Vicious

Susan had Tater Tots and French bread in the oven and a salad in the refrigerator. The kitchen had modern, stainless-steel appliances. She’d been expecting to “rough it” in a squat, rustic, bayside shack. But their rental house was a lovely, comfortable, two-story white wood-veneer house with green shutters. The property was surrounded by trees on three sides—and in the back was this quaint porch. In addition to the barbecue, it had a porch swing and a view of the backyard dock on Skagit Bay. That was where Allen had moored her “surprise,” a beautiful sailboat with an indoor cabin—complete with a small galley, dinette, and V-berth sleeping quarters. He’d rented it from a charter place in town, and tomorrow afternoon, they’d go sailing.

Mattie was thrilled about it, of course. At the moment, he was in the sunroom, on the other side of the sliding screen door, watching WALL-E on DVD. So much for roughing it, thought Susan, but she wasn’t complaining one bit.

Susan was wrapped in a russet cardigan sweater. She poured some more pinot noir into Allen’s wineglass, hoping it might take some of the edge off. He seemed far more upset about her Arby’s encounter than she’d been.

“Actually, this guy seemed perfectly normal,” Susan told him. She spoke in a hushed tone so Mattie wouldn’t hear. “In fact, he was good looking—tall, with dark brown hair. I’d say late thirties, and nicely dressed, too. I would have been flattered if he hadn’t been so overly familiar and pushy.”

“He didn’t tell you his name or where he was from? Any clue—in case I want to report this to the police?”

“No, he didn’t say a thing about himself.” She sipped her wine. “But listen, I don’t know about involving the police, Allen. I mean, this man really didn’t do anything wrong. He—”

“What are you talking about?” Allen interrupted hotly. “The guy followed you all the way to Cullen, and then you got a flat—with practically new tires. We just got them—what—three months ago? I don’t like it, I don’t like it one bit.” With the tongs, he flipped over the chicken breasts on the grill. All the while, he was frowning and shaking his head. “I really wish you’d gotten the license plate number off that red MINI Cooper.”

“Sorry, it didn’t occur to me,” Susan murmured. “At the time, I just wanted to get the hell out of there.”

“Well, if you remember anything else about this creep that would help us track him down, let me know.”

“All right already, I will,” she sighed. “Y’know, I didn’t encourage the guy—if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“I wasn’t thinking that at all,” Allen replied.

“Well, you act like you’re mad at me.” She took her wineglass and retreated to the edge of the porch.

“I’m not mad at you,” he answered quietly. “I’m just upset thinking about what could have happened.”

Susan didn’t say anything. She gazed out at the moon and the stars—so bright this far away from the lights of the city. Slivers of white and silver reflected on the bay, and the boat gently rocked in the water. Susan leaned against the railing and heard it creak.

Grabbing the top rail, Susan gave it a shake. It groaned again, and she could see a gap in the corner between the top-rail beams. “Better not let Mattie play out here alone,” she said. “It’s not safe. This thing looks like it might give way.”

“Oh, he’ll be fine, babe,” Allen said, focused on his barbecuing. “I’m sure the railing will hold. Besides, the drop’s only two feet. He’d do worse rolling off the sofa.”

“Well, I still don’t want him playing out here unsupervised,” she insisted.

“Yes, cupcake, anything you say, cupcake,” he replied in a whiny, milquetoast voice that sounded a bit like Truman Capote.

She rolled her eyes at him and then started into the house. “God, I hate it when you do your henpecked husband act.”

“Yes, pudding,” he said—with that whiny voice again. “Dinner will be ready in about five minutes, pudding.”

Susan could hear him chuckling as she slid the screen door shut behind her. She didn’t think it was very funny, not when they were discussing the safety of her child.

Lately, she found herself cutting Allen very little slack. She wasn’t quite as enamored of him as she’d been when they’d first met. Then again, maybe that was just what she needed right now. If she wasn’t completely in love with him, she wouldn’t get her heart broken.

