You wonder who The Watcher
is?Turnaroundidiots.Maybeyou
evenspoketome,oneofthesocalled
neighbourswhohasnoideawhoThe
Watchercouldbe...
Theletterindicatedrevengecould
comeinmanyforms.
Maybea caraccident.Maybea fire.
Maybesomethingassimpleasa mild
illnessthatneverseemstogoawaybut
makesyoufell[sic]sickdayafterday
afterdayafterdayafterday.Maybe
themysteriousdeathofapet.Loved
onessuddenlydie.Planesandcarsand
bicyclescrash.Bonesbreak.
“Itwaslikewewerebackatthe
beginning,”saidMaria.Therenter
wasspookedbutagreedtostay.The
Broaddusescontinuedtopressthe
case,sendingnewnamestoinves-
tigatorswhenevertheyfoundsome-
thingodd.
Finally,inJuly2019,a buyerpur-
chased 657 Boulevard– forfarless
thantheBroaddusespaidforit.
Theprosecutor’sofficehaskeptthe
caseopen,buttheBroaddusesbelieve
itisunlikelytheWatcherwilleverbe
caught.Theycan’thelpbutfeel,asthe
lastlettertaunted:
TheWatcherwon.Neighbours expressed concern that
the plan might require knocking
down trees and that the new homes
would have aesthetically unpleasing
front-facing garages. After four hours,
during which there was little discus-
sion of the reason the Broadduses
sought to tear down their dream home
in the first place, the board unani-
mously rejected the proposal.
Derek and Maria were distraught.
“This is my town,” Maria said. “I grew
up here. I came back; I chose to raise
my kids here.” On top of the mort-
gage and renovations, the Broaddus-
es have paid more than $100,000 in
Westfield property taxes – the town
denied their request for relief – and
spent at least that amount investigat-
ing the Watcher.
Not long after, a family with grown
children and two big dogs agreed to
rent 657 Boulevard. The rent didn’t
cover the Broadduses’ mortgage, but
they hoped that a few years of renting
without incident would help them
sell. When Derek went to the house to
deal with squirrels that had taken up
residence in the roof, the renter hand-
ed him an envelope.
Violent winds and bitter cold
To the vile and spiteful Derek and his
wench of a wife Maria,
ArchCriminal
“Before you judge a man, walk a mileinhisshoes.Afterthatwhocares?...
He’s a mile away andyou’vegothisshoes!”
comedian billyconnollyNEW YORK (NOVEMBER 19, 2018), © 2019
BY NEW YORK MEDIA, THECUT.COM.The Haunted House Next Doorreadersdigest.com.au 99