Leaves Dropping

“Good morning Kay,” Jon said to his long-time neighbor. Both were standing, in bath robes, on their respective front porches grabbing the newspaper.

“Hello Jon. It looks like it’s going to be a lovely day.”

“It sure is. The fall season is here! There’s lots of leaves dropping going on here,” Jon said.

Kay’s smile dissipated over Jon’s remark. Kay thought her passive-aggressive neighbor was complaining about her infamous-chronic curiosity.

“Well, Jon it appears you caught me,” She said giving a timid frown. “If you are referring to my eavesdropping the other day, then I apologize.”

Jon stared at Kay looking confused.

“Eavesdropping?” He asked.

“Yes, you mentioned eavesdropping.”

Jon laughed at his neighbor’s comment.

“No, I said leaves dropping, leaves from trees, not eavesdropping.”

Both Neighbors paused then laughed at the miscommunication.

“I’m sorry, my hearing is gone,” Kay said as she continued chuckling.

“It’s ok Kay. After all of these years, we almost had our first neighborly spat.”

“I’m so sorry. I hear things and they don’t make sense, so I know that I am not hearing it correctly.”

Jon smiled.

“What did you think you heard?”

“It’s embarrassing Jon. I really shouldn’t bring it up. You have your own life now. You are a grown man.”

“Jesus Kay! You sound like my Mother and I’m older than you!”

“Well I saw the young Woman that came over your house the other evening. Now I’m not one to judge, I know that you’ve been lonely since Becky passed.”

Jon felt embarrassed, dropping his rolled-up newspaper back on the porch.

“It’s not what you think Kay. Yes, I’m lonely since Becky died but not for that.”

Kay felt bad bringing up the young, attractive Woman. Jon picked up the newspaper again.

“No need to explain anything to me Jon. I get lonely too since Tony died. I just never acted on my sexual needs, that’s all.”

Jon dropped the paper again, clearing his throat. He could feel his face turning red.

“It is not what you think Kay. I can assure you that!”

He grunted as he stooped down to clutch the twice dropped paper.

“That’s why I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. We’ve been neighbors for so long, our kids grew up together and I was close with Becky when you were on those long business trips.”

“And I was close with Tony when you went on your work trips.” Jon said “I thought the world of Tony, your kids and, of course, you. We are the last of the originals in this neighborhood. We are family.”

Kay gave an endearing smile.

“You are such a lovely Man! I know you have my back and I have yours!”

Being neighbors for decades with Jon and the departed Becky made them family in her mind as well.

“And that’s why I couldn’t believe what I was hearing the other night on your back deck.”

“What did you hear?” Jon asked and laughed.

“Well the Woman asked you about the kind of cereal eater you were. Then she said something about street walking or stalking at night. That’s when I figured she was a prostitute spending the night with you and staying for breakfast.”

Jon felt the inside of his stomach burn with sudden indigestion.

“Oh dear,” he muttered.

Kay continued.

“Then she talked about her garden, which we both know what that means.”

Jon shrugged. He didn’t know what a woman’s garden was, but, possibly, it was something to do with the female anatomy.

“Kay this is getting awkward again. The Woman you heard was a journalist and wanted to see the trees near my new garden.”

“Trees?”

“Yes. I showed her the trees and the garden.”

Kay opened her mouth wide then closing it with a pursed lipped smile.

“Jon you showed a stranger your new garden but not your neighbor of four decades,” she said in a scolding tone.

Aggravated, Jon eyed his nosy neighbor.

“Come on in and I’ll show you,” he said.

Kay smiled. She was curious to see Jon’s back yard since he was out there at all times during the day working on the garden. She could hear him shoveling and raking the dirt. It was hard to see, and insulting to her, when Jon installed a fence that blocked her view. Jon told her it was done to keep the deer’s out of the garden, but yet Kay wondered if he was hiding something else.

Jon led Kay into the back yard. In the far back of the yard on the outskirts of the woods, Kay saw a white picket fence, waist high, around the garden area. There was a wide variety of colorful vegetation. The vibrant garden was pretty to view though there was a gaseous smell of death that made her nauseous.

Jon grabbed a hoe and started jabbing at a few mounds of fresh dirt.

“What do you think?” He asked looking for acknowledgment on his newfound hobby.

“It’s lovely Jon! Just lovely.”

“Ever since Becky died, I’d been building the garden. It has become a passion of mine. I guess some people hire ho’s and others garden with hoes.”

Both neighbors laughed though Kay felt silly.

“I’m so sorry Jon. I should never eavesdrop on you the other night.”

“You mean leavesdrop,” he replied and snickered.

“You’re such a wit Jon. Had I got this out to the ladies at Thursday’s tea, Lord knows where the story would lead too.”

