Chapter 1 - The Sirens
The color completely drained from my husband’s face.
He stared at the patch of dirt where the dispatcher’s voice had just echoed.
His hands shook so violently that he dropped the plastic water pitcher onto the grass.
The remaining water spilled out, soaking into the dry soil near my numb shoulder.
“What did you do?” he hissed, his voice cracking with a sudden, overwhelming panic.
Before I could answer, the distant wail of sirens pierced the quiet suburban afternoon.
The sound started as a faint hum, but it grew louder and more aggressive with every passing second.
His mother stepped out onto the porch, her face pale and her eyes wide with terror.
“David, what is that noise?” she demanded, clutching the collar of her expensive blouse.
Mara stood up so fast that her lawn chair tipped backward and clattered against the wooden deck.
“Did someone call the police?” Mara shrieked, looking frantically toward the tall wooden fence.
My husband fell to his knees in the mud, digging desperately at the dirt around my right arm.
He was trying to find the phone, trying to destroy the evidence before the flashing lights arrived.
But the soil was packed too tightly, and his panicked hands only pushed the freezer bag deeper.
“Help me dig her out!” he screamed at his mother and sister.
“We have to get her inside and wash her off right now!”
Neither of them moved, paralyzed by the realization that their cruel game was finally over.
The heavy sound of boots stomping up the front driveway echoed through the yard.
“Sheriff’s Department!” a deep, commanding voice roared from the other side of the side gate.
“Open this gate right now, or we are kicking it down!”
My husband froze in the mud, his hands coated in the same wet dirt he had used to bury me.
The heavy wooden gate splintered and burst open with a deafening crash.
Four armed deputies rushed into the backyard, their weapons drawn and leveled at the porch.
“Get your hands in the air and step away from her!” the lead deputy shouted.
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My husband slowly raised his trembling hands, backing away from my buried body.
I kept my lips wrapped around the hidden straw, breathing in the sweet scent of my own salvation.
