Page 14 of Summer Shivers
It’s funny how things change.
I grab a bottle from wine cabinet to open, and bring it, along with a glass, to the master bedroom. Sitting on the floor, I lean my back against the wall and stare out at my favorite view from the house. The sun will start to set soon, but for the now it still glints off the water making the entire ocean appear like glass.
I pick up my phone to call his daughters. I’m sure they’ve been notified by now and I want to make sure they are okay.
That’s dumb, they aren’t going to be okay.
At the very least, I want them to know we’re in this together.
Thinking of his daughters makes me think of Harrison.
I think of the last time we were in this cottage together. Valentine's Day, he brought me here for a surprise weekend. He said no phones, no business, just me and him in front of the fireplace cuddled up with a glass of wine. That’s when he told me the first day he'd met me, he knew I was going to be the love of his life.
And it made me smile. Memories like that will haunt me if I find out I did kill Harrison.
Memories like that may haunt me, anyway.
My sleeping tablets can’t be so strong, they make me forget everything, can they?
Isn’t that why you mix them with wine?
I shake my head trying to clear my thoughts, if I keep thinking this way, I’ll convince myself I did it. And the moment I do, I may as well plan on spending the rest of my life in prison for a crime I may not have committed. I decide to wait until tomorrow to call Harrison’s twin daughters, Eerie and Curious, they are bound to be devastated.
I pour myself another glass of wine, the bottle now half gone. Why do I even bother with a glass?
I wonder if they have wine in prison, then laugh at my own sordid thought.
No matter how many issues we had in our marriage, deep down I know I didn’t kill Harrison. I couldn’t.
I know I need help, that I can’t do this alone. I don’t know who I can call to help me
Yes, you do.
There’s only one name that comes to mind. The only person in my life who might believe that I’m innocent. Problem is, it’s been four years since we’ve talked. I may talkabouthim a lot, but I haven’t talkedtohim. If I’m honest, I’m not sure if I want to call him because as of ten hours ago, I’m no longer married. Or because I truly think he can help me. Even if I did reach him, he could be married now. He could be overseas. He could hate me.
I hate me.
I finish the bottle before reaching for the phone and dialing his number. The one I’ll never forget.
“Leave a message.”
His gruff voice reaches through the phone and grabs at my heart, squeezing so hard I can’t breathe.
I don’t do what he says.
I don’t leave a message.
I just hang up instead.
six
TYLER
I’mslow to wake after my night of bottles named Jack and Jim and two ladies named . . . well fuck, I don’t remember their names. Doesn’t matter. Didn’t fuck ‘em. Whiskey dick set in before I had a chance to. Right in the middle of the brunette’s blowjob. Nothing like a limp dick to make you feel like a man.
Crack open the free bottle of water from the dresser and pop on the news.
“If you are just tuning in, our top news story for the day: World renowned thriller writer Harrison Daniels has been murdered. Police have yet to identify a suspect in the crime. His body was discovered earlier yesterday by his wife Genevieve Bujold Daniels. The body appeared to have been dead and floating in the author’s pool for some time before she found him and called the authorities. No word yet on whether Genevieve Daniels is a suspect in the crime. As you may remember Sarah Smythe Daniels, Harrison’s ex-wife, recently released a scandalous tell-all memoir about her life with the famed writer and raising his twin girls Eerie and Curious Daniels. Harrison’s camp claimed the content was libelous and threatened legal action if the publisher did not recant several of the stories. To our knowledge here at KNSS news, nothing had been filed with the courts at the time of Harrison Daniel’s death. KNSS news has also not been able to reach Sarah Smythe Daniels for comment. We will continue to keep you updated on this developing story as more news comes available."
