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I felt a chill spread across my skin. I wasn’t sure if it was from moving to the shade, or the thought that our neighbors might start involving themselves in our business. We didn’t need someone even more self-righteous than Patrick deciding how we should handle our lives.

“Do you think she just wanted you to worry? Or do you think⁠—”

“I don’t think so,” Samantha said. “She didn’t seem vicious about it. She sounded like she was trying to help. It felt like she thinks people are suspicious of us because we’re outsiders and she wanted us to be aware of that.”

“It sounds a little mean-spirited to me,” I said.

“Trust me, she was trying to be helpful. Also, I saw Jordan talking to the deputy, but when I tried talking to her, she ignored me. She started writing in her notebook again, then went into the house. When I knocked, Linda answered.”

“I think a glass of wine might be good,” I said.

“No. We need to think clearly. I’m worried Jordan saw something, or heard something, and she’s going to tell someone. I almost feel like maybe she’s setting us up—waiting to see what we do, and then⁠—”

“If she saw him murdered and did nothing, she’s in more trouble than we are. If she only saw his body and didn’t report it, that’s the same. Patrick’s obsession is making you anxious. You’re imagining things, Jordan can’t possibly know.” I got off the chair. “I’m going to get that wine.”

Samantha followed me into the house. I poured a small amount of white wine into two glasses and handed one to her. “Just to take the edge off.” I clinked my glass against hers and took a sip. I clinked her glass again. “To relaxing and enjoying our fabulous new home.”

“With a swimming pool that⁠—”

“Don’t!” I said. “Don’t go there. We’ll drain it and clean it. But for now, let’s try to enjoy this place. And figure out a way to settle the nerves next door.”

Samantha put her glass on the counter without taking a sip. “Linda was going on about police officers having good instincts. Like she wanted me to believe that the deputy knows Patrick had something much bigger going on than a smashed window.”

“She was just talking. She can’t possibly know that.” I sounded more confident than I was. My words felt true, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a thorn of worry poking at my throat, causing more pain than something so small had a right to.

“Can you imagine if we’d called and the police didn’t show up until after the storm calmed down? And then he was gone? It would have made us look even more guilty,” Samantha said.

“But no one is guilty.” I pulled my phone out from the pocket of my swimsuit coverup. I tapped it open and pulled up my recipe app. “I’m going to make a nice dinner tonight. Why don’t we invite Linda and Jordan over? We’ll serve nice wine, eat good food, and let them see that we’re not hiding anything at all. We’ll let them see what great people we are.”

“Okay.” She sounded uncertain.

“The nice wine is our treat, if you’re worried about the expense.”

“I’m not worried about the expense!”

“Okay. Calm down. You know we’re good people. We were put in a horrible position. And that note! Both notes.” I took another sip of wine. “What should I make?”

She hesitated for several seconds, as if she wanted to say more about our neighbors, or the murder. Maybe the notes? “I don’t know. Spaghetti? Everyone likes spaghetti. I’ll run to the store and get a baguette and more veggies and greens for salad,” she said.

“It’s a plan. The most fun thing since we got here.” I went to the bowl on the shelf in the entryway and got my car keys. “Take our car. Since you can’t drive yours.

“Maybe we’ll get lucky convincing our neighbors how awesome we are. And we are. We’re good people. We’re kind people. But we’re also smart and logical and realistic about how to handle what happened to us.”

Samantha nodded, although not with as much enthusiasm as I’d hoped.

After changing into denim cut-offs and a silky top, I headed next door. The house was nice, almost as big as ours, with a similar, sleek contemporary design, featuring a lot of large windows.

Linda opened the door before I knocked. It unsettled me because I felt as if she’d been watching me walk across her nicely landscaped yard and up the path to her porch.

“It’s me again.” I smiled.

Jordan’s voice came from somewhere behind Linda. “Who is it?”

“The girl next door,” Linda shouted back.

She was so loud, I felt myself recoil slightly.

“What can I do for you?”