Stacy Matthews - Dear Mary 01 - Think Twice Before You Order by Stacy Matthews

enough to have had a
maid service if not a live in maid.
    Charlie was very methodical in the way we approached each of
the houses. First we would go to the front door and knock. If no one answered
we would casually walk to the backdoor. Then we would try to find a window that
had a blind left open to try and get a look inside, but those were few and far
between ; All the while trying not to attract attention
from the neighbors or anyone else for that matter. I don’t know how long he has
been retired but I was amazed at how easy it was for him to open the door. Once
we were inside, the way we moved was even more precise. He told me to make sure
not to touch anything. If someone did come home everything needed to be as it
had been when he or she left.
    We made our way back to the first house we had gone to in
Mission Hills a few days before. He was very interested in getting into that
house; apparently he had been able to get a good look through a back window,
and thought it looked as though someone had been spending more time in that
house than the others. We parked the car again and headed up the driveway. We
rang the doorbell to make sure no one was home. No one answered so we went
around to the back of the house. We went to the guesthouse to make sure no one
was staying there. When no one answered Charlie let us in. It was empty and the
furniture was covered with sheets. All of the appliances where unplugged. From
the looks of it I don’t think anyone had been in that guesthouse for quite some
time.
    We went to the back door of the house and used Charlie’s
“key” to let ourselves in. The first thing I noticed was the large amount of
mail on the kitchen table. I know what you’re thinking and no, we didn’t open
any of it; we did try looking through the envelopes. Most of it seemed to be
junk mail. There were a few bills but none of them seemed to be overdue. I went
through all the paper work I could find at the desk in the kitchen very
carefully, hoping I could find something that would have told me where these
people might have gone. We checked the rest of the house and nothing seemed to
be out of place or rummaged through. They had a wall safe in the master
bedroom; it was still locked and didn’t show any signs of being tampered with.
    We were standing there in the master bedroom trying to figure
out what was going on with these people when we heard someone come in the back
door. I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life. Of course Charlie was
calm. I wanted to hide, there’s no shame in hiding, but before I could get to a
good hiding spot Charlie grabbed my arm and we were sneaking back down the hall
towards the kitchen. I was in a crouching position on one side of the hallway
and Charlie the other. I swear I have never had an adrenalin rush like that
before. My heart was beating so fast I couldn’t hear a thing; it was like being
in a silent movie. He was doing little hand signals and I still have no idea
what they meant but I was actually moving and quietly at that! We got to the
kitchen door and were crouched down on either side. Charlie was doing some of
those little head moves you see cops on TV doing, trying to get a look at the
person in the kitchen. I thought since I had only ever seen this on TV it would
be best to leave it to him to do. I didn’t want to take the chance of bobbing
when I should have been weaving and bang heads.
    Now this is the part gets a little hazy, so I’m not entirely
sure this is the way everything happened but it’s the way I remember it. All of
the sudden Charlie jumped up, ran into the kitchen yelling “Tatiana?” She
turned around, saw it was Charlie and tried to run. He caught her before she
could make it to the door. There she was. The mail order bride my Grandpa had
married. She was screaming and crying trying to get away from him. I’ve never
seen anyone that hysterical. Charlie got her to a chair, and she calmed down a
little. She just kept saying