Read Online The Girl Next Door by Patricia MacDonald - Free Book Online

out of tune. As Duncan entered the house and set his bag down, Nina went around
     to the windows, pulling back curtains and opening the blinds. Patches of faded butterscotch
     light began to appear on the worn wall-to-wall carpet.
    “There,” she said, “that’s better. We’ll get this place aired out.”
    “Where do you want these?” asked Duncan, indicating the newspapers he had collected.
    “There’s a recycling can beside the back door. Put them in there.”
    Duncan went into the kitchen and looked around.
    “Just outside. Open the back door,” said Nina.
    Duncan did as she asked, and then returned to the living room.
    “You can have my old room,” said Nina. “It’s the one on the right at the top of the
     stairs. I’ll take Aunt Mary’s room down here.” Although her old room was smaller than
     her aunt’s bedroom and was decorated in girlish pink gingham, it was a little more
     cheerful than Aunt Mary’s room, which had not seen a change of décor or a coat of
     paint in many years. Besides, she didn’t know how her aunt would feel about Duncan
     staying there.
    “Okay,” said Duncan indifferently. He looked around the shabby but comfortable living
     room. The striped wallpaper was faded, and peeling in spots. But the bright watercolor
     landscapes that hung in a grouping over the sofa still looked fresh and lovely. Noticing
     Duncan looking at his late wife’s paintings, Nina felt a little anxious, but her father’s
     face betrayed no emotion.
    Several times Aunt Mary had urged Nina to take some of her mother’s paintings with
     her and hang them in her apartment, but Nina’s residences were always temporary. She
     planned someday to have an actual home, she had told her aunt. A suitable place to
     hang them.
    Duncan walked over to a display of framed photos on Aunt Mary’s piano and examined
     them.
    Nina joined him. “Do you remember all these people?” she asked.
    Duncan nodded slowly. “Oh sure. Your mother’s family. I knew most of them. Your grandparents.
     There’s your uncle John. And of course, these …” Aunt Mary had all the Avery children’s
     pictures framed and on display. Duncan picked up Nina’s high school graduation photo,
     which was larger and more prominent than those of her brothers. Nina hadn’t really
     looked at that photo in a long time. She was struck by the look of sadness in her
     own eyes.
    “I had the one you brought me in my cell,” he said. “I looked at it every day.” He
     set the photo back down carefully and then picked up another, smaller graduation picture
     displayed beside it. It was a black-and-white photo and the girl pictured in the photo
     had raven hair like Nina’s, but there was no sorrow in her eyes and she had a bright,
     vivacious smile.
    “She probably looked like that when you met her,” Nina said gently.
    Duncan stared at it for a moment and then replaced the photo of his late wife on the
     surface of the piano. “Shall we go and see Jimmy?” he said.
    Nina was a little taken aback by the abrupt change of subject. “Uh … I don’t know.
     I have to call him.”
    “Does he know we’re arriving today?” Duncan asked.
    “No. It was so sudden. I didn’t have a chance to call him. I’ll call him now.”
    “I’ll take my bag up,” said Duncan, heading for the stairs.
    “Okay,” said Nina, feeling vaguely troubled. She glanced back at the photo of her
     mother, a high school girl smiling with such innocence and hopefulness, completely
     unaware of the violent, bloody way her life would end. People always wishedthey knew the future, she thought. It was better not to know. How many people would
     really want to go on if they knew what the end would be? With a sigh, she went into
     the kitchen and sat down next to where the phone was hanging on the wall. She dialed
     her brother’s number and waited while it rang.
    J IMMY was having his AA meeting at the Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall. He had told
     Nina to