It took another full minute before his body relaxed. Another minute more until she was sure he was dead. When she finally released her grip and looked at Cameron’s lifeless body, his face was purple and his lips were black. His penis was engorged but deflated, and fell pathetically across his hip. It was the perfect way for him to die.

Victoria quickly got to work. From her bag she removed the items she needed. Her urine was in a sealed Tupperware container. Her research told her that by now the enzymes would have broken down into ammonia, tipping off investigators that there was no earthly way possible the urine could have come from her body in the last twenty-four hours. It would be the first clue to investigators that the scene had been staged. The tampon was in a plastic ziplock. Ever since the abortion Victoria had bled frequently and heavily. The idea of planting her blood tonight in an effort to lead investigators to Tessa Young had been conjured as the remnants of Victoria’s unborn child poured from her body. Tessa carried the child Cameron was meant to give Victoria, and they both should be punished. This blood, Victoria knew, was contaminated with the toxic chemicals found in cotton tampons. It would be another clue to investigators.

The next item she removed was the wineglass that was coated with her lipstick and fingerprints. Victoria had stashed it away over the Fourth of July weekend, at the end of the night after Tessa had placed all their glasses into the dishwasher. The fact that this glass also held Tessa’s fingerprints would further lead investigators to her. The culinary knife Victoria had used over the Fourth to chop vegetables also held both hers and Tessa’s prints. The last item in the bag was the thumb drive that held the homemade sex tape. Victoria had planned the video carefully to make it look like neither she nor Cameron knew they were being recorded. It turned out even better than she imagined. She planted the thumb drive in the desk drawer of Tessa’s office.

By themselves, each item may not be enough. But all together, and added to the bowline knots Victoria had spent hours learning to tie, they would paint a clear picture of a jilted wife attempting to frame her husband’s lover for his murder. Victoria was certain of it. She believed she had calculated everything perfectly. But Victoria never planned on a district attorney refusing to follow the evidence, or a sycophant detective refusing to trust his instincts.

When Victoria was finished staging the scene, there was only one thing left to do. She turned her attention to Cameron. Moving his lifeless body was like lifting a heavy garbage bag filled with waste. But she managed, and eventually she hoisted Cameron Young over the balcony and dropped him into the night.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS