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Miranda’s Bath

Mike Rader

    There are better ways to die than drowning. Frankly, I was in no mood to list them. I held her head under the water in the bath until she stopped breathing, stopped thrashing about. Then it was time to sit back and take a series of deep breaths.
    Miranda was dead. Almost impossible to believe. The scheming, lying woman I had loved. You see, I was Miranda’s husband. And even dead, even grotesque, her body still fueled desire.
    The doorbell rang.
    I slammed the bathroom door, sprinted down the hall. Garth Polson was on the porch. Polson, the trainer at Miranda’s health club. Miranda’s lover. I opened the door a crack, about to say I was busy. He took one look at my damp clothes, shouldered past, and headed straight to the bathroom.
    “You’ve killed her!” Polson accused.
    “It was suicide. I was trying to get her out,” I said. “That’s why I’m soaked.”
    “You killed her, Joe.” Then he slapped me on the shoulder. “You saved me doing it.”
    I must have been gaping at him stupidly, because he rocked with laughter.
    “Hey, come on, Joe. Don’t pretend to be so shocked. You knew her better than I did.”
    “But why would you want to kill her?” I blurted out like a kid. “I’m the guy she betrayed.”
    “Because that’s what she was going to do to me,” Polson said with a sneer. “She was two-timing both of us.”
    I didn’t believe a word. Until —
    “David Ransom,” Polson snapped. “Your business partner. She was having an affair with him too.”
    “No way. David would never do that to me.”
    “You think so? Miranda had him wrapped around her little finger.”
    I sucked in a breath. “Can you prove it?”
    “Sure.”
    He reached back and pushed the bathroom door wide open. Ransom was standing in the hall. He wore a sarcastic smile.
    “How long have you been out there?” I demanded. I couldn’t hold back — I lunged at him but Polson restrained me.
    “Easy, Joe, we’re all friends here.”
    “You bastards!” I spat the words.
    Ransom just shrugged. “Calm down, Joe. You’re better off without her. So is Polson, and so am I.”
    “I don’t doubt that,” I swore. “But you bastards, you cheated me. You of all people, David. We’ve known each other since college. We’ve run our business together for twenty years. You’re my best friend. I’d have trusted you with my life.”
    “And even your wife,” Polson joked.
    I aimed a fist at his smug face but Ransom seized my arm. He was only slight, I’d no idea he was so strong. Before I knew what was happening, Polson had my other arm. They dragged me closer to the tub. They pushed me down.
    “Are you both crazy?” I screamed, my face only inches above the water, above Miranda’s slack white body.
    “Polson and I came to an arrangement,” Ransom explained. “He was happy to see Miranda dead, didn’t like being cheated on. As for me, I got what I wanted from her. Now I’ll get what I’ve always wanted from you, Joe.” He must have seen the bewildered look come over my face. “Have you forgotten our partnership insurance policy? If something happens to one of us, the other receives his share. Winner take all, you might say.”
    “You mean you want me dead?” How pathetic I must have sounded.
    Polson was the one with the wisecracks. “Look at it this way, Joe. You married Miranda for better or for worse, until death do you part...”
    And with that my face hit the water. They both held me down. Water surged into my mouth, down my throat. I kicked back wildly, but they held me tight. I was choking. My lungs were filling. And just an inch away was the woman I’d murdered. Miranda. Soon I couldn’t see her anymore through the maze of bubbles. I tried to shout, begged them to let me go, they could have whatever they wanted, just let me go, just don’t let me die in Miranda’s bath.

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