Page 61

He made the drinks and they brought them to the living room. “Do you mind if I smoke?” he said, when he already had the cigarette between his fingers. She told him it was fine, told him that she was always okay with him smoking. They sat on either end of the big couch. Her drink was very strong.
“How was it on your end?” Thom said. “Who found the body?”
“The maid did, just like I thought would happen. Estella comes every other day so she was there the next morning. Poor woman. I didn’t hear about it until late that night when Bryce’s parents reached me in my hotel room.”
“How were they?”
“His parents? His mom was hysterical but she’s hysterical if her club sandwich is cut into squares instead of triangles. His father just seemed angry, somehow. Angry at Bryce. I guess he was embarrassed to have a son who would fall into a pool and not be able to get out.”
“Was there suspicion that he might have been pushed?”
“There was a perfunctory investigation. I was interviewed twice by the police, but I never got the feeling that they suspected much. They asked a lot of questions about Bryce’s drinking habits, and if he could swim, and things like that. They asked some questions about his social life that I wasn’t able to answer. They had the names of some women he might have been associated with.”
“Like who?”
“I didn’t know them. Other girlfriends. Strippers. God knows. But there was no physical evidence that anyone was at the house that night.”
“You know that?”
“No one said that to me, exactly, but the death was ruled an accident.”
Thom was nodding. Wendy noticed his drink was nearly empty.
“Do you want to tell me what it was like for you?” she said.
He frowned as though he were thinking about it, trying to remember. “Your directions were perfect. I parked at the church and walked to the back of the house. And Bryce was right on time, smoking his cigar out by the pool.”
“You pushed him?”
“I did. And it was just like you said. I didn’t have to do anything else. It was easy.”
“And you’re...?”
“I’m okay. It was what it was. We did it.”
“Yes, please always remember that. We did it together. You’re not alone.” She pressed her hand against his cheek and he leaned into it. Her pinkie finger was on his neck and she could feel his pulse, a thrilling reminder that he was alive, that she was alive as well, and that they were finally together.
“Tell me about the inheritance,” Thom said.
“That makes it sound so formal,” she said. “He died intestate, so the money he had in his account will go to me. I’ll be rich, Thom. We’ll be rich.” She tried out a smile. “We should celebrate somehow. I mean, not make a big deal out of it, but go have a nice meal, drink some wine, start our life together.”
“Haven’t we already started our life together?”
Wendy put down her drink and slid along the couch so that she could put a hand on Thom’s knee. “Yes, we did a bad thing, and now we get a better life. We just need to acknowledge that and then move on.”
“I want us to get married.”
“I do too. Although as far as I’m concerned, we’re already married. We can do the real thing in another year or so. Make it official.”
“How long are you going to stay in Texas?”
“I’m going to see my mom next month and stay with her for a while, then I’m going to relocate. How does New Haven sound?”
She had moved closer, and Thom’s hand was now on her waist.“I thought maybe we could both move somewhere new. That way it would be a fresh start, you and me.”
“Where were you thinking?”
“Not far. Boston, maybe, or Cambridge.”