The Petersons

"No no no" said Sally, the mother of the house. "We can't have new neighbors move in". Sally Peterson, and her three children, Desi, Arnez, and Sara, moved to the city from the country hoping to get away from... recent incidents... She had once been the landlord of the house next door but that deal feel through. Ms. Peterson had been devastated and distraught about the thought of new neighbors. Now it was happening and her worst nightmares would come to life.

The Petersons had been living in Alabama for 9 years in a big, fancy home. Mr. Peterson had a well payed job, but he was rarely around to see his kids grow up. Ms. Peterson had seen love at first sight when she met Morgan, and even though she's thought she was ready, she was nowhere near. She had twins, Desi and Arnez, with Morgan and spent every day and night watching after them. She was tired and weary because her husband never came to watched the children. "Where is he?" Sally thought aloud while remembering her husband's kind smile. Her twins seemed to pick up her emotions and started crying. She missed Morgan and was curious where he had been for the months he had been away.

Meanwhile Mr. Peterson had been having trouble of his own. He camped out in parking lots, stolen cars, subways, or any place he could find. He had been on the run for so long it felt as if he should just give up. "No" he thought to himself. "I can't give up now or else I'll get sentenced for life." He had done something horrible. he couldn't even admit it to himself. He had needed money to get away from his wife and children. He had gotten his wish, in an unexpected way. Just years before he had been crusing in the Atlantic. But then on the cold Wednesday of July 2nd, he couldn't take it anymore.

Back at the house Sally had given birth to her third, and last child Sara. She passed out at least once a day from exhaustion. She thought she had found true love and then gotten her heart broken. Now, she was getting new neighbors. What could be worse? Her husband had committed a crime so horrible, she couldn't tell it to the police. And the evidence was in the house right next door. She didn't want Morgan to be caught, did she? She had pondered this night and day saying it in her head over and over. If the body was right there, then couldn't she just say something to the authorities? The only problem with new neighbors was that if they found the corpse, they would blame her and her entire family and not just Morgan. She couldn't stand to part from her kids.

Every time Mr. Peterson was about to tell the police of his crimes and lift the burden, he backed out. He thought about his family and then that was it. He didn't wan't to see his wife and children get hurt. He had put them through so much that Sally would probably die from heartbreak. But what Joe had done to him was unacceptable. He had to get revenge. The choice could cost him his life.

July 2nd 2003 Morgan and Joe were out hiking. Morgan had just gotten married and had a new house in New York City. They were deeply in love. Joe was a long time friend to Morgan and an even closer business worker. They hiked the Appalachian Mountains every year together, so why stop now? The only problem was that Joe had just made a mistake. He had slipped and told his other friends that Morgan had cheated the system to become an accountant. He faked his diploma and degree. It didn't seem like a big deal to him because Morgan was clearly good at his job so he wouldn't get in trouble. Morgan had been outraged. He got in a huge fight with Joe until Joe lied dead on the floor of his apartment.

Sally had known none of this when she got married. She thought Morgan was a fun, respected guy with manners. Little did she know that the police were out looking for him. At first she took the news carelessly. "So he committed a crime and destroyed a man's life. It's not like it's going to affect me." she thought. Then one day police came to her house looking for a guy named Morgan Peterson. She was shocked and lied saying that she didn't know him. She said her husbands name was Harold Peterson and no one in his family had the name Morgan. The police went on their way.

Morgan had hid the body of Joe in the house next door because the landlord was his wife. "Easy enough" he thought. Then their money was gone. It had been stolen from the bank, and Sally could no longer keep her job. Morgan tried to retrieve the body, but the house was already being prepared for new management. He was scared. If they found the body and the other things hidden in there, they could trace the murder back to him. He had fingerprints on the body and a motive to kill. He would be tried for murder instantly. He had to figure out a plan.

The new neighbors moved in. They got settled and apparently hadn't looked under the floorboards. Morgan was shocked and outraged. He needed to get in there, but how? He decided to invite them out to dinner. Of course it was just him because his wife didn't know he was in town. He tried and it worked. Again he was shocked, but for a different reason. "The people who don't even know me agreed to come with me to dinner." he muttered under his breath. He went out with them, but he had a plan.

If Sally knew that her husband would be in town, she would have tried desperately to find him. He had been gone for so long. One day he said he was going to get fruit from the store. He never came back. She couldn't call the police because they would want his real name and find out she lied. She couldn't call her friends because she didn't have any. So what could she do? She found out that he was in town a little too late.

Mr. Peterson went out to dinner with the Wilsons. When they asked for his name he gave a fake one. When they asked where he lived he quickly changed the subject. That went on for a while until he messed up. He had had this big plan with a friend to retrieve the body and evidence. He ruined it. He said he had been in an argument with a guy named Joe. The story of the 2003 murder had been all over the news. Suddenly, the Wilsons became nervous. They asked more and more questions about him, and he wouldn't answer them honestly, because of course, the Wilson's didn't know him. He slipped up again and said his real name: Morgan. That was all the Wilsons needed to know. The mother excused herself to go get the check. She actually was going to try to find the police.

Ms. Wilson searched the restaurant with no luck. Finally, she stumbled upon a guy who looked like a police. She confessed her entire story. The policeman, Gus, was shocked since professionals had been trying to find this person for years, and this humble women had most likely found the murderer. Gus went to his station and retold the story with Ms. Wilson. They agreed they had to put this guy on trial. Ms. Wilson wondered why they didn't arrest him while in the restaurant, but it was too late to worry about that now. It turns out it was too late in general. Morgan was gone, and the Wilson family said he had gone to check on Ms. Wilson.

Now he was on the run. Morgan ran away as fast as he could. Since that the police knew what he looked like, he had to take extra precautions. He ran and ran looking for a safe place to hide. Morgan was so desperate, he tried the unbelievable. He called his wife.

Sally heard the phone ringing and picked it up. She didn't care who it was or why, she just wanted someone to talk to. She heard a voice on the other end that sounded scared and lonesome. She had a painful flashback of her husband the day he left. It was him. After so many years he had called back. She was furious and relieved. While in a state of shock, Morgan told her his plan. He said "to meet somewhere where I can stay. I need to get away from the police. They are after me and they know what I look like." Sally heard his plea and sounded sincere about wanting to help him.

She was convinced the plan would work, but not his plan. She had her own thoughts. She told him to meet her at an abandoned house so they would not be traced. But, her real plan was not that simple. She would need to get him far enough into the house for the police to surround him. Sally had thought about this hard. Now she finally had the chance to seek revenge on him.

The plan was in action. Morgan just needed to get to that house and he would be safe. He carefully pick pocketed a phone and searched the address his wife had given him. Morgan arrived at the location soon after the police had arrived. Luckily for Sally, the police had done a good job hiding their cars. Morgan, very carefully walked into the house, calling his wife's name. Ms. Peterson came running quickly from behind a wall. She had second thoughts seeing her husband again. After all, she could take him away and they could live a happy life. "No" she thought. "I have kids and he has already betrayed me once." She convinced herself to stick to the plan, and made a signal for her husband to follow her.

Sally carefully guided him through the abandoned house to the exact location that the police had gone over with her briefly. She stoped there and told Morgan to wait for a moment. Mr. Peterson had his doubts, but he did as he was told. Out of nowhere, police jumped out and he was surrounded. His worst fears had come true. He was being betrayed by his wife. Sally finally got her revenge.