You sound upset. I'll explain when I get there. And Allan, you might want to have Judith sit down for this conversation. At 7:30, I knocked on the Heartwell's front door, laptop bag in hand. Judith answered, her silver hair perfectly styled despite the late hour.
Dave, dear, come in. Allan's in the living room. Would you like some coffee? No, thank you, Judith, but you should probably sit down. We gathered in their formal living room, all dark wood and family portraits.
I set my laptop on the coffee table between us. I installed security cameras in our house 3 weeks ago, I began. I thought we might have had a breakin. Instead, I discovered something else entirely. I opened the laptop and turned it toward them.
This was recorded today at 2:47 p.m. I hit play. Judith gasped and covered her mouth. Alan's face went white, then red, then purple. Turn it off, Judith whispered. Please turn it off.
I closed the laptop. There's more hours of it. Different days, different positions. Allan stood up abruptly, his hands clenched into fists. That's our daughter.
Our daughter who we raised to be a decent woman, a faithful wife. I'm sorry you had to see that, I said. But I needed you to know the truth before I do what I'm about to do next. What are you planning, Dave? Judith asked, tears streaming down her face.
I'm going to make sure everyone knows what she's done. Her friends, her co-workers, everyone at church. I'm going to destroy her reputation the same way she destroyed our marriage. Alan nodded slowly. She's made her bed.
Now she can lie in it. With Chris Brennan, apparently, I added. The next morning, I put my plan into motion. First, I called my assistant, Ry, and told him I was taking a few days off for a family emergency. Then, I called Lydia at work.
"Hey, honey," I said, forcing my voice to sound normal. "I got a last minute job in Chicago. Big money custom dining room set for some tech executive. I'll be gone until Friday. Oh, she said, and I could hear the excitement she was trying to hide.
That's That's great, Dave. The extra money will be nice. Yeah, I'm leaving this afternoon. Kiss Maya for me when she gets home from school. Of course.
Drive safe. I hung up and immediately called Mrs. Feldman, our 70-year-old neighbor who knew everyone's business and wasn't shy about sharing it. Mrs. Feldman, it's Dave Mitchell from next door. Oh, hello dear. How are you?
I'm fine, thank you. Listen, I'm going out of town for a few days on business and I was wondering if you could keep an eye on the house. Maybe watch for any unusual activity. Of course, dear. You know, I'm always watching out for the neighborhood.
Perfect. Mrs. Feldman had better surveillance skills than the FBI. I spent the rest of the day at Eddie's bar, nursing a beer and waiting. At 4:00, my phone buzzed with a text from Lydia. Chris is coming over for dinner tonight to discuss the Henderson Project.