Susan set the dining room table—with plaid cloth mats that had seen better days, plain white plates, and mismatched stainless pieces. This was about as close to “roughing it” as they got here. That nice young man she’d met by the restrooms at Rosie’s had been right about this place. It was lovely.

She could smell the Tater Tots cooking; they had about five more minutes. She remembered the Tater Tot casserole she’d made that one time—eighteen months ago. She would probably never make it again.

Walt and she had been invited to a party.

Tater Tot casserole was the “kitsch-dish” Susan had decided to make for Connie and Jim O’Mara’s Fourth of July potluck. The hosts, old friends of Walt’s from college, were barbecuing hot dogs and hamburgers. Connie encouraged their guests to bring a side dish or dessert that was some guilty-pleasure comfort food, parish picnic delicacy, or trailer-trash cuisine. Connie had explained to Susan over the phone that one guest was baking a mock apple pie from Ritz crackers. Another guest was bringing a Jell-O ambrosia salad.

“And Melissa Beale is bringing a Seven-Up cake—whatever the hell that is,” Susan said, folding a load of still-warm laundry on the bed while Walt dried off from an after-work shower. Steam wafted out the open bathroom door. Dinner was on the stove, and the kids were in front of the TV in the living room. Susan could hear it blaring. “Anyway, I told Connie we’d be there.”

“I really don’t want to go,” Walt grunted from the bathroom. “Can you call and cancel?”

“But why?” Susan asked while folding a pillowcase. “I figured you’d be all for it. They’re all your old college friends….”

The O’Maras had recently moved into a new luxury condominium on the edge of Capitol Hill. They were supposed to have a spectacular view of the Puget Sound and the fireworks. Kids were invited, too. Connie had hired a nanny to look after the little ones and read them to sleep in the guest room while the adults and older kids enjoyed the fireworks. Susan thought it sounded terrific—what with a sitter for two-year-old Mattie, and Michael, age eight, begging to stay up and watch the fireworks this year. It was an ideal arrangement—and she didn’t even have to cook, except for the Tater Tot casserole.

“I’d just as soon skip it,” Walt sighed, emerging from the bathroom with a towel around his waist. He was working a Q-tip around his ear.

Susan caught him furtively looking at her in the mirror over her dresser, and she could tell something was wrong. She stopped folding one of his T-shirts and tossed it on the bed. “Okay, what’s going on?”

“Nothing,” he said. “I just don’t feel like going to a party on July fourth. Traffic is always a pain in the ass. And the parking…” He snatched a pair of boxer shorts from her pile of laundry, then shed the towel and stepped into his boxers. The whole time his eyes avoided hers. “It’s too much of a hassle. I’d rather not go….”

Folding her arms, Susan stared at him. “Something’s wrong, I can tell. You’re not even looking at me. I’ve never known you to turn down a party. At the risk of repeating myself, what’s going on?”

With a long sigh, he strode across the room and closed the bedroom door. He stood there in his undershorts for a moment, one hand on the doorknob. He looked down at the floor. “Melissa Beale,” he muttered, frowning. “I’d rather not see her.”

“Why?” she asked, half smiling. “Don’t you like Seven-Up cake?”

He kept staring at the floor, and Susan kept waiting for him to say something.

She knew Melissa from the occasional get-togethers with Walt’s college friends. Melissa was a petite, pretty redhead with a killer body. She taught yoga and had a back tattoo (Walt’s old college gang had had a pool party last summer). She also had a younger live-in boyfriend, Jason Something, with a pierced nipple. Susan had asked Walt ages ago if he and Melissa had ever had a thing in college, and he’d told her no.

“I’m trying to avoid her, because she’s been calling me and e-mailing me at the office,” Walt said, finally.

Susan sat down on the edge of the bed. “And exactly why is she doing that?”

“She and Jason broke up,” Walt explained. “She came by the office about two weeks ago—just before lunch. It was a sneak attack. She said she needed a sympathetic ear. At lunch, she got a little buzz on and asked me to