Episode 2 – Part 1: The Morning After

I didn’t sleep so much as hover in a state of threat assessment with pillows. Every car that drove past made me reach for the blinds. Every settling pop of the house made me imagine someone testing a window. Meanwhile, the kids slept like they were paid to advertise peace.

By 8:12 a.m., I was at the kitchen sink scrubbing a mug I’d already washed twice just to justify standing in front of the window.

The bag was gone.

Not shifted. Not flattened. Not relocated by wind or raccoon.

Gone.

I checked my phone. The timestamp from last night still sat there like a receipt.

Marlene – bag still there. 9:21 p.m. Someone retrieved something. Didn’t knock.

At 8:19, Marlene came outside.

Normally, she spots me from 200 yards like a heat-seeking missile for confrontation.

“Good morning, Laura! Your dogs barked until 11 p.m. again!” - My dogs were inside with me.

“Any plans to pressure wash your siding this century?” - Nope. Definitely not if you keep reminding me.

She disguises hostility as hospitality — it’s her superpower.

But today?

She didn’t even glance my direction.

She stepped onto the porch. Scanned the street. Checked the exact gutter bracket where the bag had hung. Hands clasped. Jaw tight. Looked for something — or someone.

And then… went back inside.

No greeting. No complaint. No fake smile.

Marlene Dolion, voluntary queen of neighborhood commentary, had nothing to say to me.

Which, frankly, alarmed me more than if she’d called Animal Control... Because, she had done that in the past too.