Page 51 of Two Couples

Emily told him about the rabbits, and that Jordan had seen Patrick.

“I think I should call the sheriff,” I said.

Emily shook her head, hard. “She just saw him. He’s fine.”

I lowered my voice. “I don’t know if I believe her.”

“My daughter isn’t a liar!” Linda said. “And don’t talk about her like she isn’t standing right here.”

“I only⁠—”

“She’s not a liar.”

Despite my fear for Patrick, Linda’s words penetrated deep inside me, as if her absolute trust in and love for her daughter had physical shape.

Emily, Keith, and I moved away from the two of them. “She’s so upset,” I said. “I can’t believe it’s because of two rabbits. I’m scared she did something to Patrick. She… she…” I pressed my fist against my lips, pushing my knuckles into my teeth until they hurt. I began crying.

Emily put her arms around me, holding me as tightly as she could. It felt as if she was literally keeping me from falling apart.

“Shh,” Emily said. “Let’s think it through. Don’t⁠—”

“I need to call. Patrick was right! We should have called right away. I don’t know why we didn’t. And now…” My tears came harder and faster. I’d been so selfish—scared they would find out I knew Todd. Scared they’d blame me for killing him. Or Patrick. Scared it was my fault he’d died, even though I had absolutely no idea why that might be. Maybe he had a girlfriend who had seen us together and she assumed I was his lover. Or maybe… I never should have been so selfish. Patrick was always thinking about other people, and I was always thinking about myself. At least that’s how it felt right now. I was so worried the note was written to me, so worried Patrick would assume I’d cheated on him and would never trust me again.

“Please don’t cry,” Emily said. “She saw him. He’s fine.”

“He’s not fine!” I lowered my voice. “She’s crazy. You’ve seen how she behaves. I don’t know if she saw him, or she’s lying, or she hallucinated. It could be any of those things.”

“I know she’s a little…” Emily fluttered her fingers in the space between us. “But she’s not a complete nut case. She’s just troubled. Maybe she has anxiety, or she’s just really sensitive.”

“I know people with anxiety and I know sensitive people,” I said. “They aren’t like this.”

“Okay. But I don’t think she’s actually insane. If she said she saw him, I’m sure she did. He helped her bury the rabbits. Doesn’t that sound exactly like something Patrick would do?”

I couldn’t argue with her. But I still didn’t believe Jordan. She was too upset, too dirty. That grit and grime stuck in her fingernails. She dug with her bare hands? That sounded like someone who was already hysterical. Frantic. It just sounded so bizarre. Who digs with their bare hands, unless they’re desperate to hide something?

“He’ll be home soon,” Keith said. “He just needed to clear his head.”

“How do you know that?”

“You’re right, I’m guessing. But he’s been so upset—you know that. He was in total disagreement with us. He’s obsessed with thinking the sheriff can magically find a killer for a random guy. I think he just needed some time alone.”

I glared at him. The way he’d treated Patrick hadn’t helped the situation. Now, they were working so hard to assume the best about him, taking the word of a woman whose behavior was more bizarre every time we saw her. If she had killed Todd, which was entirely possible, who was she targeting next when she wrote that note? Writing a cryptic note like that, leaving something to scare us, seemed to fit who she was. And she could have easily broken our car window, as well as left the other notes.

What if Emily was wrong and Jordan was insane? That would explain why she ran away from our dinner. There was nothing anyone had said that should have made her feel unsafe.

“I need to call the sheriff. We made a terrible mistake.” I pulled away from Emily. “They need to know what’s going on. We could all be in danger.” I lowered my voice. “What if it’s her?”

“Jordan?” Keith asked.

I nodded. “Maybe ‘You’re next’ meant all of us!”

“Whoever wrote that was just trying to scare us. There isn’t someone out there plotting to murder all four of us!”

“Especially since we don’t even know the guy,” Keith said. “Patrick will be home any minute. It’s too soon to call anyway, because they won’t do anything until he’s been gone for twenty-four hours.”

“I don’t believe that,” I said. “Not when we tell them… everything.”

“Just think about how that would go,” Emily said. “We’ll be in trouble for not calling right away. And that will only be the beginning.”