Want to Know a Secret?

by Freida McFadden

Want to know a secret? Your son isn’t where you think he is.

Where is he??? Tell me now!!!!!!

Unknown registrant. No name is associated with this number.

There’s something strangely familiar about her, but I can’t seem to place her.

She came to the fence and told me you said it was okay for me to come over!”

I think back to the text message and get an uneasy feeling in my chest. Is it possible Maria would send me that text message and then lure my son out of the backyard just to scare me? There are a lot of crazy people out there.

I yank my phone from my purse and select Elliot’s cell number from my favorites. The only other favorites listed are Julie, Shady Oaks Nursing Home, and Bobby’s school.

I hate this woman. I really do.

I look up at Brianna, who still has that smile plastered on her face. I truly don’t care for this woman.

All I want is to go home and take a nice hot shower, then binge-watch some series on Netflix. Or maybe I’ll bake something. That always helps me relax.

Too bad you don’t know the secret to making your husband happy. Unlike Courtney Burns.

But how would Brianna know about Courtney? That’s the distant past. It’s over. Nobody knows. Just me and Elliot. Well, and one other person.

Here’s my secret in case you missed the episode: I use two tablespoons of milk powder, which makes the cookies extra chewy. Oh, and a sprinkling of sea salt on top.

Not that I don’t trust Elliot, but he’s already got Brianna at work. Why tempt fate? Especially after…

I know the secret of why Mark Tanner let you talk him into that other boy joining the team. And

if you tell anyone about these messages, everyone in town will know it too.

They say that what you do when you drive shows what kind of person you really are deep down.

Yet somehow somebody has a photograph of Mark and me taken during that one kiss, snapped through my living room window.

“I’m not Owen’s birth mother. His biological

mother… died several years ago. He doesn’t even remember her. I adopted him after Sean and I got married.”

I tried to read it—I really did. I got about two pages in, and I was just done. I simply couldn’t go on. I think it was the part where he was at the pet store, picking out varieties of birdseed. Life is too short to read boring books.

It doesn’t mean he’s cheating on me. Although it wouldn’t be the first time.

My secret is that I put lemon zest both in the curd and also in the crust.

In every episode of the show, April says goodnight to her mother. Want to know a secret about April? She hates her mother.

“That’s right. I am.” “April is my daughter,” she says. “And she is pure evil.”

There’s a surprise buried in your backyard.

“Brianna is pregnant,”

“So how long will she be working before she goes on leave?”

“No. You don’t understand.”

“She’s pregnant and…” Oh. Oh no. I scramble up from the sofa, my heart pounding. “Oh my God. You’re joking with me...

“I’m so sorry, April.” “You’re sorry? You’re fucking sorry? You got your secretary pregnant and that’s all you’ve got to say for yourself?”

“I…” He shakes his head. “You’ve got to believe me, it was just a one-time thing. I swear. I never thought…” “You never thought I’d find out? You never thought you would knock her up?” I clench my hands into fists. “Do you know how bad this is?”

He can stay with his wife, or he can leave me for the woman over ten years younger who’s pregnant with his baby.

She’s got a pregnancy glow. A pregnancy glow from my husband’s baby. I can’t believe this is happening. How could my life fall apart so quickly?

Suddenly, my chest feels tight. I sink onto the sofa, burying my face in my hands. I’m still furious at Elliot for what he did, but I still don’t want him to leave me. I don’t

want to give up my life here. I don’t want to break up my family. I’ll do anything to keep that from happening.

I want to reach out and strangle him with my bare hands. (And then strangle Brianna.)

Elliot shakes his head at me, and then we’re making out again. And for the first time in a very long time, we can’t even make it up to the bedroom. We do it right on the couch, ripping each other’s clothes off like when we first got together.

“I’m afraid I gotta tell you that your receptionist, Brianna Anderson… was found dead last night.” Brianna is… dead?

“I’m afraid she was murdered.” Murdered. Oh my God.

“Blunt trauma to the head. Basically, she was beaten to death. We found her in an alley a block away from her house”

Brianna has been murdered, and I have both motive and a lack of an alibi.

“She killed herself. It was very… unfortunate.”

“I didn’t want her dead,” he says in a low voice. Well, I did.

I’ve got a motive and no alibi. I am so screwed. Whoever did this set me up good.

She’s behind this. My life was perfect until she showed up in our neighborhood. Brianna was talking to her just yesterday, and now she’s dead.

Almost like she planned it.

I know you are inside the house, April. And then I hear the creak of footsteps on the staircase.

Want to know a secret? April Masterson is the evilest woman you’ll ever meet. Everything she has told you has been a lie. I should know. She’s my best friend.

She couldn’t have left him all alone, could she?