Page 98 of The Summer Guests

“I had nothing to do with it!”

“You’re denying it to my face? Denying that you and Anna ...”

“No, I’m not denying the affair.” He sank into a chair and groaned. “I’m not proud of it. But it just happened.”

“Where have I heardthatbefore?”

“Then it all got complicated. After she became ...”

“Pregnant?” Elizabeth stared at him. “Is that what happened?”

He gave a miserable nod.

“Yes. Thatwouldhave been a complication.” She shook her head. “You should have told me. If I’d known ...”

“There was no point telling you, not after she left. Dad told me he’d paid her in cash, asked her not to contact us again, and then he sent her on her way. I was in Boston for a meeting, and when I got back here, Anna was already gone. I thought the problem had been resolved. Dad said he took care of everything, that Anna was going back to Mexico.”

“But she never left, Colin. She’s been dead and rotting in that pond all these years. Are you going to blamethaton your father?”

“No.”

“But he helped you get rid of her. Is that how it went? You needed your mess cleaned up, so you turned to the man who excelled at it?”

“You don’t really believe Dad would cover up something like this?”

“Oh, your father was capable of many things.”

“Hiding a murder?”

A long pause. “I don’t know,” Elizabeth murmured. “The older I get, the less I seem to know anyone. Even my own sons.” She slumped forward and rubbed her temples. “All I ever wanted was to hold this family together. I went through hell with your father. His lies,hisaffair.”

“I didn’t know, Mom.”

“Of course you didn’t. That’smysuperpower—keeping secrets. But this is one secret I can’t keep hidden. The police will eventually identify the bones as Anna’s. And when Zoe wakes up, if she remembers you attacked her, I can’t protect you. Iwon’tprotect you.”

“Have you been listening to meat all? I had no reason to hurt Zoe! And I had no idea Anna was dead. Father told me he paid her togo away. Brooke said she helped Anna pack her things, and ...” He stopped.

“Brooke,” Elizabeth said quietly.

The room was silent as mother and son stared at each other.

Maggie reached for her cell phone.

Chapter 45

Susan

“I repeat, what are you doing in my room?” said Brooke.

Susan had no excuse, no ready explanation that could justify her rummaging in Brooke’s room. And here she was, with Brooke’s jewelry spread out across the bathroom counter, caught with the glaring evidence of her guilt.

“I thought you and Colin had left—I didn’t know—”

Brooke looked at the jewelry and gave a disbelieving laugh. “Are you trying tostealsomething?”

“No! No, I—”

“Then what, Susan? What are you doing here?”