7
Todd had never been to Cal’s house. He hadn’t even spoken to him since the night he had sent him away from the back porch.
But he had watched Cal. The window in Todd’s kitchen looked out onto Cal’s brown-shingled house next door. The first floor of the two-story house on the side facing Todd’s had no windows, but there was one on the second floor, and if Todd looked up, he could get a small but tantalizing glimpse into Cal’s bedroom. What Todd could see was a bit of sheer white curtain and then one wall, pale blue. A painting hung on that wall, but Todd could only make out the gold-leaf edge of the frame.
Essie had not come back to him since he had called Dr. Shapiro. Yet Todd now imagined her voice behind him. “Peeping Tom, that’s what you are. Only one way to find out what that’s
