Keep Calm and Kill Your Wife (10 page)

A
SECOND WIND HAD SEEMED to kick in for Summer, no doubt helped along by a warm shower taken in the attached bathroom. She felt tired but no longer sleepy. As she got undressed and ready for bed she felt uneasy. She wished there was a T.V. in the bedroom but that really wouldn’t have been Grandma’s style. Something wasn’t adding up. Something—

The knock was quick. It announced an arrival—a statement, not a question—as the door promptly swung open.

“I brought you some warm milk,” Hart said. “Hope it helps you relax so you can get some sleep.” Without hesitating, he walked over to her nightstand and put the milk down.

“Thanks, Hart.”

He kissed her cheek, said ‘goodnight’ and left, closing the door behind him.

Summer sat down on the bed and tried to remember what she was thinking about before Hart had come in. Then she heard a voice. It was Hart’s. She tip-toe-ran to the bedroom door and listened.

“...yes, that’s right, officer, she’s completely okay. Thank God she wasn’t in the car.”

Summer opened the door just a little bit and looked out. Hart was talking on the phone, his back turned toward her.

“Thank you so much for all your help...you too, have a great night.”

Summer closed the door quietly and headed toward the bathroom to brush and floss her teeth, a ritual she performed almost without fail, no matter how late it was or the circumstances. When she was done, she ambled to her bed, wiped out, yet trying to focus.

She noticed her alarm clock and wondered what time she should get up tomorrow. It was out of habit really. Then she looked at her pillow.
Forget it. I’ll get up whenever. I’m exhausted and I’m on vacation for God’s sake.

Turning her head back, she saw the glass of milk.
Oh yeah, the milk. Nah, I already brushed my teeth. Forget it.

Yawning, she killed the lights and got under the covers. It didn’t take long before her eyelids began to lose the gravity war and within moments she was asleep.

Two seconds later, her eyes snapped open and her head flew up, her body following, putting her in the sitting position.
The alarm
, she thought.

Looking at the bedroom door, she slid out of bed and, on her knees, turned the volume down on the alarm clock. Then she turned the radio on and slowly raised the volume up so it could barely be heard. She did not have to flip around the dial long before she found what she wanted.

“...the two bodies that were found in the car that exploded this afternoon at Huncke’s Service Station in Cardsdale are disfigured beyond recognition, but are thought to be the remains of Hartence and Summer Smith of San Gabriel. The exact cause of—”

Summer’s ear’s strained. Sounding like something beyond just the radio, she cut the power and leaped back into bed, pretending to sleep like a little kid afraid of being caught by his parents. She even mumbled a bit in case Hart had heard something. It was quiet but she knew he was there, the gap in the opened door filled by his suspicious eye. Unable to help herself, she opened her eyes. She’d let him know that she was not a sound sleeper.

But when her eyes opened, she saw nothing but darkness. Maybe she was the suspicious one. Maybe.

Feeling around, she almost knocked over the glass of milk. She breathed a sigh of relief when she finally clutched it. She then jog-walked to the bathroom, dumped the milk down the drain and let the water run for almost a minute. Then she returned to bed, replacing the glass on her nightstand.

H
ART HAD JUST FINISHED cutting the tiny protruding copper wire on the coaxial cable to the T.V. when Brandy pulled up. A twinge of excitement filled his chest. He was giddy about the idea that he’d now have a live sounding board in order to hash out and finalize his plans. The desire to voice his ideas out loud, with someone who was on the same wavelength, was overwhelming. He wanted to keep his plan foolproof and use every new wrinkle—such as the explosion—to his advantage.

Brandy, for her part, felt a little nervous. She had been eager to share in the spoils of Summer’s demise, but not so eager to actually be involved, and almost as paramountly not be
perceived
to be involved in any way.

It was for this reason that she felt some relief at having driven up to the cabin in the dead of night. Without a living soul on the road, not even any passing headlights, her apprehension was somewhat mollified by the idea that no one knew she was here. All in all, she couldn’t wait until the whole matter was settled.

