused for a moment before bundling up her bags for the nightly dance to the door: groceries in one hand, worn briefcase in the other, and hand bag perched precariously in between.
A note met her in the hallway: “Caitlin, I’ve gone to Nebraska for the weekend with Joel. Just thought I’d let you know that the shower needs a good scrub. Electricity bill attached xo”. Caitlin winced. She could hear Sarah’s verbose southern twang, “Don’t forget to the pay the electricity bill, sweetie pie!”
The kitchen sink heaved with the remnants of Sarah’s life: three coffee cups, orange peel, fry pan with complimentary burnt eggs, empty tin of beans, two Tupperware containers and a used pot of bikini wax. “Shit.” Caitlin breathed out and leaned against the sink. She created a new list in her mind of “things to do tonight”, with Sarah’s rank dishes and mess coming in at number one. Behind her, a shadow moved.
Within an hour Caitlin had de-contaminated the kitchen and prepared a tasty Japanese salad. She had even poured herself a glass of pinot noir to celebrate her empty nest. She knew that she had put far too much mirrin in the salad dressing, but was pleased with her attempt nonetheless. She contemplated her toe nails as she sat in front of the blaring television, realizing that it had been at least three months since she’d last paid them any attention. The peace was a welcome gift, Caitlin thought, as it gave her the time and space to indulge her most inane thoughts. Every now and then, she thought she could hear Sarah moving in the bathroom. Caitlin giggled, “one single glass of wine and I’m imagining she’s back.”
After falling into a brief dream on the couch, Caitlin lazily opened her eyes and found that her salad bowl and wine glass had been moved. She gazed up at the ceiling, straining to remember if she herself had moved them. “Must have”, she mumbled. The television screen stared blankly at her. “Did I turn off the T.V.?” Caitlin mused, feeling an underwhelming unease that she knew was a direct consequence of her over-active imagination and seeing “The Ring” many more times than was necessary.
She lifted her heavy bones off the couch and moved towards the hall. In a moment, voices filled the room. Caitlin turned to find the television back on, roaring as its volume steadily increased. A blonde southern belle yelled at Caitlin to try a new feather duster, “with four times more dust grabbing power!” “Where the hell is the remote control?” Caitlin cried out, desperately scanning the room for an answer.
*****
It wasn’t until exactly one month later that Caitlin and Sarah’s elderly neighbour, Jennifer, decided to call the police. She hadn’t seen either of the two young girls come in or out of their home for weeks. The bins hadn’t moved. A pile of damp newspapers was starting to form on their front porch. The first snow of winter had enveloped Caitlin’s car. “I know she didn’t care much for that old thing”, Jennifer explained to the police, “but there’s no way she wouldn’t have moved it into the garage for the first days of winter”.
Sergeant Gidon was assigned the task of inspecting the share property on Hayley Street. He was relieved to escape Headquarters, especially in light of what was regularly referred to around the traps as winter’s “bureaucratic avalanche”. When he arrived at 28 Hayley Street, he was surprised to find that the door to the unit clicked open with ease.
The atmosphere inside was stale. All of the windows were covered, making the place feel and smell like a dank hovel. Gidon moved into the living room to pull back the heavy curtains. His eyes soon adjusted to the light. Peering at the floor, he suddenly confronted the wide eyes of a dead woman. Caitlin lay in a contorted tangle: a television remote control between her limp hands, a full bowl of Japanese salad beside her head and a glass of pinot noir splashed across her body and the white carpet.
Moments later, a panicked Gidon found Caitlin’s housemate Sarah, sitting dead in the base of their shower.
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