Chapter 2 - Thirty-Seven Seconds at the Front Door
Adrian stood beside the car for several seconds, watching the motionless lawn mower.
He almost laughed at himself.
A man leaving his equipment unattended wasn't evidence of anything.
He was probably getting a drink.
Still, Adrian couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
He started up the walkway.
The house looked exactly as it had five minutes earlier.
White columns framed the entrance. Two large planters stood beside the front steps. Sunlight reflected off the brass door handle.
He reached the entrance and tried the knob.
Locked.
That surprised him.
Naomi usually left the front door unlocked while the landscaper worked outside, especially when Adrian had just departed.
He rang the bell.
No answer.
He rang again.
"Naomi?"
He checked his watch.
A few more seconds passed.
Then he heard movement behind the door.
It opened.
Naomi stood inside, smiling.
"Baby? What happened?"
Adrian looked at her.
"Forgot my keys."
"Oh, honey."
She stepped aside.
"They're probably on the console table."
Adrian entered.
His car keys were sitting exactly where she said they would be, beside a framed photograph of their daughter, Maya.
But Adrian didn't immediately pick them up.
From somewhere deeper inside the house came the sound of a man clearing his throat.
Adrian turned.
Isaiah appeared near the hallway leading toward the downstairs bathroom.
He was adjusting the cuff of one work glove.
"Morning again, Mr. Williams."
Adrian looked from Isaiah to Naomi.
"Everything all right?"
Naomi answered before Isaiah could speak.
"Of course. Isaiah just needed to use the restroom."
Isaiah nodded.
"Yes, sir."
Adrian held his gaze.
"Thought you were working on the lawn."
"I was. I'll get right back to it."
The explanation made sense.
A landscaper using the bathroom was hardly unusual.
But Adrian had noticed the hesitation before Isaiah answered.
And Naomi had spoken a little too quickly.
He picked up his keys.
"All right."
Naomi approached him.
"You're going to be late."
"I know."
She touched his arm.
"Don't let a missing set of keys ruin your morning."
Adrian forced a smile.
But he didn't kiss her goodbye this time.
When he walked back outside, Isaiah followed several steps behind him and returned to the mower.
Adrian watched from the driveway.
The man started the machine and resumed cutting the grass.
The entire incident had lasted only a few minutes.
Yet something had changed.
At work, Adrian tried to concentrate.
He had spent eleven years building a commercial insurance consulting firm from a rented office into a successful business. He knew how to manage complicated claims, negotiate contracts, and notice inconsistencies in financial documents.
He was less practiced at questioning his wife.
By noon, he had convinced himself that he was overreacting.
By three, he was replaying the moment again.
Why had Naomi locked the door?
Why had Isaiah looked uncomfortable?
Why had she been standing so close to him when Adrian entered?
He didn't know whether the details meant anything.
And he hated that he had started collecting them.
That evening, Adrian returned home carrying takeout from Maya's favorite restaurant.
Their fifteen-year-old daughter was sitting at the kitchen island, finishing a history assignment.
"Dad!"
She looked up from her laptop.
"Did you get the spicy noodles?"
"Would I disappoint my favorite daughter?"
"I'm your only daughter."
"That makes you the undisputed champion."
Maya laughed.
Naomi came downstairs a moment later.
She kissed Adrian's cheek and began unpacking the food.
Throughout dinner, she acted exactly as she always did.
She asked about his meetings.
She reminded Maya about a school appointment.
She complained that the lawn company had been charging too much for routine work.
Adrian watched her.
Nothing seemed different.
Then Maya mentioned the landscaper.
"Mom, did Mr. Cole fix whatever was wrong with the backyard last week?"
Naomi's hand stopped above her plate.
"What do you mean?"
"He was here on Wednesday when I came home early from school. I thought he was fixing something."
Naomi shrugged.
"He was checking the irrigation system."
Adrian looked up.
"Last Wednesday?"
"Yes," Naomi replied.
"I thought the lawn service was scheduled for Tuesdays."
"They sometimes come extra days."
Her tone remained calm.
But Adrian noticed that she was no longer looking at him.
He said nothing more.
Later that night, after Maya went upstairs, Adrian opened the household expense folder on his laptop.
Naomi usually handled the maintenance appointments, but Adrian paid the shared bills.
He found the landscaping invoices.
Tuesday.
Wednesday.
Friday.
Several additional visits over the previous two months.
Some were described as lawn maintenance.
Others were marked as consultations.
And one particular Wednesday carried a charge for irrigation repairs.
Adrian remembered that day.
It had rained heavily from morning until evening.
Nobody had needed the lawn cut.
He stared at the invoice for a long time.
May you like
For the first time, his suspicion had moved beyond one strange morning.
There were other days he hadn't known Isaiah was at his house.