One consolation, she told herself, was that by being here she’d be better able to direct Hart, helping to make sure he didn’t foul things up.

Brandy entered the cabin and greeted Hart. They hugged, with Hart holding on a little too long, going so far as to nibble on her ear. She pried him away as subtly as she could.

“Where’s Summer,” she whispered.

“It’s okay, she’s sleeping.”

“Good. But take it easy. We don’t want to be stupid here. You’re almost home free.”

Hart shrugged and nodded in agreement. He knew she was right but that didn’t stop his excitement from spilling over into a confidence that made the whole scheme a possibility in the first place. He also had trouble with the idea that Brandy would suspect for a moment that he wasn’t up to the task.

Then Hart made a face. “What’s that perfume you’re wearing? Is it new?”

“Why?”

“Because it—” He closed his eyes and exhaled hard a few times. Then he sneezed. And not softly.

They both looked toward the bedroom door.

“I better check to see if she’s awake,” Summer heard Hart say through the door.

She closed her eyes as the door to her room was cracked open. Hart only looked for a moment before shutting the door as quietly as he could.

Then he turned to Brandy. “She’s asleep. I wouldn’t worry. She’s exhausted. I even gave her some warm milk before she hit the hay.”

“Maybe we should discuss our plans later.”

“When?” he said, hissing a bit. “We gotta get this settled and after tonight when are we gonna have a chance to be alone without looking suspicious.”

“Okay, okay,” she said, whispering at an especially low volume.

“Let’s go outside if it’ll make you feel better.”

“It’s cold out there.”

Hart threw up his hands and was about to open his mouth.

Brandy rolled her eyes. “Alright, let’s go outside. I’ll put on a jacket. But talk fast.”

Closing the front door behind them softly, Hart started talking first.

“Beautiful night.”

“Come on, Hart.”

“Hey, if you’re cold, lemme put my arms around you.”

“Don’t be stupid. There’s plenty of time for that. Now tell me what’s going on.”

Hart smirked. “Alright. First of all, Summer has no idea what’s going on. She knows my car blew up but has no clue that two people died in the explosion. We’re gonna use that to our advantage. After we take care of Summer, I’m going to go to the cops and tell them how I was lost in the woods for a few days and that’s why I waited until now to come to them.”

“Okay, but they’re going to ask why you were in the woods.”

“I was lost there.”

“Hart, focus. There’s an explosion. Where were you? Why weren’t you in the car? I mean how’d you get in the woods in the first place?”

“Oh.” He sighed. “That’s why I’m glad I’m talking to you, so we can hash this out, out loud.”

They were quiet for moment, both thinking.

“Wait a minute,” Brandy said. “How did Summer survive? Why wasn’t she in the car? Maybe that could be
your
story.”

“Huh. Yeah, that’s good. She was, uh—she told me she was looking out over the valley and the explosion knocked her off the edge. Yeah, that’s totally believable because it really happened.”

“Perfect. So you were lost in the woods, down in the valley for a few days. You took a look while the car was gassing up and she was in the car when it blew up.”

“Yeah. Good,” he said.

“By the way, where were you really when it blew up?”

“What’s the difference?”

She looked at him furrowing her brow. “Well come on, tell me. What’s the big deal.”

“I was in the john, okay?”

She smiled. “I gotta hand it to you—you have dramatic flair.”

“Yeah, well it saved my life, so...”

“Alright, next question. Who was the second body they found?”

“I’ve been thinking about that. I think I’m going to tell the cops that I really don’t know but it might have been this homeless guy I saw once hanging around the gas station. Maybe he was hitting Summer up for some money.”

“That’s not bad. And you know it’s really not up to you to figure out who that second body was anyway. You just play dumb. You know the second body’s not you. You’re surprised as hell that there even is a second body.”

“Yeah, but still I think it’s a good idea to let the cops know that there’s uh, a reasonable reason for the second guy,” Hart said.

