He went downstairs and texted Vivian to ask where she was. She texted back and said she was at the house.

No, you're not. I'm at the house.

You know which house I mean. Come over.

Why the hell was she at the other house? Ken cursed under his breath and called out to Jared: "Hey, I'm heading out for a while! You're on your own for dinner!"

"Can I have money for pizza?" Jared called down.

"No. There are leftovers in the fridge."

Jared didn't say anything, at least not that Ken could hear. Ken left the house and went back to his car. He called Vivian as he started the engine.

"Hi," she said, quietly.

"Why are you over there?"

"We should talk in person." Her voice was a monotone.

"Give me a hint."

A moment of silence. "We should talk in person."

"Am I going to be unhappy?"

"You're wasting time. Just come over here."

"No, I'm not wasting time. My talking doesn't make the car move slower. I'd like some sort of idea of what's going on."

She hung up on him.

Ken didn't call her back. If she'd decided that she wasn't going to explain anything over the phone, no amount of screaming at her would change her mind. He'd find out what happened when he got there. He didn't know it was bad. Maybe he'd arrive and find Charlene in the living room, gift wrapped and ready to be caged.

He tried to focus on that possibility as he drove, rather than the possibility that she'd done something horrible.

He arrived at the house twenty minutes later. Vivian was seated on the couch, hands in her lap, her face blank. This was definitely not a "Hey, I've got a present for you!" scenario. He closed the front door and waited for her to speak. When he realized that she wasn't going to speak without prompting, he asked her what was going on.

Vivian patted the couch cushion next to her. Ken sat down.

"You're creeping me out," he said.

Vivian took a deep breath. "I did something I regret."

"I kind of figured that. What did you do?"

"You have to promise me you won't get mad."

"No."

"It's not as bad as what you did."

"For fuck's sake, Vivian, just tell me what you did! Did you kill Gertie?"

Vivian shook her head.

"So talk! Spit it out! You're driving me insane!"

"Now I'm not sure you're ready to handle it."

Ken stood up and resisted the urge to kick the couch. He stormed out of the living room and walked into the hallway. He entered two digits of the code to open the basement door before he noticed the smell of ammonia. The carpet was damp.