As I return to Ash Street a short time later, I spot a woman pacing on the stoop of the house and realize it’s Clarissa. Well, at least I’m not the only one in Litchfield County who likes to show up unannounced. Clearly, she’s gotten wind of the nightmare on Ash Street, because otherwise she could have simply returned my call.
“Hey, Clarissa,” I say, approaching her. She’s in full jersey again, a matching top and pants. “Did you get my message?”
“I did, Katherine,” she says, her face pinched in concern. “I assume you were calling about the incident last night.”
“Yes, did someone contact you about it?”
“One of the neighbors. Would it be okay if we spoke inside?”
I tell her of course and, after unlocking the front door, usher her in. The living room is warm and stuffy and smells vaguely like sweat, obviously from all the tense humans moving around in here last night. Clarissa perches on the edge of one of the armchairs, as if she wouldn’t even think about getting comfortable. After taking a seat on the couch, I recap last night briefly.
“This woman snuck into the house other times as well,” I add. “She was the one who blasted the AC that morning, trying to mess with my head.”
“Goodness,” Clarissa says, her eyes wide. “And this was someone Mr. Larsson wasdating?”
“Yes, but he’d gotten wind of the fact that there was something off about her and was trying to put distance between them.”
“How did she get in? I mean, will we need to get the locks replaced?”
“It’s probably a good idea to replace them because she actually had a key. She claimed Jamie gave it to her, though I find that hard to believe.”
Clarissa scrunches her face, nervously fingering the small quartz pendant hanging from a chain around her neck. “Well, he certainly couldn’t have had a copy of the key made—you need a special card for that.” She frowns more deeply. “Wait a sec—Mr. Larsson reached out to me a few weeks ago saying he’d lost his house key and needed another. I never like hearing a renter say that, but it seemed like an honest mistake in his case, so I had another made right away.”
“That explains it,” I say. “She must have stolen the original key from him.”
“And where is this woman now?” Clarissa asks.
I explain that Percy has been charged with several offenses and will be taken into police custody today. Clarissa nods slowly, digesting the information. Though some of the tension has drained from her face, she looks wary, like she thinks there might be more to the story than I’m letting on. She’s right, but I’m in the dark, too. I still don’t fully understand the meaning of all the references Percy made or what had really gone on between her and Jamie.
“I should get back home,” she says, rising. “I’ll check with the locksmith and arrange a time for him to come.”
I tell her it’s fine to have the work done after I’m gone, which will be in only two days’ time, and then I walk her to the door. She probably can’t wait to see the last of me.
Now what?I think, as soon as she’s gone. I’d let myself believe that I’d be spending the next hours with Sam, that he was craving another night together just like I was, and that he’d also want to share the experience of finding closure now that the truth had surfaced.
I could call my mom, of course. But as eager as I am to report the latest to her, it’s probably best to hold off until tomorrow, when I won’t sound as fraught and emotional and she’ll be less inclined to worry crazily.
What would really help, I finally admit to myself, is a conversation with Megan. It’s been childish of me not to contact her over the past few days, but at the same time I haven’t wanted her to plant even the smallest seed of doubt in my mind about what I’ve been doing. But the time for doubts has come and gone, and I’m dying to talk to her.
“Thereyou are,” Meg says happily after she picks up.
“You don’t have a client now?” I ask. “I thought I might have to leave a message.”
“My next one isn’t for an hour. It’s so good to hear your voice, Kiki. I felt bad after our last conversation. I was trying to be helpful, but I know it sounded as if I wasn’t honoring your opinion.”
“And I’m sorry for not calling before this afternoon. It was silly of me. And beyond that, things got even crazier here over the last few days.”
“What’s happening?”
I take her through everything—my investigation of Liam’s properties, the confrontation at Drew’s house, the creepy moments inside the house, and the nightmare experience with Percy last night. As I wrap up, I confess that Sam and I went to bed together.
“Wow, I don’t even know where to begin,” she says. “For starters, are youokay?”
I sigh. “I’m still pretty rattled, but at least I finally know what really happened.”
“Your instincts were so right. But why would this woman kill Jamie? What could he have possibly done to her?”
“Those are questions I should probably be askingyou. She claims she had a relationship with him, that they’d been having sex, but he wanted to keep it under wraps for the time being. According to Sam, though, Jamie had only seen her a few times, and they definitely hadn’t slept together. How much rage can you generate over the course of a few dates?”
