Page 118 of The Housemaid Is Watching

But Mr. Lowell was furious. He kept raving and ranting about how I was a dirty thief. He said all these terrible things about how he was going to call the police now, and they were going to take me to jail. The whole time, he was clutching his stomach. But all I could think about was what Jed would do to me if I got arrested for stealing.

He would probably kill me with his bare hands.

I don’t know at what point I noticed the letter opener lying on the coffee table next to us. It all happened so fast, honestly. I grabbed it, and really, I just wanted him to stop talking. I just wanted him to stop saying that he was going to call the police. But the next thing I knew, he was lying on the floor, and there was blood gushing from his throat, pooling around his dead body.

I had to run. There was certainly no time to clean it up. Especially when I heard Millie knocking on the door.

When I went out the back door, Enzo was in the yard next door. I was afraid he would see me, but it looked like he had just cut his hand pretty badly on something, and he was trying to stop the bleeding with his shirt. He was distracted. He didn’t see me dash back into the clearing to where I parked my car.

Later, I saw on the news that Enzo had been arrested. I felt so terrible about that, especially after everything he did for me. Money was tight for him, but he still helped me out. He is such a good man, and he didn’t deserve to go to prison for what I did. I was seconds away from calling the police to tell them that I wasthe one who killed Jonathan Lowell. But before I could do it, a story came on the news that shocked me.

Suzette confessed to killing her husband.

I didn’t quite understand it, but I didn’t feel nearly as bad about Suzette Lowell being sent to prison. She’s really quite a horrible person.

For the last two weeks, I have been certain the truth would be discovered. I have been certain that the police would come knocking on my motel door, ready with an arrest warrant for the murder of Jonathan Lowell. But it hasn’t happened. They haven’t arrested me. They haven’t even questioned me.

I suppose nobody ever suspects the housemaid.

* * *