So I dressed up and drugged him back.
The baby was our tipping point. But not just because I lost him. It was because I finally got a glimpse of the truth. My husband was a monster.
"It's okay if you don't want to tell me," Sally said. "But you're allowed to be happy again. Let me help you."
It's too late.
"Just let me know what you need. We can get you out of this mess."
I didn't think I had anyone to reach out to. I didn't think anyone cared about me in this stupid neighborhood. But Sally was standing here caring. A few days too late. I shook my head. When I was doing all my research about knot tying on YouTube, I’d entered a rabbit hole on criminal activity. Lock-picking tutorials. Car hot wiring tutorials. But all I knew about stealing cars was from a video. And Charlotte might not even still be banging on my door.
"Can I borrow your car?" I asked.
Sally nodded. "Okay."
Really? That was easy. I didn't even need to fake cry. I blinked. Maybe because there were real tears on my cheeks.
"Come with me." She tucked her arm through mine. "My car is parked at the end of my driveway so that I wouldn't have to shovel very much."
That was smart thinking. So was four-wheel-drive, which was what I'd opted for.
We walked out of the woods and through Charlotte's yard.
"Wait here and let me go get the keys." She left me by her car. But really she left me to the wolves.
"Ensley! I was just looking for you," Charlotte said as she appeared by the car like the witch she was. "I brought you a chicken pot pie." She thrust the pan into my arms, despite the fact that Snuggle Muffins was there.
He sighed but didn't seem to mind as he sniffed the container.
"Um. Thanks," I said.
"I hope you enjoyed the lasagna?"
"Oh it was delicious."
"You ate the whole thing already? Oh my." She looked me up and down.
See. She was a bitch hiding behind nice actions like homemade pot pies. And I had nothing to say to her. Little did she know that I was dressed in a sexy Mrs. Claus outfit underneath my coat. And I looked damn fine, thank you very much.
"If you've finished it, do you mind giving me the dish back?" She smiled at me like she wasn't acting obnoxious.
"Of course. I'll drop it by tomorrow." Psych. I'd be long gone.
"Great. Oh, I almost forgot. I got a very interesting text about half an hour ago. Phoenix swore she saw Noah in town this morning. You know Phoenix. She lives down the street."
"Yup."
"Well, this is good news. I thought you'd be a little...happier."
Bite me. I smiled but I was pretty sure it looked more like I was grimacing.
She reached out and squeezed my arm. "This means he's safe. Just...not here with you."
Why were pretty girls so horrid? I wasn't surprised that Noah had been spotted. But I was surprised how stupid all these women were.
Snuggle Muffins growled at her and she dropped her hand.
"You might want to look into training your dog."
"Actually, he's already trained. He's perfect. Aren't you, Snuggle Muffins?" I hugged him a little tighter and resisted punching Charlotte in the face.
"Cute name. Sounds like something my five-year-old daughter would choose."
Bitch.
"Is everything okay out here?" Sally asked, her car keys jingling in her hand.
"Just great, Sally," Charlotte said. "I was just letting our dear Ensley know that Noah was spotted in town. Oh, wait, I almost forgot." She turned back to me. "Noah was talking to some woman. Phoenix didn't recognize her. But apparently they seemed pretty cozy, if you know what I mean." She gave me a sympathetic smile.
How I wished I had kidnapped her instead and made her poop in a litter box. That would have been so satisfying. There was still time. I could shove her ass in Sally's car and take her to Mexico. I was pretty sure the laws there were more lax. Maybe I'd even be able to get away with murder.
A car pulled up behind Sally's on the street and Detective Torres popped his head out. "Ensley. Do you have a minute?"
What is my luck? I never would have guessed that Charlotte would be the one to ruin everything at the last minute. All my planning never accounted for her blabbering. I should have just stolen her car. It didn't help that Detective Torres was unfashionably early either.
This was bad. Really bad. Noah could