He did it.

I clench my fists as I watch him from my car. As he grins at the red-headed woman sitting next to him on the porch swing. Like he hasn’t done anything wrong.

Like he didn’t kill Este.

The thought of my friend sends tears to my eyes, but I push them back. Thinking of the way she looked when she walked into the Olive Garden that Tuesday night made me want to shake the girl I had been back then. Tell her to save Este before it was too late.

But she hadn’t.

And with Este, that girl had died.

I turned the key into the ignition with a wrench and pulled away from the curb.

Danielle watches me over the rim of her cup with eyes lined in red from hours spent crying over her sister’s death. “You think he did? But you can’t prove it.”

I nod, staring into the gray depths of my tea, “I know that.”

“So how do we get him into jail?” Danielle’s eyes grow bleary. “How do we give Este justice?”

I feel a small smile play at the corners of my lips. “The only way we can.”

Danielle sets her cup down, tears slipping down her cheeks. “How?”

“We can’t wait for the police to finish this investigation. His mistress is already sleeping in Este’s bed!” I choke on my own tears, “Danielle, we have to do this ourselves.”

“Do what?”

I brush at my tears, “Take down a monster.”

She shakes her head. Rubs her brow. “How do you even know he’s killed her?”

“When I went by his house he had new tires, Danielle. And right after he reported her missing, his mistress moved in! Isn’t that enough?” I lean toward her, taking her hand in mine. “We can’t let him get away with this. Este deserves better.”

Danielle glances up, lips tight, “What do you need me to do?”

As the boat I bought slips over the waves, I silently thank my daddy for making me get a boating license when I was fifteen. If he hadn’t, none of this would have worked. I couldn’t bury him.

He doesn’t deserve to be laid in solid ground.

I glance at the lump rolled in Este’s favorite rug. I kick it lightly, just to be sure. Red seeps through it, staining the boat, but I can easily clean that.

I grin again; good thing I’ve cleaned enough houses to know how to cover up a scene. No blood. No bones. 

No body.

No crime.

I stop in the middle of the lake, standing once the boat is silent against the water. I step over his body, tugging at the rope I tied around it. The body lurches toward me and I grunt as I shift it over the side.

It hits the water with a splash I can feel in my bones.

I feel Este smiling over my shoulder.

“What’s going on?” I get out of my car, feigning confusion as I watch the police escort miss red-head out of Este’s house.

My neighbor shakes her head. “It’s Este’s husband. He’s gone missing.”

I fake frown, “They think she….?”

She nods, “Apparently, she took out a big life insurance policy before he went missing.”

I feel a smile threatening to take over my schooled features. “Pity. She seemed like such a nice girl.”

My neighbor nods and I return my attention back to the mistress. My smile peeks through when I notice her burnt umber eyes are already on me.

She starts yelling at the police, screaming that I did it. The police shake their heads, two of them working to shove her into the cruiser.

Even if they take her accusation seriously, Danielle is going to swear she was with me. 

She thinks I did it, but she just can’t prove it.

I turn away from the scene, finally letting a grin split my face. I feel calm. Rested.

I can relax now. Este can relax now.

Because he’s dead.