Page 81 of Little Empty Promises

I never knew when it came to Foley, but I had a good track record of being persuasive.

She cleared her throat once, then twice.“Guess I should start by saying, the day your sister saw me talking to Cordelia, it wasn’t about the cat.I mean, I had issues with her cat, but it wasn’t what we were talking about that day.”

“Just so we’re clear, I never believed your story.”

A quick nod.“Okay, so Cordelia saw me outside, and she came over.She said she’d been trying to get me alone for days.It was then I learned she’d been watching us for some time.She’d seen the physical abuse, and she said she wanted to help me get away from Eddy.”

“What did you say?”

“I refused her help, and she doubled down, telling me she’d come up with a plan, a plan where I didn’t have to live in fear because I’d never have to see him again.”

“I believe I know the plan.”

“How could you?”

“Can I suggest something to you, and you can tell me if I’m right?”

She shrugged.“I guess.”

I opened my handbag, pulled outThe Pale Horse, and slid it over to her.

“Why are you giving me a book?”

I tapped my finger on the book’s cover.“This book is the one Cordelia kept the notes she’d taken about you and Eddy in.I didn’t think much about it at first.This morning, I decided to read it, and I discovered something interesting.I now believe Cordelia chose this book for a specific reason.”

“What reason?”

“Cordelia knew about the rat poison in your shed, the poison the previous owners left behind after they sold the house to you.”

She blinked at me but said nothing.

“Rat poison used to contain thallium, a fact I believed Cordelia knew well.I had no doubt she’d read the Christie novel.And Lorena, the previous owner, admitted Cordelia been in their shed.I’m betting she saw the poison, knew how it worked, and that it was hard to trace.I think she saw it as a way for you to escape.When she came to you with an idea, I believe she suggested you poison him, and she told you how to do it.How am I doing so far?”

Her eyes flooded with tears.

I grabbed some tissues and handed them to her.

“Take all the time you need,” I said.“I’m sure this is hard, and I’ll bet you’re scared.Trust me when I say it’s better to be honest and come clean than it is to keep a difficult secret or live a life on the run.”

“I never planned on things going this way, not until the power went out at the rental house.And then I panicked.I went over there the day after, and I saw that the refrigerator door was open.I couldn’t get it to close again no matter what I did.At first I thought about wrapping a bungee strap around it, but the more I thought about it, the more paranoid I became.I was scared, and so I did the first thing that came to mind.”

“You ran.”

“I … I did.My original plan was to move Eddy after a few days to somewhere he would never be found.Every time I went to do it, I lost my nerve.And as the days passed, I worried he was starting to decompose, and I didn’t know what I’d see when I opened that door again.”

“Did you think killing him was your only way out?”I asked.

“If you knew him, you’d understand.He wouldn’t have ever let me go.Even if I managed to get away, he’d find me.I didn’t want to believe Cordelia’s idea was the right one at first.In the end, it came down to one thing—I either ended him, or I ended myself.I did what I had to do to save myself.”

I took a sip of water and thought about what to say next.“Going back to the beginning, I just want to make sure I have it right.Did you poison him?”

“I … yes.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Cordelia suggested I give Eddy a little bit of poison, not too much, just a little, each day.Every morning for six days, I put it in his coffee.Several days passed and nothing happened, and I didn’t think it would work.I thought the poison was too old, or his body handled it a lot better than I thought it would, or that I hadn’t given him enough of it.On the seventh day, I woke up, and he didn’t.”

“Was it always your plan to keep him in the refrigerator at your rental house?”

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