Page 95 of Bad Intentions
52
MALLORY
“Did you see the news?” Derek blurted into the phone as soon as I picked up.
Of course I had seen the news. The whole town was talking about it, especially everyone at Ma Shirley’s. Karen checked her mobile phone every hour, which was unlike her. I watched her as I brought clean glasses and ice into the bartending area. She got on the landline, probably with her bestie, or her secret shag, the chief, though she thought no one knew about their relationship. Both were single, so I didn’t understand why they kept it secret.
Karen was grim, like there was a bee up her ass, constantly scanning the bar, as if looking for someone.
By the time I had a breather, I had two missed calls from Derek, so I snuck out the back door and called him.
It had been two days since the night I met Sarah Holes. When I’d driven home that night, I couldn’t stop wondering what Derek would think when he learned the news. What I’d done didn’t bother me much. Didn’t make my heart drum. None of the emotions I felt every time I was next to Derek. That was how I knew that I’d done the right thing.
“Did you see the news?” he repeated.
“What news?”
“What news?” There was a coldness in his voice. “Sarah’s body was found floating in the river.”
“I heard about it, yeah,” I replied, listening closely to the sounds in the background. “Are you at the fair?” It sounded like it, and if he was there with Al, I was going to push someone else into the river tonight.
“My place. Tonight.” He hung up.
That was all I needed. He needed me.
I got off at midnight and drove straight to his place. No other cars were outside his house except his. That was a good sign.
I rang the bell and barely made it inside when he whipped me around and cornered me.
“What is this, Mal?” Derek shook the newspaper with the headline about the drowned woman in front of my face.
I pushed his hand away, raising my chin. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh yeah? What am I talking about? This!” He stabbed the headline with his forefinger. “Sarah is dead,” he gritted out, then cocked his head. I knew that little tell—he was either curious or angry. Judging by his snappiness, it was the latter. “Did you talk to her again? After you told me about her?”
Apparently, he wasn’t excited about this. Disappointing, really, considering Sarah deserved what she’d gotten for trash-talking alone. But I had to be smart about this.
“No,” I replied.
I’d never had a high like this. When I’d thought about pushing Sarah, for two days now, I’d imagined Al’s face instead of hers. Then Vic’s. Then Dougie’s. Then Karen’s. Stupid Karen. Anyone I couldn’t stand found their way into that fantasy. The newspapers wrote about Sarah’s accidental drowning or speculated that she’d committed suicide—those were the theories. Nothing suggested murder. Because it wasn’t. Not my fault she wasn’t a good swimmer. But just like that, with a snap of my fingers, a problem had been solved.
That sure gives you a high, the knowledge that you have the power to get rid of problems. Though I had to be careful with Derek. He was rough around the edges, sure, but maybe not as rough as he played it.
“Don’t mess with me, Mal,” Derek warned as I tried to look unfazed.
“I thought you wanted her gone.”
“Mal?” he warned.
“Maybe your ex-wife missed you so much she decided she couldn’t live without you,” I said, taunting him.
He slammed into me, pinning me against the door. “You are crazy,” he gritted out. “If you were part of that, you are mental. You are deranged. You are—”
I smiled. “You are just full of endearments tonight. How about you get off me if you are not doing anything useful with your body?”
Another phrase Al had used in the past. It worked every time. Just like right now. Despite the warnings, there was this wild admiration on Derek’s face when he studied me. In a moment, he was undoing his jeans and peeling my panties down my legs. In ten minutes, we were in his bedroom, going a second round.
Afterward, he lay next to me, for the first time not getting up but studying me at length.
