Want to Know a Secret? (84)

He’s been great. But to be fair, I’ve made it worth his while.

That’s one of the tenets of life. Some people get pushed around, and some people do the pushing. I don’t let myself get pushed around. I’m successful. My husband is an attorney, although granted, he isn’t around as much as I’d like and his career has been in the toilet a bit lately. And I’ve got a successful YouTube show with tons of subscribers. And I have a beautiful and intelligent little boy, who has some minor anger management issues that everyone blows totally out of proportion.

If anyone tries to push me around, I make sure they’re sorry.

For example, Mrs. Kirkland.

She came to my house, ranting and raving about how she saw me and Mark together. How she was going to tell everybody in town. How I was a disgrace. She even called me a…

Well, I don’t like to use bad language. But she called me something that rhymed with “poor” and started with the letter W.

Can you imagine? We were neighbors for years. I mean, yes, I hated her. I did let Bobby trample her roses on purpose a few times. But that sort of language was uncalled for.

She was so old. I barely even pushed her down the stairs. It was more like a nudge.

I do what I have to do. Yes, I took money from the PTA account. But it wasn’t much. Is it my fault my husband has torpedoed his career because he can’t keep his junk in his pants? I can’t even buy the basic stuff I need for my show. I hardly took any money. Julie didn’t even notice last year.

Maria Cooper has also been trying to push me around. I can’t imagine why. I suppose she may know my secret about Courtney. But why would she care? Maybe she’s jealous because she sees the way her husband looks at me. But that’s not my fault.

She should thank me. Because if I wanted Sean Cooper, I could have him. Easily. Men are so weak. If I gave him a serious invitation, he would be in my bed in an hour. She’s lucky I’ve kept my distance.

But I’m done being pushed around by Maria. Now she’s going to get what she deserves. The same way Courtney did. The same way my mother did. The same way Mrs. Kirkland did.

That’s why I brought the knife with me.

_____



I’ll make it look like a robbery. Somebody was burglarizing Maria’s home, and she came home unexpectedly in the middle of the day and surprised them. I’ll have to take a few things from the house to make it realistic. Some jewelry. Maybe her laptop. It’s not like the Coopers have anything worth stealing. Any logical burglar would go next-door to the Bresslers. That house has the motherlode. I’ve almost been tempted to burglarize them a few times.

I do feel sorry for Sean and Owen. This will be hard on them. Sean will probably be the one to find her. Lying in a pool of blood in the middle of their bedroom. I hope Owen will be spared that. Maybe I should pick him up from school today to make sure he isn’t around when the body is discovered.

See? I’m not heartless.

I hide behind the door to the bedroom, as the sound of Maria’s footsteps on the stairs grow louder. And then a pause, when she gets to the top of the steps.

“Sean?” she calls again.

I don’t understand why she keeps asking for Sean. His car isn’t here. And she already texted me that she knows I’m in here. I grab the handle of the knife tighter in my right hand. My knuckles are white.

I wonder if she has a weapon. Not a gun—I heard Sean ranting about how dangerous it is to have a gun in the house—but she could’ve grabbed a knife from the kitchen. That said, she doesn’t know where I am. I have the element of surprise.

And I don’t think Maria Cooper has it in her to stab somebody. She’s all talk.

The footsteps start up again. She’s right outside the bedroom door. I hold my breath. “Sean?” she says one more time.

And then she comes into the bedroom. She doesn’t have a knife. She has no weapon at all.

I step out of the shadows, the knife raised in my hand. Maria sees me, and she takes a step back. I hear the sharp inhalation of air. “April?” she gasps.

Now that I see she has no weapon, I can take my time. Well, not a lot of time because I have no idea when Sean will be home, but I can get what I came here for. The timing could not have been better. “Give me the phone,” I say.

Maria blinks at me. “I… I don’t understand. What are you talking about?”

“I want the phone. Now.”

Her eyes dart around the room. “I… I left my phone downstairs. In my purse. Where I always keep it.”

“Quit playing dumb.” I take a step toward her, the knife still tightly gripped in my right hand. “You know what phone I’m talking about.”

Maria takes a step back. “I… I don’t know.”

“Bullshit,” I say through my teeth as I take another step forward. “We both know what you’ve been doing. I want that phone.”

Maria tries to take another step back, but she hits the wall. I see the fear in her eyes. That’s exactly how Courtney looked when I sliced through her hair.

“April,” she whispers. “Please don’t do this. Please, I—”

“Wait a minute,” I say. “Shut up for a minute.”

I heard something just now. It sounded like… steps on the creaky stairs. Is someone else in here? It couldn’t be Sean—his truck is so loud, I can hear it coming all the way down the block.