Do Not Disturb

by Freida McFadden

I was all she had. And she was all I had.

I told her he wasn’t right for her. I’ve made every mistake in the book, so I should know.

I sit for a moment in the driver seat, staring at the phone that Quinn tried so hard to get rid of. Now I’ve got to do it for her.

I come to a stop when I see a car with Vermont license plates. The back window is cracked open just a hair. Just enough for me to slide Quinn’s phone in.

I would have made smarter choices in my life if I knew I had my parents backing me up. I doubt I would have married Rob. Maybe Quinn would have made better choices too.

Deputy Dwyer may be a better police officer than I gave him credit for. Although I still can’t believe he didn’t go into her house yesterday after he got the call about the screams.

That’s when I make a split second decision: I’m going to look for her.

I know Quinn better than anyone in the world. I’m going to find my sister.

I can find her. I know I can.

Not for the first time since I discovered my brother-in-law’s dead body, I don’t entirely trust Deputy Scott Dwyer.

So they didn’t find Quinn at the Baxter Motel. I pull over on the side of the road, debating what to do next. The police obviously searched the motel and didn’t find her there. Am I wasting my time? But I still have that feeling. I think she would have stopped here. I’m going to check it out.

Quinn was here. In this very room.

When she speaks, her voice is like sandpaper. “You are feistier than the other one.”

My heart is racing, telling me this is a mistake, but I keep moving. I enter the old woman’s room and allow her to lock the door behind me.

Rosalie did not like it.”

“I did not say she is still here. I just said she did not leave.”

I’m afraid my husband is a murderer.

I’m not sure what Nick did, but our business picked up at the end of that first year. We started getting steady customers, and the second year, we broke even. The third year, we turned a profit.

you will have a life altering revelation. One that will leave you blindsided.”

“Rosalie,” she hisses. “You must not marry that man.”

You think this man will bring you happiness, but he won’t. He will bring death into your life.”

“He will not die. He will bring the death of another.”

I can’t help but think how attractive my husband is. But the scariest part is I feel nothing right now. Not even the slightest trace of desire. And I’m too tired to care.

Do not let Nick get away from you. Do not lose what you have with him. You must protect your marriage at all costs.”

“Promise me, Rosalie. Promise me you will not let him go. Protect your marriage at all costs

Between me, Nick, and Greta, all three of us have lost weight in the last couple of years. I seem to have that effect on people.

My heart sinks into my stomach as I watch my husband kiss another woman. And he’s not just kissing her. They’re making out. This isn’t the first time, either. You can just tell.

That bastard. That absolute bastard. He’s going to be sorry for this.

I wonder if this is what that psychic foretold at the carnival all those years ago. He’s effectively killed me, even if he doesn’t know it.

whatever he put in that dumpster at three in the morning is now gone. He made sure of that.

That psychic at the carnival was right. My husband is a murderer. And it’s all because of me.