Ready to phone? Recheck everything first. She walked through the house just to be certain. Upstairs was of no concern; she scrutinized the appearance anyway. Leave the bed unmade, as though too upset to do anything after finding the body. Check the study. Check the kitchen. Check the porch.

The porch worried her. Even one partial fingerprint would demand an explanation. She got the Lysol out and wiped down the table and chairs again. She turned on the overhead fan to dissipate the disinfectant odor.

She stood at the porch door and surveyed the pool scene. His clothes appeared okay, strewn around, as if he undressed in a hurry. She couldn't see the bottom of the pool from the porch. She wanted to walk out to the pool to be certain the body was there. Of course, it would be there. Light dew covered the patio and walkway. If she walked to the pool, she would leave footprints, would that be plausible? Yes, that fits. Her story was she awoke in the morning and was surprised to see his van in her driveway; she had spotted the clothing and walked out to the pool.

So then, she did walk out. There on the bottom was his naked ugly body that would already be decomposing in her pool, of all places. Disgusting. Cleaning and repainting the pool wouldn't be enough; maybe she'd have the entire pool removed. Damn him anyway.

When she noticed his van parked at the side of the house, she had another thought. Where are his keys? She hadn't thought about the keys. Need she worry? Did he bring them in the house? Would the police find them in the house? Tried to think, did he have them at the table? No, didn't think so, she would have found them when she cleaned.

Must think about her story, where would his keys be if he came to the house in the dark to sneak a swim. Possibly in his truck. She walked to his truck in the driveway. Couldn't clearly see the ignition switch and mustn't touch the door handle. Keys must be in his coveralls. She didn't dare disturb the clothing again, might leave some small clue. Yes, the keys had to be his pocket. That's okay, that's logical. Anything else?

Okay, show time. How emotional should she seem to the police? Not emotional at all, she decided. She had no emotional involvement in his life or death. She barely knew the man. Perhaps Chip Goddard would respond, he seemed easy to deal with.

Get it over with. She punched 911.

At that moment, her plan started going downhill. Then it crashed. And then it burned.




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