Draw The Line

Draw The Line

Just moments ago, the music drifting in through the open patio door was upbeat and happy. Now it is ominous and foreboding. It should have been a warning to the man coming in through the front door, but he is clueless. I slip behind the dining room door and watch him through the crack where it meets the wall. And I wait, as the puddle at my feet gets larger with every drip from my fingertips.  He places his briefcase in its usual spot by the stairs and heads to the kitchen. He doesn’t see me in my hiding spot, and I fall into step behind him as he passes. He senses my presence and spins around. Surprise and disbelief at seeing me in his home flash across his face, quickly replaced with dread which dissolves into acceptance when he sees what I hold in my hand. His shoulders slump and he heads toward the kitchen where he pours himself a drink. He tosses it back and pours another which he swirls in his glass as he thinks about what he should do next. His attempt at calm is impressive, but the tremble in his hand betrays his fear.  He isn’t afraid of me. Yet. I know I have his attention, so it’s time to talk.  I move slowly around the kitchen as I speak, beginning with a dramatic sigh.

“Jeremy, your ego is unfounded. You have walked around this house with that silly, smug look on your face completely unaware that I was standing just twenty feet away when you did that nasty little deed. You thought you’d gotten away with it. What happened? Did she find out about your little secret? Or did she watch her money closer than you thought?” I’m so close to him now I can smell the whiskey on his breath. “I tried to save her when you left. I saw you sneak out the back gate and I jumped in to save her. How are you going to explain it, Jeremy? Claim there was an intruder? Or did she get drunk and fall into the pool?” I lifted my phone. “We should call the police now, or you’re going to have to explain why you waited so long to call. Oh, wait. You can’t do that. Then you’d have to explain me.” 

Jeremy’s hand shot out so fast I didn’t have time to back out of his reach. His fingers would surely leave bruises on my skin that already ached from the bruises, scratches and scrapes from earlier. Good. More proof. “Listen to me. I don’t know what you’re doing here or how the hell you even got here. But you will not threaten me.” He pushed me aside and stalked out the door onto the patio. Seconds later I hear glass breaking against the concrete, and curious, I exit the house in search of the man I both love and hate. I hear a growl of anger as I round the corner of the house, and we nearly collide. He grips my upper arms and yells “Where is she? What did you do with her?” Fury or fear, maybe both, contort his features. 

“What are you talking about? I told you I pulled her out of the pool. She’s right th-“. I had raised my arm to point to where I had left Sharon’s lifeless body, but instead covered my mouth.  I shook my head from side to side. I had left her lying near the steps of the pool where I had pulled her out. Now there was nothing. The concrete was completely dry, not even a trail of wet footsteps where there should have been if she had walked away. Confused, I scanned the entirety of the patio and pool area. She was wasn’t there. I ran over to the small alcove where I had hidden earlier and watched him knock her out with a ceramic pot and then roll her into the pool. I can clearly remember the look on his face as he held her head under the water until she had stopped breathing, then gently gave her a shove away toward the middle of the deep end. Wait. Even the ceramic pieces of the shattered pot were gone. Disappeared as if they had never existed. Not even a grain of potting soil to be found. 

“Impossible. There is no way someone could have cleaned all of that up, dried the concrete, and disappeared. There wasn’t enough time.”

Jeremy was furious now. And it was obvious he was furious at me. “Where. Is. She. What have you done!” I backed away as he stepped closer, until my back was up against the wall. 

”Jeremy, I swear. All I did was pull her out. I couldn’t save her, so I left her there. I heard your car so I went inside to hide.” I remembered why I was there and my fear dissolved like cotton candy on a tongue. I began to step slowly toward him, and lifted my phone. “I have nothing to hide. But, I do have something to show. What do you suppose the police will say when I show them this? Hmm?”

He tried to keep himself in check. “What is on there, Liz? Give it to me. Now.” He held his hand out, palm up. 

“I don’t think so, love. You made promises you never intended to keep. What are you going to do? Try to kill me again? Dump me in another ditch? Obviously your knack for killing is less than adequate. Two failures in one day. Good job, Jeremy.” 

He lunged for the phone, but I anticipated this and moved to place the island between us. I have my proof and I will use it. Once again, opening my heart has ended in pain. He has hurt my body, my heart, my soul. Sending him to prison won’t be easy for me. It won’t satisfy any desire for revenge. But he does have to pay. No one does this to me. So I touch the screen to open the phone and swipe to start the video I had recorded when he killed his wife. 

No. NO! Nothing. Nothing but static where there should have been video. Not one photo of the dozen stills I took after I attempted to save the life of the woman I despised. How can this be? I choked back a sob and sank to the floor, leaning against the island. Jeremy picked up the phone where it now lay on the floor. Thumbing through the photos, he suddenly understood my reaction. And then he began to laugh. All I could do was sit there. And hate him.

I watch with amusement through the window as my husband and his lover each try to decipher their current predicament. The man standing there had convinced me that he loved me and he was the only reason I stayed here. That woman had been coming to my home for months when she thought I was away. She doesn’t know it yet, but she and I will become very good friends as we plan the revenge she doesn’t think she will want. We will lean on each other for comfort, and depend on each other for support in the coming days and weeks. Jeremy will pay. But not in the way Liz had thought. For now, I will let him think he has lost his mind.  Maybe he really has. He certainly has reason to. He thought he had killed her and yet here she is. He killed me, but he can’t find my body or any other evidence of what he’s done. Poor thing. Maybe someone should have told him. You can’t kill someone who is already dead.