The Divorce

Prologue

When the police arrive, how will I explain the dead bodies in the house?

Only one dead body would be easier to explain.

People die after all—circle of life, etc.

, etc. But more than one becomes trickier.

Not that I have a lot of experience with it, but it’s just common sense.

One person can die by accident. Multiple deaths…

well, the police start to think about things like murder.

Furthermore, it will be very difficult to explain other things to the police. Like what happened to those dead bodies before they died. I expect a lot of raised eyebrows. Possibly handcuffs.

Speaking of which, those sirens are getting awfully loud. They’ll be here any second.

A gust of wind blows the stench of scorched flesh into my nostrils.

Every molecule in my body is screaming at me to make a run for it while I still can.

I’ve got a tiny window of time before the police arrive.

I could hop in my car and take off. The nosy neighbor who called 911 in the first place might be able to point them in the right general direction but nothing more.

I could go somewhere that they will never, ever find me. I could turn into a ghost.

But it will be hard to disappear completely. Because wherever I go, I won’t be alone. After all, it’s not like I did any of this for myself. I did it all for him.

The sirens are growing louder by the second. I have less than a minute before they arrive. If there was ever a window to disappear, I have missed it. Very soon, everyone will find out the unthinkable thing that happened in this house. And when they do, there will be questions to answer.

The police car arrives first, screeching to a halt crookedly along the curb. As the officer climbs out of the driver’s seat, I raise my hands high in the air where he can see them.

My life is about to change forever.