“Yeah, just don’t press it too much. Remember you just got out of the woods, you don’t know what the hell’s going on, you’re upset that your wife is dead and you’re not trying to solve a case and come up with theories because you don’t even care who the other body is. You’re too upset about your wife.”

“I’m just saying that it wouldn’t hurt to give them an idea.”

Alright, Columbo.
“Fine,” she said, feeling an unnecessary fight coming on. Then, unable to help herself, she added, “Just don’t come off as suspicious.”

“Hey, I know how to handle things, alright?”

“Fine, fine, let’s move on.”

“And you know,
you
asked me who the second body was supposed to be.”

“For
us
, Hart. Not for the cops. Let them speculate themselves. Alright forget it, forget it. It doesn’t matter. Let’s move on.”

“You brought it up,” he muttered under his breath.

“Alright, so what about the plan?”

“I hid the extra rope and bolt cutters in the shed. Tomorrow, I’ll take a walk by myself. You and what’s her name do some girl stuff, just the two of you.”

Brandy rolled her eyes. “What Hart, like a pillow fight in our bras and panties?”

“That sounds good. Just make sure you videotape it. Anyway, keep her busy. I know how much you two have in common.”

Brandy clenched her lips.
Girl stuff,
she scoffed.

“Okay, so I hide the bolt cutters on the other side of the bridge and tie the rope to the bridge so I can pull it up later after Summer’s accident.”

“Sounds good. Now let’s go in. I’m freezing.”

Hart gestured toward her chest. “You don’t look that cold to me.”

Brandy half-smiled, amused but annoyed, and slapped his hand away.

“Come on let’s go in. I’m cold.”

He smiled and reached out again as she turned away, hugging her chest. “Take my word for it,” she said.

“Alright, hold on,” he said. “We gotta go through the rest of the plan.”

“We’ve been over it, Hart.”

“Hey, I need to say it out loud, make sure it all makes sense. Now try to focus, will you?”

She wanted to say she was cold again, but took the path of least resistance and assumed a serious look on her face. “Alright, go ahead.”

“Okay, we take a walk across the bridge. Me first. I tell Summer I forgot my gloves back where we just were before crossing the bridge. She’ll go and get them for me and I’ll keep moving ahead to the other side of the bridge. She gets my gloves, comes across the bridge. When she’s halfway across, I cut the bridge’s ropes. Bye-bye Summer. The cops won’t even be looking for her since she died in that horrible explosion. Come on, let’s go to the back seat of your car and celebrate.”

Hart said that last line so fast, Brandy had to laugh. Then he grabbed her hand and started walking toward her car. Her resistance was flirtatious and half-hearted.

Summer pulled away from the inside of the cabin door and walked quickly, but quietly back to the bedroom. She closed the door without a sound and leaped on her bed. She buried her head in her pillow.

She had played it well and gotten her confirmation. Any doubts, any initial denials were gone for good. She felt dumb that she had even questioned herself.

She waited to hear the front door. Silence. She guessed they did go to Brandy’s car.
Brandy. My cousin.

Her mind was whizzing at top speed. Tears, anger, exhaustion. It was happening all at once and she could have thought about it all night but her battered body wouldn’t let her.

Within minutes, she was asleep again. This time with the unimaginable knowledge that her own husband was going to kill her.

T
HE NEXT DAY, SUMMER woke up late. She had slept a long time but it wasn’t very restful as she tossed and turned most of the night. At one point in the evening she became aware that Hart had come to bed and was lying next to her.

But when she looked over this morning, she felt relieved to see that he was gone. She glanced toward the bathroom. It was empty. Good. It would give her a chance to collect herself and figure out what she was going to do.

She sighed. She felt very sad, but chose to deal with the pain later. This was pretty unusual for her. As a matter of fact, Hart had frequently admonished her over the years for coming unglued. He would tell her to always relax when you have a problem. Remain calm and take quiet action. This time she would take his advice.

After staring at the ceiling for a few moments, Summer made herself get out of bed. Then she used the bathroom and got dressed.

