Page 63 of The Housemaid Is Watching

“No, it would not.”

If that’s true, that makes me even more upset. Whywouldn’the be jealous if some handsome guy were hitting on me?

“Because Itrustyou,” he adds before I can get myself more worked up. “And you can trust me. You know that, yes?”

Do I? Before we moved to 14 Locust Street, the answer would have been a resounding yes. But the amount of time he’s been spending with Suzette Lowell has made me suspicious. I mean, a conversation aboutrose bushesin the middle of the night?Really?

Yet Enzo is a good man. I believe that with all my heart.

He’s staring at me, waiting for me to reply, and there’s only one right answer: “Yes, I trust you.”

“Good. Now calm down. If Suzette turns up murdered, you will be first suspect.”

“Ha ha.”

Enzo reaches over to shut out the light. He moves closer to me, his arm encircling my body. He’s in the mood—I can tell. But I can’t get into it. Even though he has assuaged some of my worries about what happened at the beach, one of them still remains, and I can’t quite let it go.

“Enzo,” I say.

“Shh,” he murmurs, his hand sliding up my thigh. “No more talk about Suzette.”

“But… how do you think Suzette got caught under the water?”

His hand comes to a quick halt. “What?”

“I mean,” I say, “she said her leg got caught on something and that’s what made her go under the water. What do you think she got caught on?”

“Seaweed?”

“So seaweed grabbed her by the leg and pulled her under the water?”

He removes his hand from my thigh altogether. “I don’t know. Maybe some kids fooling around?”

“Which kids? Did you see any other kids swimming where she was?”

He is silent for a moment. “I do not understand. What is your worry?”

“I just…” I grip the blanket with my fists. “Did you notice Nico talking to her? Like, right before this whole drowning thing happened?”

He narrows his eyes. “No.”

“I saw it.”

He sits up fully in bed this time. I wasn’t in the mood before, but it’s safe to say that he isn’t either anymore. “What are you saying, Millie?”

“I’m not saying anything. I’m just trying to figure out what happened.”

“Are you saying our son tried to drown Suzette? Is that what you think?”

“No,” I say, even though that is kind of what I was thinking. Enzo didn’t see the way Nico was glaring at her before they went into the water.

“Well, good. Because he did not.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes!” He shoots me an exasperated look. “I saw him. He wasn’t near her. Like I said, it was seaweed or other kids.”

But he’s lying to me. I’m sure of it. Because I saw Nico next to her myself not long before she went under. He’s just telling me what he thinks I need to hear. But what I want is the truth.