Page 45 of Saltwater

Downloads—blank.

Browser history—wiped clean.

Whatever she found, Lorna hasn’t left a record at all.

It’s familiar, the feeling that they’re always two steps ahead of me, always just far enough in front to block the exit. Because I know they’re the ones who did it—my father and uncle. They’ve had the laptop all afternoon.They knewsomething was wrong when she wasn’t home this morning.

I put the computer back and stand. Lorna’s bed is still made, but now I notice that the bed skirt on one side of the bed is tucked up, pressed between the mattress and the box spring. I rip it out, thinking of my fucking family. But when I do, a small bit of brown comes with it, just the slimmest edge of something. I pull fiercely.

The whole manila envelope slips out seamlessly. And inside I find ninety or so pages. Aged, faded, thin. I lift out the first page. It’s a title page that simply reads:Saltwater.By Sarah Lingate.

New Sources Come Forward in Sarah Lingate’s Death

Los Angeles Times

November17, 2007

Fifteen years after the deathof Sarah Lingate, two anonymous sources have stepped forward to provide additional information about the playwright’s death on July 19, 1992. Since then, the Lingate family has declined to give interviews or speak publicly about the events of that week.

One source reports having seen Sarah Lingate, on the night of her death, injured and walking with a man close to the villa where the family was staying. “I was with friends,” the source said, “and none of us wanted to come forward because we were all drunk that night, and most of us couldn’t remember what happened clearly, but in the intervening years, I’ve become certain that it was Sarah Lingate we saw that night.” The source says Lingate was “bleeding” and “nearly unconscious.” The man who accompanied Lingate that night has not been identified, but the source describes him as “a fairly tall, big guy, white, about her age.”

The second source claims to have been a guest at the dinner party the playwright and her husband, Richard Lingate, attended the evening of her death. It was widely reported at the time that the couple may have argued or become physical, but a new source claims she overheard Richard complaining that“Sarah had tried to kill him earlier in the day.” The vacation represented a turning point in the couple’s marriage.

“Everyone knows they were fighting that night,” Stan Markowitz said in an interview on the 10th anniversary of the death. “It wasn’t a happy marriage.”

Markowitz has been a vocal advocate for reopening the case, arguing that local law enforcement in Italy did not work closely enough with the LAPD to investigate the Lingate family. “I have no direct knowledge of who killed Sarah, but I would like to see justice for her. The timing of a suicide simply doesn’t make sense. I know she was excited about her work. I also know that there were many questions the family and the staff at the villa never answered, including whether or not anyone was awake when Sarah returned home, what happened to the project she was working on, and why certain staff refused to return to the house.”

The Lingate family did not respond when asked for comment.

Sarah

July18, 1992

Capri

“I won’t take too much ofyour time. I know you’re on vacation.”

Sarah’s agent’s voice crackled through the phone. There was only one phone in the entire villa, and it hung on the wall in the kitchen, its yellowed, stiffened cord dangling all the way to the tile.

“No, that’s fine,” Sarah said. “What do you need?”

“I just wanted to confirm that you and Richard have spoken? About the play?”

“Yes, of course. He read it.” Sarah wasn’t ready to tell her agent about his reaction, so she settled on the noncommittal: “We’re working it out.”

On the other end of the line, Sarah could hear shuffling papers, a throat clearing.

“I don’t know how to tell you this, Sarah, but his attorneys have been in touch. A preemptive cease-and-desist arrived the day you left. Our counsel has had to take several meetings already. There’s a lot of pressure on this thing, which is something we try to avoid. Perhaps you could talk to Richard. Get them to back off?”

“I’m sorry,” Sarah said. “What?”

“The attorneys—” her agent repeated.

He had threatened to sue, but Sarah had assumed there were still more negotiations ahead of them. Some light weaseling and hardbargaining. She hadn’t realized he had seen himself in the pages this clearly.

“No. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I get it. I’ll speak to him.”

“I know it’s a hard conversation to have on vacation,” her agent continued, “but if you could talk to him soon.”

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