Page 40 of Ruthless Creatures
When I pick up the envelope, however, I can tell there’s no key inside. It’s weighted differently. Light as air. I run my fingernail under the seal and slide out a single sheet of paper.
It’s a letter, folded in thirds.
Gulping, emotional, my whole body trembling, I unfold it and begin to read.
Nat,
I love you. First and always, remember that. You’re the only thing that has ever made my life worth living, and I thank God every day for you and your precious smile.
Tomorrow, we’ll be married. No matter what comes after that, it will be the best day of my life. Having you as my wife is a privilege I don’t deserve, but am so grateful for.
I know the years will bring many adventures, and I can’t wait to share them all with you. You inspire me in so many ways. Your beauty, heart, kindness, and talent have always overwhelmed me. I hope you know how much I support you.
How much I support your passion for your art.
You once told me you always find yourself in art. You said that whenever you get lost, you find yourself in your paintings.
My beautiful Natalie, I hope you’ll find me there, too.
Don’t ever stop painting or looking at the world with your unique artist’s eye. I hope our children will take after their brilliant mother. I hope our future will be as perfect as our lives together so far have been.
Most of all, I hope you know how much I love you. No man has ever loved a woman more.
With all my heart, for all eternity,
David
My vision blurred, I stare at the shaking piece of paper in my hand.
Then I burst into sobs and collapse facedown onto the table.
It’s a long time before I can pick myself up again.
On the way out of the bank, I ask the nice teller who helped me if I could have a current balance on our checking and savings accounts. Puzzled, she replied that we don’t have any accounts with them.
So David was only keeping the one secret, then. The one strange, unnecessary secret. A safety deposit box at a bank he didn’t patronize with a letter addressed to me that he could have simply handed to me and saved us all the trouble.
When I get home and call Sloane, she’s as confused as I am.
“I don’t get it. Why mail you the key?”
I’m lying on my back on the sofa. Mojo is draped over me like a blanket, his snout on my shins, wagging his plume of a tail in my face. I’m so emotionally exhausted, I feel like I could go to bed and sleep for ten years.
“Who knows?” I say dully, rubbing a fist in my eye. “More importantly, how do you think he convinced a bank employee to open the lease on the box without me being there? That seems sketchy.”
Her voice turns dry. “That man could convince anyone of anything. All people had to do was look into his eyes and they were toast.”
It’s true. He was an introvert, but he had a way about him. A way of charming you without you knowing it. A way of making you feel special,seen,as if he knew all your secrets but would never tell another soul.
“Are you gonna show the letter to the police?”
“Pfft. What for? Those investigators weren’t exactly the A-Team. And I still think that one scary lady cop thought I had something to do with his disappearance. Remember how she always side-eyed me and kept asking if I wassurethere wasn’t anything I wasn’t telling them?”
“Yeah. She totally thought you buried him in the backyard.”
Depressed by the thought, I sigh. “There’s nothing in the letter that would help them, anyway. My real question is… why?”
“Why have a safety deposit box that contains nothing more than a letter?”
