Page 97 of The Summer Guests

“Now what?” said Ben.

Colin opened the door and stepped into Zoe’s hospital room. The door shut behind him as he stood in the gloom, facing his mother.

“What is this all about, Mom?” Colin asked. “I thought you were with Ethan.”

“I told him to go home.”

“You said this was important.”

“It is. We need to talk. Just you and me.”

“Couldn’t we do this at home? Why drag me to the hospital? What are you even doing here?”

“I had to be sure she’s safe. I can’t let anything else happen to this girl.”

“That’s what the police are for. You should just let them do their—”

“Let them dowhat?” Elizabeth snapped back. “Catch you in the act?”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“I’m trying to protectyou. Keepyoufrom making things worse.”

“Mom, you’re making no sense.”

“I know, Colin. I know what happened to Anna.”

There was a long silence. Colin stood frozen, staring at his mother. “Why are you talking about Anna?” he said softly.

“Those bones in the pond? They’re hers. The police showed me the facial reconstruction of her skull. They plan to share it with the public, and I’m not the only one who’ll recognize her. Arthur will too. And Hannah. They’ll see her face, and it won’t take long for them to put it all together. How long before her family in Mexico gets wind of it? All these years, they’ve been asking where she went, and I kept telling them we had no idea, that she just quit her job and left. When the truth is, she neverdidleave. She’s been there, the whole time. In the pond.”

Colin shook his head. “No, that can’t be true. Dad said he drove her to the airport. He said he gave her money, a lot of money, to help her go away—”

“And why did she need to go away?”

“God, this was years ago. What does it matter now? Why are you suddenly—”

“Why did she need to go away?”

He went silent. Stared down at the ground and sighed. “I never—I neverwantedit to happen. It just—it just did.”

“You and Anna.”

“The baby was sick all the time. Brooke was spiraling down and down, so depressed she was barely speaking to me. It’s like our house was a fucking morgue. But Anna, she was always ready to listen. Always ready to ...”

“You had an affair with thenanny?” Elizabeth looked up at the ceiling and laughed. “How stupid could you be? Howordinary.”

“Who else could I turn to? Brooke was completely—”

“Don’t fucking blame this on Brooke!You’rethe one who had the affair.” She gave a snort of derision. “Oh God, you’re just like your father.”

“What?”

“Just like him, you thought you’d skate away, didn’t you? And your father helped you, didn’t he? Oh, George always excelled at cleanup. That was his superpower, making problems go away. Of course he’d clean up after your mess as well. When Conover men get into trouble, they always manage to walk away, none the worse for wear. Butkillingher, Colin?”

“What are you accusing me of?”

“Anna was murdered.”