My Husband Is Dead Or Is He? novel · Chapter 10 of 24

Chapter 10: Ten Business Days

"That was my mother," he said.

He didn't try to hide the phone.

He put it on the counter between us, a gray flip phone with a cracked hinge.

"I heard," I said. "You said you wouldn't do it to her. Do what?"

"She offered me money." His voice was hoarse. "Two million dollars, wired anywhere in the world, if I took the cash and disappeared before Friday. She said she'd tell the sheriff I was a thief, otherwise."

"And you said no."

"I said no on Tuesday and I said it again tonight."

"Why call her Mom?"

He looked at the floor.

"It's what I call her when I'm begging," he said. "Old habit. I thought if I asked her nicely, she'd stop."

It was a thin answer, and it was also exactly the kind of thing Bernadette would do.

I wanted to believe it.

I think that's why I did.

"Go to sleep," I said.

"Marlo."

"We have the sheriff on Friday, and I'm not going to be up all night over your mother."

He lay down on the couch with his arm over his eyes.

I stood in the kitchen until I was sure he was breathing slowly, and then I went upstairs.

On Friday morning, Skye drove us to the sheriff's office in the rain.

It was a low brick building by the courthouse, and the waiting room smelled of floor wax and wet coats.

Dale was already there, in his gray suit, with a sealed manila envelope on his knee.

Bernadette sat beside him with her purse in her lap.

← Chapter 9 · All chapters · Chapter 11 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend