And now this opportunity came up.
Sometimes I do listen to Hannah when she babbles on. She mentioned this girl that Liam liked, Olivia Mercer. I wonder if he really likes women or if he’s like me. I am attracted to women, but only in the most superficial way—as a sexual release, nothing more. I wonder if Liam is the same. I would have said he was, but on the night he came back from seeing Olivia, he was grinning to himself like any love-struck teenager. He’s like me in many ways, but he’s also different. The way he’s close with Hannah, for example. The way he’s protective of her. I was never close with anyone that way. Even Erika.
Although there was a time when I liked Erika quite a bit. Maybe even loved her. I don’t know.
On the night Liam snuck out to see Olivia, I knew this was my chance. Especially when I saw him pull back into the driveway in Erika’s Toyota. I sent him to bed, then went out myself, following the directions in the GPS. I had been wondering how I would get Olivia to come back downstairs, but it turned out she was already on her porch. Looking up at the stars. Probably fantasizing about my son.
She recognized me when I waved to her and came over to the car. She flashed me a big smile. I should have lost that extra weight years ago, because it makes a big difference with women. Women trust you more if you’re good looking. Of course, Liam takes after his mother and is more attractive than I could ever be. And that makes him more dangerous.
But to be fair, I’m extremely dangerous.
“Liam told us he was heading home,” I explained to Olivia. I pasted that worried expression on my face that I’ve noticed parents get when their children don’t come home when they’re supposed to. “But he isn’t back yet. I’m worried.”
She frowned, like she was worried too. “Oh my God, I hope he’s okay.”
“Do you think you could get in the car and help me look for a few minutes? It’s hard to keep an eye out when I’m driving.”
“Of course!”
Olivia got into the car without a second thought. I had the chloroform ready. She was out like a light. And before any nosy neighbors could realize it was me driving this time and not my son, I took off.
Liam’s relationship with Olivia. The neighbor who saw him with her at two in the morning. The hair and blood I planted in the trunk. And then after Olivia died, I was going to make her body re-surface, because it’s harder to get a conviction when there’s no body. I had been trying to think of what else I could plant on her that would be the final nail in my son’s coffin.
And now here is Hannah, messing everything up.
Well, that’s what she’s trying to do. And yes, she’s messing up the original plan. The original plan was to have a little fun with Olivia and get Liam locked away for good. I didn’t have any other ambitions besides that. But now that Hannah is here, I realize this plan could be even better than I originally thought.
Here’s what the police will discover:
Liam kidnapped Olivia, and when Hannah discovered her brother’s plan, Liam sadly had to kill both of them. And then Erika was so distressed, she took an overdose off the Xanax she keeps in her nightstand. Except they’re not Xanax, but something much stronger than Xanax that I swapped for the Xanax several months ago.
Or maybe Liam kills Erika as well. I haven’t decided that part yet.
And I, of course, will play the part of the grieving widower. Who no longer has to deal with a nagging wife, a whiny daughter, and a sociopath son. It will be even easier than when I was fourteen and played the grieving son.
It’s an excellent plan. I can’t wait to see how it all plays out.
That’s the fun part.
Chapter 59
Olivia
I still can’t wrap my head around it entirely. Mr. Cass. Liam’s dad. I had seen him once before when he was picking Liam up early from school, and he seemed really nice. And for a dad… well, he’s pretty hot. Really hot. He looks so athletic and muscular and has a nice smile, whereas my dad is balding and has a potbelly.
So when he told me to get into the car, of course I did it. I was worried about Liam. And there was no reason to suspect Mr. Cass wanted to harm to me. He was Liam’s dad, after all.
If people are wondering what happened to me, they must be blaming Liam. He’s the one I had a date with that night. I bet anything my nosy neighbor Mrs. Levy saw us kissing that night. If I never reappear, he’s the one who will get blamed. If anyone goes to jail for this, it will be Liam.
“Dad,” Hannah says in a choked voice. “Please don’t do this.”