Looking for an excuse to stay in the bedroom, she looked around the room and saw that Hart’s shorts were on the floor. No great surprise there. She remembered the fact that he had forgotten to pack his underwear which didn’t seem all that cute to her anymore.

Picking up his shorts, as she always did, she noticed that they had a little weight to them on one side. It was his cell phone, left in his pocket. Not thinking much about it, she was going to put the shorts in the drawer, a habit consistent with what she usually did at home, when she stopped herself and took out the phone. It was so against her nature to snoop on someone else’s phone— even though his true character had been revealed—that she felt odd.

As she scrolled down, the first thing she noticed was the numerous calls back and forth between Hart and Brandy. Then she checked for Hart’s call to the police last night. Never happened.

It was nothing to get upset about she told herself. Just more confirmation .

When she opened the bedroom door she wasn’t sure what to expect.

“Hey sleepyhead.” It was Brandy, who came toward her, all smiles. Brandy threw her arms around Summer and squeezed her warmly. Summer hugged her back.

When their embrace broke, Brandy looked at Summer so intensely, Summer felt like she had to look away but didn’t allow herself to.

“How are you doing?” Brandy said. “I heard about your horrible experience in the woods. Thank God you’re okay.”

The women made their way to the couch.

“Oh, I’m a little shook up but I’ll be okay.” As she said it, Summer felt good, immediately recognizing that after her disquieting experience in the woods, if she seemed out of it she’d have a good excuse.

Then she looked around. “Where’s Hart?”

“Oh, he decided to take a walk,” said Brandy.

Summer realized at that moment that it would be hard to see Hart. And even harder to see him with Brandy.

The cousins continued to engage in small talk as Summer finished her breakfast. When they ran out of things to discuss, one of them would mention something about Grandma or a childhood memory. There were even moments of laughter, each wondering if the other was sincere in her merriment.

“It was so nice of you to come up,” Summer said. “I know we haven’t always been that close. Is it a problem at all getting away from work?”

“No, I had already told them I was taking some time off and started driving up toward Cardsdale a few days ago.” She stopped and turned a little pale.
A few days ago?
Maybe she had gotten a little too comfortable; let her guard down. She looked at Summer but had trouble reading her face and so immediately tried to play it off, pretend nothing was up and change the subject.

“Yeah,” Brandy continued, laughing. “And would you believe I missed the off-ramp for my favorite motel. I was so tired I just slept in the car. The next day I ate some food I had brought along, read a book and splashed my feet in the creek. It was kind of strange because no one else was around. It’s weird not seeing a single person around for two whole days. You think Cardsdale’s a small town, you should see some of the places along the way. Nobody. And then I heard about the explosion in Cardsdale and got a call from Hart a little while later and he thought you were dead. Oh, my God, it was crazy. But thank God you’re okay. ”

It was hard not to notice how fast Brandy was talking but Summer didn’t say anything or react in any way that might seem unusual. She also didn’t ask why Brandy was heading toward Cardsdale in the first place or why Hart would call her—obviously the story about Grandma keeping Brandy’s phone number in a drawer in the cabin was a bunch of crap. But no, Summer wouldn’t try to trip anyone up. The more she played it cool, the more she learned the truth. If she had any advantage, it was that they didn’t know that she knew.

When Hart returned from his walk, Summer had trouble looking him in the eye, but forced herself to do so. Seeing Hart and Brandy in the same room made it twice as bad. At one point she felt herself tearing up and wanted to run from the room. Hart saw her face.

“Come on, Summer, take it easy. There’s nothing worth falling apart about. You’re back now and you’re safe. I know it was tough out there in the woods by yourself.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Maybe I just need to be alone for awhile.”

Summer headed for the door.

“Where you going?” asked Hart, moving toward her.

“I thought I’d just go take a walk.”

“Uh, you mean on Grandma’s property, or uh, where, where?” If she was seen by anyone, his plan would be screwed.

Summer felt tempted to ask him why he was acting so nervous, but didn’t. “Uh just on Grandma’s property.”

“All right, have a nice time.”