– 26 –
Cory awoke suddenly and glanced at the illuminated clock on her bedside table. It read 3:00AM. She wasn’t sure what had awakened her. Rita was on her mind before she had fallen asleep. Perhaps she had a bad dream about her, but she couldn’t recall it.
She jotted a note to herself to follow up on the investigation of Rita’s disappearance.
Later that morning, Don Koppel rang her doorbell. She promptly opened the door.
“I was out taking my morning walk and decided to drop in on you to keep you up to speed on our neighborhood watch team.”
She ushered him into the kitchen. “I was just having breakfast. Please join me.”
“Just coffee, please. I’m here with some disturbing neighborhood news.”
Cory shuddered. “Oh, my. What is it, Don?”
“We have a strange, reclusive neighbor just a fe
