Page 15 of The Perfect Marriage

He flips open the folder and throws a dozen crime scene photos on the desk. Right away, I notice that they’ve all been taken in our lake house. A woman is lying in our bed, covered in blood. Her eyes are expressionless. Her torso and chest are mutilated, skin gouged and scraped. I drop my purse, and my hands immediately cover my mouth as I let out a gasp and a whimper.

I drop to the side of the desk regurgitating a bit of my lunch into my mouth. The acid burns as I try to force it back down, but this only makes my eyes well up with tears even more.

And then it hits me. Now I know why I’m here.

I feel a pat on my back. It’s Sheriff Stevens. He’s trying to calm me down.

“I’m sorry.” He hands me a Kleenex and keeps his hand on my back. I stand facing him, though my legs are a bit wobbly beneath me. I wipe my mouth and pat at my eyes, trying to compose myself. This isn’t like me. I don’t break down. I’m strong. He asks me if I’m okay and I nod. Where I once was just trying to figure out why I was here, I now need to go into lawyer mode, because this “kind and simple” sheriff routine is really the work of a seasoned pro, watching, calculating.

There’s a knock on the door. Sheriff Stevens keeps a hand on my shoulder—still trying to play nice. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I regain control of my breathing and attempt to compose myself.

The door opens, and I turn to find a tall black man in similar clothing as Sheriff Stevens. His eyes are cold, bloodshot, and they do not meet mine. He says, “He wants his lawyer.”

Sheriff Stevens nods. “Marcus, this is Sarah, Adam’s wife. This is Deputy Hudson.” I shake his hand.

His eyes bounce off me. There’s a rage in them. “Should I let him call his lawyer?”

Before Sheriff Stevens can speak, I interrupt. “There’s no need.”

“Why?” they both ask in unison giving each other a puzzled look.

“I’m his lawyer.”

10

Adam Morgan

I’ve seen the crime photos. I know what they think I did. My poor Kelly. How could this have happened? I was right there with her the whole night, but I didn’t do this. I tried to explain repeatedly about her abusive husband, and they kept saying they were looking at all angles, but it seems they’ve already picked their fucking angle.

I hope my mom was able to get ahold of Sarah, though I don’t know how I’m even going to face her. Things were just looking up for us. I was going to end it with Kelly once and for all. I was going to be a good husband again, the one that Sarah deserves. But most importantly I was going to be a father—oh God. The baby? What if she’s pregnant? What if the baby grows up without a father? I can’t let that happen; I have to get out of this. I need to be there for my child.

Deputy Hudson questioned me for the past hour and a half. Another officer stood guard, which was for the best—because I thought for sure Deputy Hudson was going to kill me or at least try. I don’t know how he knows Kelly, but I’m sure he does. He finally left me alone and scurried out when I refused to answer any more questions. I demanded my lawyer. I should have asked for one right away.

This is bad. This is really bad. They found Kelly in my home, stabbed to death. My fingerprints are going to be all over the place, all over her. We had rough sex and the note I left… Now that I think about it, it doesn’t look good. It doesn’t look good at all. But the texts from her husband are undeniable. There’s something there. They’ll have to investigate him because there’s no way they could ever believe that I would do this. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. Kelly and I had a great time, and I loved her. She was there when I needed someone. I would never hurt her, but her husband would and has.

I stand up and pound on the one-way mirror, tears stream down my crumpled face.

“Get me my fucking lawyer!” I pick up a chair and throw it at the mirror. It bounces off and hits the ground.

11

Sarah Morgan

Sheriff Stevens escorts me into a small room with a one-way mirror through which we can observe Adam. He’s visibly shaken, sitting at the table tapping his fingers, fighting back the tears, and contemplating.

“Have a seat.” Sheriff Stevens gestures to a chair.

I composed myself in the bathroom prior. I’m no longer here as Adam’s wife. I’m his lawyer. I’m Sarah Morgan, top criminal defense attorney. I must remind myself of that every minute or so. I have to be the strong and proficient woman I am. I know Adam didn’t do this. I honestly can’t believe that he would even be capable of hitting someone, let alone killing a person. But I also thought he would never cheat on me and, as the sheriff’s investigation shows, he has been—for at least a year, with this Kelly woman. I shake my head in disgust thinking about it. I can’t believe it. I don’t believe it yet. Not until Adam admits it to me. He couldn’t have done any of this.

I pull a notepad and a pen from my purse and look to Sheriff Stevens. “Just tell me the facts of the case.”

“Are you sure you want to hear this?”

“Yes, don’t spare any details.”

He gives me a sympathetic look and nods. I’m sure by now, he knows exactly who I am. When I walked out of that bathroom, Sheriff Stevens had a new respect for me. I’m sure he Googled me and found that I was not just some lowly housewife. He looked at me with compassion and admiration. Maybe he thinks I’m crazy to stand behind Adam. But Adam is my husband.

“The victim’s name is Kelly Summers. Age twenty-seven. She was found this morning at approximately 9:15am by a cleaning woman by the name of Sonia. Kelly was found dead in bed at Adam and…” he coughs. “I guess your bed at a lake house in Prince William County. She had been stabbed thirty-seven times in the neck, chest, and torso. Due to how gruesome this murder was, it would appear it was a crime of passion. There are no defensive wounds, which tells us that she was asleep when it occurred. Her eyes were open when she was found, which tells us that she had awoken during the stabbing.

---