Ping

Tuesdays… Always on a Tuesday.

Yes, I am going to get into it.

My name is Officer Steven Frye (no jokes, please), and I was assigned to a case that was too close to home. A simple domestic dispute that turned into something very unpleasant for all the wrong reason.

You really want me to get into all of it here?

Okay, I should not have been on the case. I was doing someone a favor by doing things off-book and without the police – other idiots stirring the pot would not have helped – and in my own free time.

It’s my neighborhood, anyway. Or, it was.

And let’s start at the very beginning.

It began with a noise.

*

I have lived in that neighborhood for over ten years, and Ms. Stengel was a fixture that all the neighbours recognized and respected.

Okay, maybe “respected” is my putting a nice touch on top of all this nonsense, but I really never had any problems for her.

The others…?

“Will you please talk to her…again?”

That was my wife, at the time, telling me that she would like my kind manner and polite demeanor to…

Sorry, I am off topic.

We had our daughter, Ginnie, and Pamela wanted me to talk to the long-term neighbor who was always finding something to complain about…and who always would eventually find me.

“Officer!”

Ms. Helen Stengel of 202 Redwood Crescent, a former beauty queen whose husband died several years ago on a truck delivery (all behind the wheel, they said), found me walking down the street before I could even say a word.

“Officer! I have a complaint!”

I turned up her walkway, stepping over the broken tiles and weeds as I saw her stand on her porch, cigarette in hand and cane leaning on the door.

“Ms. Stengel…”

“Have you heard it yet?”

“Heard what?”

“That damn noise!” She was pointing across the street at a row of homes that were built very recently; some lights were on and I could see people preparing dinner and relaxing after a long and windy spring day. I really did envy them.

“Ms. Stengel,” I kept using her name, “I did not hear anything because I was at work all day. Could you describe the noise…?”

“It’s just noise, like some goddamn computer going off with its beeps and stuff. I really don’t know how to describe it.” She took a very long drag on her cigarette, and suddenly I needed one, too (promised my wife I would stay away from them, but still, I had the itch).

“So, it’s a loud beep you’ve been hearing.”

“Ping.”

“Ping?” At least she was pretty specific about the noise; could probably work with that.

“Yeah, a ping sound. That’s what I heard.” She threw the butt into a old Folgers can, and opened the screen door, making sure to check her cats that were itching to get out. “Just listen for it. You’ll probably hear it tonight.”

“Okay, Ms. Stengel, I will. Thank you for coming to me with it.”

“You were coming to me. I just stopped you.”

“Right, well, have a good night.”

Was that a smile? I had not seen one on her face before and could have been fooled.

“You, too.” She shut the screen door on me and I was left with the odor of cigarette smoke and cat dander. The wind began to pick up as I walked home.

And there was no noise.

*

This coffee’s getting cold…

Right, well, I’ll wait for it and keep you all entertained with the details.

I went and looked around the neighborhood facing our homes and found nothing unusual. Some kids had a party in their backyard – all chaperoned from what I could see (what’s happening with these kids?) – there was a speaker set up, but it was just music. It wasn’t anything you could hear from across four lanes of traffic. So, nothing.

But that did not stop our neighborhood watch from interrogating me.

“You heard it?”

I was standing in front of her home when it all went down. She stopped me as I was walking over to her place and I saw her again with the cigarette and cane. She looked like she was eager for me to stay.

“Ms. Stengel, I have spent over a week and a half going over your story, and looking at the neighborhood. I can’t find anything that would make you hear such a noise.”

She did not look disappointed, at first. Her cat – a grey tabby – was lingering on the porch, just like it was waiting for her to come back or do something with this stranger.

“Thought so. No one else can hear it except me.”

And then, like I wanted to see this mousetrap go off, I had to ask a very dumb question.

“Ms. Stengel, where were you when you heard the noise?”

That got her a little flustered.

“What you mean?”

“Well, were you inside your home or outside? Were you in front of the house or in your backyard? It could help me a bit.”

She considered that for a moment, took a long drag on that cigarette, and stared up at me. It was really like being examined by a doctor when you have a strange pain that they can’t find. She almost smiled again.

“Come up.”

“What?”

“Just…come in for a moment.”

I thought about it for a moment. It was still nice outside. The wind was down and I had some time before I had to pick up my daughter.

So, why not?

And the house was a real revelation. A lot of antiques and memories from her past. Her husband was a veteran from the photos I could see in the front room. She had a few of her photos from the beauty pageant days and, yeah, not a bad looking woman back in the day.

“I had my time.”

“Sorry?” I was staring at some pictures around the television. She kept the place clean and I noted how there was a noticeable lack of dust anywhere. How did she keep the place so clean on her own, I thought.

“I was something special. Joe thought so.”

“Your husband?”

She coughed and crushed her cigarette out in an ashtray she found on a side table. “Indeed. Now, please take a seat. I am making some tea for you for all your work.”

“Ma’am, you don’t…”

“But I will.” She walked rather abruptly to the kitchen and I could hear her pouring water and the kettle being moved around. I could hear her look for some cups and saucers. I heard her moving through the spoons and other items in her drawer.

And then I heard it.

She said it was like a “ping” that she was hearing. Not a bad description. But I would not say that it was just a noise. It something that you could actually feel and have disrupt your thoughts when you least expect it. My bones shook in my head and torso. Literal teeth chattering and I felt like it would not end.

How long did it last? Well, it was under a minute from my watch, but I thought it was the rest of my week.

And then I thought about her.

I looked over at the kitchen, wondering if my bones could take standing up and rushing over to see if Ms. Stengel was fine.

And she was standing right there. No cane or cat, just her with a terrible smile on her face; same dark dissecting look. She was actual proud of herself for getting me to come in.

Wish it had just ended there, but no. She had to say more.

“Got ya, Officer Frye.”

*

This should be my complaint. I really do not know how I got home. Pamela saw me on the couch and yelled at me about our daughter, but I could barely hear her. And I did not want to hear anything from anyone for a very long time.

The rest is pretty much all you have in that little file of yours.

And you should go over there and check this out on your own. I know that she gave you a statement about how I was rambling and incoherent and tried to force my way in, but I am the victim here.

And that’s that. You can go over and experience for yourself.

Just listen…