The Jury

I knew my family was famous for being judge and jury on every contentious news report, no matter how big or small.  When our neighbor came up missing, her disappearance was the main topic of every discussion for weeks.  And I knew my mother was ‘gardening’ more in the backyard in hopes of overhearing any sort of discussion that might be taken outside.  We were all required to participate in every search and rescue operation and listened intently to every conversation taking place.  There was bound to be some hint of discord between some of our neighbors because why else would Stacy go missing?  Or was it her husband?  Maybe she had a secret lover no one knew about? 

I was just as nosy as my mother, but I was able to keep most of my nosiness under wraps.  I preferred to listen where my mother usually asked question after question.  I was great at becoming invisible so people would feel comfortable talking in front of me though it taken years for people to forget about my mother enough to also forget about me.  The more time we spent searching for Stacy, the more nervous I became.  I had always been suspicious of her husband, but now I knew.  I knew he was the one.  And I knew where Stacy was.  And she was definitely not missing. She was in hiding in fear of her life. Either that or she was dead. Dead and buried under their new pool.