I turned to look into the living room and for a second, my heart stopped.
Sitting in a chair, placed in the middle of the room facing us, was a man. But…he wasn’t a man. His features were off, almost alien. A smile pulled his lips to reveal teeth that weren’t teeth, just a seamless stretch of white filling the space along his lips. His nose was just a nub protruding from the center of his face and his eyes shined the brightest blue. His skin was perfect, pore-less, and without a single blemish. His hair was blond and cut short and he crossed his arms over a white t-shirt that read HI! In red cartoon font.
He immediately reminded me of a doll, but…not quite.
“Seems like we have a slight misunderstanding,” The man said, not moving.
Henry shot me a look that showed he was just as put off by this man as I was. He cleared his throat and stepped forward.
“Had a call come in that there was some kind of argument going on here. Just stopping by to keep the peace, make sure everything is ok.”
The man smiled wider, “Mary and I were having a slight disagreement. Nothing to call the police over.”
“What’s your name?” I asked. I suddenly couldn’t shake this feeling, this cold, creeping finger running along my spine.
“My name is Tommy Taffy.”
I placed my hat back on my head, “Ok Tommy, are you this woman’s husband?”
Tommy raised his thumb and slowly dragged it across his lips, his smile growing wider.
Henry cocked an eyebrow, “Sir?”
“He’s not my husband,” The woman behind me whispered so quietly I thought I imagined it. I turned and saw her, Mary, standing against the stairs, face pale as fresh snow.
Henry went to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, “Ma’am are you feeling ok? What’s wrong?”
Her voice dropped even quieter, her eyes bulging and bloodshot, “Get…him…out…of…here…please.”
Alarm bells were suddenly ringing in my head and I turned back to Tommy, jumping at the sight of him. He had risen and now stood directly in front of me, that smile still plastered to his face.
“She’s just upset right now,” he said softly, his voice like soft butter, “She doesn’t mean that.”
I looked at Henry and saw he was suddenly on edge as well. Something about this situation, this strange man, the terror in this woman’s eyes, it was off, all off. That finger caressing my spine was turning into a claw.
“What did you do with my daughter?” The woman hissed at Tommy.
“Sir, please step back,” I said, placing a hand on my holster. Daughter? Was she the one who made the 911 call?
Tommy raised his eyebrows at my gesture, “Step back? Officer, I’m cooperating and trying to resolve the issue.” He looked past me at the woman, Mary, “I just want to get back to life with my family.”
Henry put a hand on Tommy’s chest and gently pushed him away from me, “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to go sit back down until we sort this out.”
Tommy, still smiling, retreated a few paces but didn’t return to the chair. His eyes bore into Mary, something burning between them.
