The Secret of Eden Park
by
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"Why not?" Timmy asked timidly. "Because we’re swinging here, and we don’t want you near us, okay?" Missy answered, the venom in her voice matching the hateful look on her face. The little boy looked around, and seeing his mother a comforting distance away, made a decision. "You can’t tell me what to do," he said. "I can use that swing, if I want to. It doesn’t belong to you." As he started toward it again, Missy jumped off the one she was on, and started swinging on the one he had been headed for. Now the only swing left was the one that was between the two girls. Seeing Timmy’s slight hesitation, Missy immediately said, "I guess I can’t stop you from using that swing, but I have to warn you, we’re not very good at keeping these things straight, and we just might swing right into you - HARD." Timmy’s courage evaporated. With one last look at the swing, he turned around and quickly headed for the slide. The other little girl said, "Missy, that was awfully mean. Timmy wouldn’t have bothered us, why couldn’t you just let him use the swing?" "Because he’s a stupid little cry baby," Missy answered. As she looked in the direction Timmy has gone, a satisfied look crossed her face. She began to swing higher and higher, laughing out loud. The other little girl shook her head. She didn’t like what Missy had done, but it was over now, and she didn’t want to get into a fight over it.
As was his usual practice, he had stopped in a park to enjoy the warm Saturday afternoon. He loved the parks because of the trees. They reminded him of his own woods that had been gone for so many years. He always sat right at the edge of the woods, farthest away from anyone else. Today there were many children there, with and without parents. It amazed and pleased him, that with two missing children, some parents would still let their own go off by themselves. When he first saw her she was on the swings with another little girl. He didn’t pay much attention to her at first, because she didn’t seem to be the type he was looking for. Then he noticed a little boy approach them. There was one empty swing, and he headed toward it. The blond girl said something to him, and he stopped. He started toward it again, and she said something else. The boy stopped again, looking like he wasn’t sure what to do. This was starting to look like a situation the man was interested in, so he turned on the listening device he had purchased at the electronics store, and put the ear piece in his ear. At first it had been difficult for him to pick up the conversations he was interested in, but with practice he had been able to screen out the other noises, and concentrate only on what he had to hear. The man stared at Missy with hate in his eyes. Yes, I guess she is the kind I’m looking for, he thought. But he would have to watch her closely for a while - just to be sure.
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About the Book
Children can be so cruel. We’ve all heard that before and probably have even said it ourselves. And what child hasn’t, at one time or another, been the victim of another child’s cruelty? Most get over it, and there is no lasting affect. But, what if a child doesn’t get over it? What if the pain it caused is buried, festering as the child grows into manhood, causing him to become twisted and deranged? And, what if that person lives in your own neighborhood? That is what Rachel Palmer faces in The Secret of Eden Park. Rachel and her best friend Sara move with their families into what they consider to be the perfect neighborhood. It is a community with friendly neighbors and well kept homes, except for one house. That particular house is always dark, the grounds are not very well kept, and it looks deserted. None of the other neighbors know the person who lives there, and most have never even seen him. Rachel has a peculiar feeling about the house, almost from the moment she sees it. She feels there is something sinister about it, and it starts to become an obsession with her. The person who lives there is a tortured psychotic who is responsible for the disappearance of several young children during the past few years. He is convinced that his mission in life is to retaliate against children who, in his opinion, are cruel and need to be punished. Without realizing it, Rachel’s actions focus the psychotic’s attention on her own daughter. She eventually involves her friend Sara in her obsession, and together they must solve the mystery of this house and its occupant, before it is too late.
About the Author
The author has been interested in writing ever since she read her first novel by Stephen King. She lives in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts. This is her first book.