“You know I’m only sixteen, right?” Savannah appeared in the doorway and glared at me in her confrontational teenage way. She’d had a birthday since the day of the accident. Sweet （ha!） sixteen. As Holly reappeared behind her, I couldn’t help but notice Savannah was built completely differently than her mom—hard and athletic to her mother’s gentle curves.
“We’d still like you to sign it,” I told Savannah. “You’re named in the trust. It’s important that you understand the terms of it.” The truth is, I wanted to scare her a little. Having her signature on the contract signaled she knew she was getting paid off, which would hopefully compel her to keep it to herself.
I offered her a pen. As she took it from me, I noticed she’d gotten her nails done. They were painted pale gray, with electric-blue party nails on each ring finger like my socialite ex-girlfriend used to do. She was adjusting to her new affluent lifestyle nicely, which was a good thing. The more luxuries she enjoyed, the less she’d be willing to disrupt the arrangement.
She wrote her name in perfect cursive, then slid the paper across the table at me. As I was tucking it away, the doorbell rang. We all looked at each other like we’d been caught robbing a bank.
“Are you expecting someone?” I asked Holly, and she shook her head. We both looked at Savannah.
“Don’t look at me!”
“The only person who knows we live here is you,” Holly said, eyes on me.
“Did you give the police your new address?” I asked, trying to suppress the rising panic in my voice.
“They would know how to find us,” Savannah interjected. “They’re the police.”
My car was in the driveway. I could slip out the back door, but if they’d noted my plates that would only make things worse. Any investigation of me would lead them to Jack. And then it would only take one smart guess for this whole thing to blow up in our faces.
The doorbell rang again, followed by the rap-rap-rap of knuckles on wood.
“Should I answer it?” Holly asked, and I reluctantly nodded. All the lights were on. No detective worth his paycheck, even a meager one, would believe no one was home.
I held my breath as Holly headed for the door. Savannah and I stayed back as she peered through the peephole, then opened the door for four smiling faces.
“OK, we know this is corny, but our daughters made you cookies,” a man said. It was the hipster from across the street with his wife and two kids. I was relieved Holly’s twilight visitors weren’t LAPD, but letting the neighbor see me on the premises for a second time was downright irresponsible. Our eyes met and I waved, cementing me to this family and this house.
“Andy,” Holly said to her neighbor, not really as a question, but not quite sure either.
“That’s right. And this is my wife, Libby, and our girls, Tatum and Margaux.”
The little one hid behind her mother as Holly smiled at her.
“We know you must be beyond exhausted,” the hipster’s wife said. “We don’t want to be a bother, we just wanted to say hello and let you know we’re here if you need anything.”
The wife looked to be about forty, but well maintained, with bouncy, blown-out hair and toned arms. A man’s Rolex hung loosely from her wrist. An heirloom, maybe? Whatever the case, it was immediately clear that appearances were important to her.
“That’s so kind of you, Libby,” Holly said, taking the plate from her outstretched hands.
“We didn’t put nuts in them, because you never know these days,” Libby said, glancing at Savannah.
“Oh, it would have been fine if you did, but thank you.” Holly looked expectantly at her daughter.
“Yes, thank you,” Savannah echoed.
“That’s Savannah,” Holly offered.
“Hi, Savannah,” the wife said. Then suddenly Holly’s new neighbors were looking at me. We hadn’t anticipated having to explain my presence, so I just said, “Evan.” I had come straight from the office, so once again I was in a suit. At least I’d left the jacket in the car. And removed my tie. I would have preferred not to have looked so much like a lawyer, but there was nothing I could do about that now.
More waves and smiles, and then they were gone. But the damage had been done. I had been seen with Holly and Savannah, inside the house my boss had bought for them. There was only one degree of separation between Jack and this family, and that was me.
“What do you plan to tell them about me?” I asked Holly as the foursome headed back across the street.