Heidi turned the sun loungers on the poolside near the fence inward this evening. Pablo would only rearrange them in their usual way in the morning. This way, at night, while smoking, Ted wouldn’t be able to watch her every move. She didn’t have to worry about anyone tidying up the pool area in the meantime. Such tasks were beneath all the residents.
She wiped the damp lounge chair with a cloth and stretched out on it. She enjoyed the full moon, the silence, and the taste of her menthol cigarette. She let her thoughts wander freely. Finally, no one was questioning her, and she didn’t have to listen to anyone’s boring stories. What annoyed her the most were her father’s baking and cooking anecdotes. Günter could talk about dough rising as if it were a thrilling, action-packed crime story. But really, there were only two possible outcomes. Did it rise? Great, into the oven! Did it not? Tough luck, into the trash! Then she thought of Enrique, the senior high school boy who was always watching her. Watching her—the skinny, pale-skinned, acne-prone German girl—instead of his curvy, big-butted, dark-haired Canary or South American classmates.
Barely half an hour had passed when she noticed sounds. Someone was moving around the storage unit in the corner of the yard. Heidi turned her head carefully, so as not to make a noise, toward the small mobile structure next to the Slovak family’s house. Her blood ran cold at the sight of a diver-like figure who was up to something in the moonlit night within the gated complex, equipped with security locks and cameras. Heidi didn’t dare move. She had no idea what to do. Staying put terrified her, yet she wanted to keep an eye on the intruder. She also thought about alerting someone or calling the police. But how? Her father had always taught her that safety comes first. And right now, she was anything but safe. At forty-five kilos, lying on a sun lounger, she was an easy target. She reached into the kangaroo pocket of her hoodie, feeling for her phone. She had to try and message Uwe.
The diver seemed to sense Heidi’s icy fear because he stopped and tensed. The teenage girl, having no better option, shut her eyes. She trembled like a leaf in the wind. She was sure that the burglar—or murderer—could see her. Taking tiny, shallow breaths, she tried to keep from gasping. Reaching for her phone was no longer an option.
Carefully, defying the panic paralyzing her body, she opened one eye. The figure was gone. Heidi felt tears welling up. She still didn’t dare move. How long would she have to stay there?
“Heidi?”
The familiar voice made her flinch, but she was still too scared to make a sound. Bernard approached her, wearing only swim trunks.
“What are you doing here so late?” he asked, surprised to see the teenage girl.
Instead of answering, she burst into tears.
“There’s a burglar in the yard,” she stammered, pointing toward the storage unit with a trembling hand.
“A burglar? Here? Are you sure?”
With a hand over her mouth, Heidi nodded silently, sobbing. Without hesitation, Bernard headed toward the building.
“No!” the girl shouted, but he didn’t stop.
Bernard turned on the light on the side of the storage unit and thoroughly scanned the yard.
“I think it was just Adrian messing around. You know he keeps his tools there.”
“Shouldn’t we call the police?”
“For what? No stranger has been here, believe me. No one could even get in. Maybe the Slovak guy had a wild night and got home late. You just got scared—calm down. Go to sleep, and I’ll go for a swim. After that, I promise I’ll take another walk around the yard and check everything thoroughly. Okay?”
“Okay,” Heidi whispered weakly, struggling to stand up on shaky legs.
“In fact… you know what?” Bernard extended his arm to the exhausted girl. “I’ll walk you home.”