Hidden In Plain Sight

Lighting strikes twice

So close now!

Sadie turned off the motorway and found herself driving through a suburban area south of the city. The Google map on her phone estimated that her time of arrival was only a few minutes away.

She noticed how clean and cheerful the area was. It was just past lunchtime and some people were out jogging and pushing prams in the winter sunshine.

She turned the music down to help her concentrate better on finding Mary's place. This was the part she expected to get lost on as she drove down unfamiliar streets that twisted and turned.

"Your destination is on the right."

"Gee thanks, Gladys," Sadie murmured to her phone. Gladys was her pet name for the posh voice on her navigation app.

Is she right?

Sadie pulled over exactly where the app directed her to. The street was lined with various detached houses, all different from one another and separated by high thick bushes.

This is rather fancy! I must have taken a wrong turn!

She looked into the driveway of the house she was idling beside and she saw Mary's black Volvo parked neatly.

That's his reg plate! Oh my God, this is his place!

Hold up, this is a fancy house! I thought he lived in a small apartment like mine!

I suppose I better pull into the driveway. Don't want to get in anyone's way parked on the street.

Carefully she pulled in and parked behind Mary. She turned the ignition off and brushed her hair.

A dab of tantric perfume for him... and one for me!

She checked her makeup in the sun visor mirror and took a deep breath.

You're here! You made it! Go get him!

She grabbed her overnight bag and stepped out. As she walked past his car, she glanced inside it. The familiar glittery skull hanging from his rearview mirror grinned at her, confirming she definitely had the right address and wasn’t about to knock on the door of a complete stranger.

Mary had a neat front garden with a nicely sized lawn framed with a cute little white picket fence. Some shrubs were dotted here and there which Sadie bet looked colourful in the spring. When she approached the door, she noticed another grinning skull just sitting on its own beside the step and next to a plant pot. It looked like a Halloween decoration that escaped the box it usually sat in but somehow Sadie suspected it lived there all year long.

How very Mary! she giggled internally and rang the doorbell.

A few seconds later, Mary came to the door and beamed brightly when he saw her.

"Hi!" he said.

"Hey!"

Mary just stared at her and smiled for a couple of seconds.

"I think someone died from the cold waiting to get in!" she teased and tilted her head at the skull ornament.

"Oh, that's Fred! He guards the gaff! He's quite happy there! He was dead already before he got the gig!"

Sadie laughed at Mary's wild imagination.

"Come in, come in!" he beckoned her inside and closed the door behind her.

She barely had a chance to set her big bag down or look around when Mary wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. He smelled of Aqua Di Gio, a fragrance she associated with him: he shaved after video-calling her earlier that morning and his skin was extra soft and bright.