Page 89 of Two Couples

“He thought they’d be together,” Samantha said. “He knew it belonged to her.”

“He did not. He knew we’d bought it. But he was still living here—settling in as if it belonged to him. I tried to get him to leave, but he refused.”

“Why didn’t you call the sheriff?”

“It seemed like something I could handle. At first. It really did. He kept insisting he had a right to it, but he didn’t, and I thought I could make him see that.”

“Why would he think that, knowing it sold to us?”

“He was a lunatic. I think Jordan, who was half crazy herself, made him lose his rational mind.”

“That doesn’t happen,” Samantha said.

“Well, it did. Because he was absolutely certain he was the rightful owner.”

“I don’t understand⁠—”

“We were arguing and he tried to grab me. I shoved him. Harder than I realized. He fell and hit his head on the concrete. He was dead almost immediately.” I felt myself choking up. Samantha had to understand how awful that had been for me. “I didn’t mean to kill him! You have to believe me. It was a horrible accident. I couldn’t even… I didn’t know what to do.” The tears pressing against my eyes were genuine. I hoped Samantha believed that. “I tied his ankles and wrists and rolled him into the pool.”

“Why? Why would you do that instead of calling the⁠—”

“I don’t want to go to prison!”

“You said it was an accident,” Samantha said.

“They never would have believed that. And also…” I glanced down at Jordan’s body. “Never mind that now. We need to get busy. Before Patrick gets back.”

“What else were you going to say?”

I pretended distraction, giving her a questioning look, as if the only thing on my mind was concealing Jordan’s body and cleaning our kitchen. It had to be spotless. Since Patrick had taken a sandwich, I assumed, and hoped, he wouldn’t be back until mid-afternoon.

“You said—and also—as if there’s something else going on, something besides thinking the police wouldn’t believe it was an accident.”

“They wouldn’t believe it because I tied him up. And I wrote that note. I wanted to make it look… I don’t know. Make it look real. Threatening. I thought maybe you wouldn’t call the police if you thought it would put your life in danger. I’m sorry! I wrote all the notes because I thought Patrick was going to convince you to report it. I couldn’t bury him because I couldn’t move him by myself.” I didn’t want to tell her more, but I was pretty sure she’d ask.

“Then how did he end up buried?”

My voice was so soft, I was almost whispering. “Keith helped me. But he thinks I was having an affair with him because he saw Todd and me together a few times.”

She looked like she wanted to ask again if I was cheating but didn’t have the nerve. Or, she’d decided to take me at my word, despite me having told so many lies. Even with all the lies I was telling recently, we’d always shared almost everything. You don’t obliterate that kind of trust and connection with a single act. It’s too deeply embedded in a person’s psyche after years of friendship. The trust is just there, whether you want it to be or not.

“I killed Jordan to save your life, Sam. And Todd was a total accident! You have to see that. You have to believe me. If you call the sheriff, I’ll go to prison for her death and for his. Please don’t do that to me. We can figure out the details for what we’ll say to Linda. But we can keep her from finding out. I’m sure of it. All that’s happened here is a terrible accident and the legitimate defense of someone who was being brutally assaulted. That’s it.”

SIXTY-SIX

SAMANTHA

“Even if it was an accident, or however you want to describe this…” I waved my arm toward Jordan’s lifeless body. “You can’t bury two bodies and pretend it never happened.”

“We can. It was just a horrible set of events, but it’s over now. Please. Please help me. You don’t want me to spend the rest of my life in prison, do you?”

“I already told you—I am not doing this. We made a terrible mistake not reporting Todd’s death. You made a huge mistake not calling the sheriff the minute you realized he was dead. I don’t understand why you would tie him up and pretend it was murder.”

“I was scared. It all happened so fast. And I… it seemed like the best thing, in case someone found him before I could convince Keith to help me. But that’s why they won’t believe me!” Emily cried. “Please don’t do this to me.” She moved closer, putting her face inches from mine, her eyes huge and pleading. She nudged me gently toward the utility room door. We need buckets and cleaning supplies. Not bleach because it will smell and Patrick will⁠—”

“I’ll do what?” Patrick’s voice came from the entryway.

Emily and I froze, staring at each other, then looking at Jordan. She was on her side, slightly curled up. If the blood wasn’t there, it might look like she was sleeping.