“Good.” He turned back to the stove.
“That’s good.”
I
His jaw tightened. “Ellen—” “He let a sixteen-year-old girl take the blame for something he did. He watched me grieve for five years. He stood at our daughter’s grave.” My voice stayed level. I needed it to stay level. “He is still in my house.” Marcus looked at the table for a long moment. “If I do this,” he said slowly, “it ends everything. My family—” “Your family ended the night he made that phone call,” I said. “You’ve just been pretending otherwise.” The kitchen was very quiet. Then Marcus stood up and walked to the counter. He opened a drawer and removed a small envelope. He set it in front of me. “I kept a record,” he said. “The date and time he called. What he said, word for word. I wrote it down that same night because I couldn’t sleep. I’ve kept it in that drawer ever since.”
on1 Comment on His jaw tightened. “Ellen—” “He let a sixteen-year-old girl take the blame for something he did. He watched me grieve for five years. He stood at our daughter’s grave.” My voice stayed level. I needed it to stay level. “He is still in my house.” Marcus looked at the table for a long moment. “If I do this,” he said slowly, “it ends everything. My family—” “Your family ended the night he made that phone call,” I said. “You’ve just been pretending otherwise.” The kitchen was very quiet. Then Marcus stood up and walked to the counter. He opened a drawer and removed a small envelope. He set it in front of me. “I kept a record,” he said. “The date and time he called. What he said, word for word. I wrote it down that same night because I couldn’t sleep. I’ve kept it in that drawer ever since.” 
set my bag down and went upstairs to change.
In the bedroom, I checked my phone.
No message from Patricia yet.
I changed my clothes and went back down.
We ate dinner.
Daniel talked about the news, about a road closure near his office, about whether we should repaint the back fence before winter.
I answered everything.
Ava answered everything.
The pasta was good.
I told him so.
After dinner, he poured himself a whiskey and settled into his chair.
At 8:12, my phone buzzed in my pocket.
I stood up and said I was going to check on the laundry.
In the hallway, I read Patricia’s message.
*Detective Reyes will be at your home tomorrow at 10 a.m.
Do not tell Daniel.
If he leaves the house before then, call me immediately.*
I put the phone back in my pocket and walked back into the living room.
HHHHHHHH