“I don’t want to be known as the man that run’s the town with a Jezebel.”

The neighbors laughed.

“Are those tomatoes?” Kay asked.

“Yes, do you want some?”

“That is so kind. Yes.”

“Help yourself.”

Kay walked past the opened picket gate. She did feel weird wearing her pink robe over her pink nightgown. Kay removed her slippers exposing her bare feet to the wet dirt as she approached the tomatoes.

“Pick whatever ones you like. All are good to be picked and will be ripe in a few days,” Jon said.

Kay smiled and stared at the tomato stalks. She then turned and saw a large dirt mound to the right. That’s where the pungent smell was emanating from.

“That’s just fertilizer,” he said.

“What kind?”

“A little bit of different things.”

“What are you planning to plant there?” She asked.

“I’m not sure yet. I may just plant something there in the spring. I just wanted to move the dirt around to get the oxygen in there.”

“Well I’m sure you will figure something out.”

Kay started tugging at a large bright tomato from its vine.

“Kay, I have a confession to make.”

“Really what?” Kay asked plucking another tomato.

“I lied to you about the real reason the Reporter visited me. She told me to keep it hushed up, but I can trust you.”

Kay turned to Jon.

“You’ve piqued my curiosity!” Kay added giving a half-wry smile.

Jon stopped raking the mound next to Kay.

“It wasn’t cereal.”

“Cereal?” She asked.

“Yes, what you thought the Reporter was saying cereal eater. It was serial as in serial killer. She’s researching about a serial killer, a Man, that was killing people throughout the country during the last forty years. The killer was known as the Leaf Dropper, placing a leaf on the victims.”

“Really?”

“Yes. The Reporter figured out what authorities have overlooked for years.”

“What’s that?”

“Well the Leaf that the Killer placed on the victims’ was from a tree indigenous not only to this part of Connecticut but to this town, specifically in this neighborhood.”

Kay’s mouth opened.

“Incredible!”

“Yes, the land developer of this neighborhood had an arborist enthusiast for a Wife who loved this specific tree.”

“So, one of them, or both, must be the serial killer!” Kay proclaimed. “Wait till the Ladies hear this.”

“Please don’t say anything. Not until authorities are involved.” Jon said leaning the hoe between two of the small fence’s pickets. “The Reporter is coming back to talk with me before she approaches the Police. She thinks that she is close to cracking the case.”

“I won’t.” Kay said placing the tomatoes in her robe’s pockets. “Thanks for the tomatoes.”

“Anytime. I’ll let you know what comes out with the Reporter.”

Jon reached for the long wooden handle of the hoe, but it was gone. He turned towards Kay but saw the hoe swoop down onto his head. The blow hit him hard as half of the hoe blade sunk into his skull. Still alert, Jon touched the blood that was dropping along the side of his face. He looked and saw his neighbor of over four decades eyeing him. 

“I’m sorry my dear. I truly am. I regret eavesdropping on you the other day. I’m the serial killer known as the Leaf Dropper. On my business travels, I tended to get bored and needed a stress release. Dealing with the kids and Tony, that lousy sloth of a husband, made me crave to get my aggressions out. Some people either drink, pop pills, smoke pot or screw around. Me, I just killed people. It was fun and let’s face it, who’d really expect me? I was just some admin for the CEO who traveled a lot. It paid the bills and my urges.”

Jon mumbled as the blow short circuited his cognitive abilities. He fell to his knees on the dirt mound. Kay pulled out the hoe from Jon’s head like pulling an ax out of a tree stump.  

“I want to thank you for being a great neighbor Jon. And also thank you for taking the blame. You see I’m going to plant, no pun intended, my trophies in your house.”

Jon was still on his knees wiping the pouring blood from his face. Kay saw the odd smirk on Jon’s face.

“I promise you a good burial here in this garden.”

Kay took the spade shovel and smashed it across Jon’s face. Jon fell backwards looking up at his cold and despondent neighbor as she made one final blow.

The wind blew through the trees. The leaves sounded like the clapping from an applauding audience. A leaf fell off a tree and landed on Jon’s body.

“Oh Jon, our first neighborly spat,” Kay said, “and our last.”

In her pink bath robe, Kay started digging a hole into the fresh dirt mound. She started gagging at the fertilizer smell coming from the dirt. After a few stabs and scoops, Kay hit what she thought was a rock or detached tree route, but it was a larger mass. Kay got on her knees and started sweeping away the dirt from the mass. After removing the dirt from the mass, Kay gasped at the sight of a Woman’s body. The body was that of the Reporter. The Woman’s hands were folded together on her chest holding onto a leaf.

THE END