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Now, he seemed as frightened as I was. He thought the vandalism was a follow-up threat to the other messages, a final punch after warning us not to call the police. He still didn’t know about the words on the window telling us they’d seen everything. Because Patrick had changed his mind, he’d withdrawn his reassurance, leaving me more afraid.

As he walked toward the porch, he gave me a grim look when he noticed me. Without speaking, he opened the front door and went inside. I jumped up and followed him. He was already halfway across the living room, headed toward the back deck where Emily and Keith were reclining in the lounge chairs, their bodies covered with the soft glow of expensive sunscreen.

I wasn’t sure how they could relax so completely without thinking about the swimming pool, remembering him floating there, his ankles tied, his longish hair drifting on the surface of the water like seaweed.

Patrick stepped outside, pulled a chair away from the table, and turned it to face the lounge chairs. He sat down. “I just spoke to a sheriff’s deputy about the vandalism,” he said.

“Good.” Emily’s voice was slightly muffled, her face covered by a sunhat.

“Are they sending a report for your insurance?” Keith asked.

“Is that all anyone cares about? Insurance claims?” Patrick asked.

“Who is anyone? I’m not thinking about insurance at all,” Emily said.

“I just know you two worry about money,” Keith said.

“Not true,” Patrick said. “We’re doing fine. Otherwise we wouldn’t⁠—”

“Hey. Don’t get defensive,” Keith said. “I was just acknowledging your situation.”

“We don’t have any issues with money,” Patrick said.

Keith ignored him.

I was still standing in the living room, listening through the open doors. I didn’t want another disagreement. It was upsetting that even though he had some partial agreement with us now, Patrick was still stirring up conflict. Why was he doing this? Or maybe it was Keith. All Patrick did was give them updated information. He hadn’t sounded ready to start an argument.

“I’m wondering if that note was directed at us after all,” Patrick said. “But since we don’t know the dead man, it’s hard to see how. Are you absolutely sure you’ve never met him?”

“Absolutely,” Emily said. “Both of you need to chill and enjoy this incredible house, this view. It’s everything we wanted,” Emily said.

“Covering up a murder, dismissing the idea that someone is watching us, doesn’t put me in a chill state of mind,” Patrick said. “The note on the window, our damaged car. Maybe we are in danger. It might be a good idea to see if we can find a local place to buy a security camera instead of waiting for⁠—”

“I already ordered one,” Keith said. “I told you that.”

“I know.” Patrick stood and dragged his chair closer to theirs. “But it won’t be here for another few days. And then we have to find someone to hook it up.”

“I can set it up,” Keith said. “It’s a no-brainer. I set up the one at our house.”

“That’s still a few days. We’ve had three threats in two days. Not to mention a murder. If we’d had a camera from the get-go, all our questions would be answered.”

“The vandalism wasn’t a threat,” Emily said.

“You don’t know that.” Patrick looked annoyed.

He still seemed unaware of my presence. I stepped outside and moved behind his chair, putting my hands on his shoulders. Instead of relaxing at my touch, I felt his muscles tense. I rubbed them gently, pressing my thumbs into rigid muscle, but it didn’t seem to make a difference.

“Maybe the first note was to someone else, someone we don’t know?” I said. “And the other warnings were to tell us to stay out of it.”

“If the sheriff was investigating, we might have answers to those questions.” Patrick’s tone was clearly annoyed.

“And maybe we wouldn’t.” I took my hands off his shoulders. I walked back toward the entrance to the living room. I felt a sharp pain in my temple. I wanted to relax like Emily had suggested, but I didn’t want to miss anything that was said.

Patrick was the reason I couldn’t relax. He wanted to talk about, worry about, think about, try to figure out where that body was. He wouldn’t let it go and his constant focus on it forced me to think about it every second.

I took a few steps back from the doorway. No one noticed I was drifting away from them. Emily and Keith still had their faces covered by hats, their bodies stretched out to soak up the sunshine.

“I agree with Samantha,” Emily said. “In the documentaries we watch, the police run into dead ends every single time. They have to enlist regular people to help.”