Mom
What’s wrong, sweetie?
Ella
I just saw our neighbor get shot!
Ella
Jason — from across the street!
Mom
Get away from the window!
Mom
Are you away from the window?
Ella
Please come home. Are you still at the store?
Mom
Yes. But I’m leaving right now.
Ella
I’m going to call the police.
Mom
You’re probably just imagining things.
Ella
Then why did you tell me to move away from the window?
Ella
That doesn’t make sense!
Mom
I’m just trying to get you to calm down.
Mom
So you don’t get hysterical the way you do.
Mom
I’m calling the police now.
Mom
They’ll be there soon.
Ella
Okay. Tell them I saw a man shoot our neighbor.
Ella
Yeah. He looked like some kind of construction worker—
Ella
He was wearing a hard hat.
Mom
I just called 911 and gave them the information.
Ella
Tell them to send an ambulance, Mom!
Ella
Jason might still be alive.
Ella
Idk, I guess the chances aren’t very good.
Ella
Mom, I just thought of something.
Ella
That creepy guy Bill who lives at the end of the block…
Ella
Isn’t he a construction worker?
Mom
Honey, that doesn’t prove anything.
Ella
Yeah, but I saw him arguing with Jason recently.
Ella
He looked really angry. You should’ve seen the look on his face—
Mom
Oh my god. Do you really think he did it?
Mom
Do you think Bill killed Jason?
Ella
Mom, what about Cindy, Jason’s wife?!
Ella
What if she’s in danger?
Ella
What if she was home and Bill shot her too?!
Mom
Ella, I’m sure Cindy is alright.
Ella
How can you be sure?
Ella
Should I call 911 too?
Mom
I already did. The police are on their way.
Mom
Just stay away from the window.
Ella
I keep trying to call you.
Ella
I need to hear your voice.
Ella
Why aren’t you picking up?
Ella
Cindy just ran out of the house.
Mom
I told you to stay away from the window!
Ella
She’s wearing a construction worker’s uniform.
Ella
And she’s holding a gun.
Ella
It must have been Cindy who killed Jason!
Mom
No. There must be some other explanation.
Ella
Mom, it’s her! I recognize her face under the hat.
Ella
She must have worn the hat and the uniform to avoid being recognized!
Ella
But why would she kill her husband?
Ella
I think she’s coming over here.
Ella
I don’t hear sirens yet, Mom!
Mom
That’s probably because the police don’t want the killer to hear them.
Ella
Mom, I hear a key in the lock.
Ella
Does Cindy have a key to our house?
Ella
She’s opening the door, Mom!
Ella
I think she wants to kill me too!! Why?!!
Mom
Ella, I want you to pay very close attention to what I tell you.
Mom
At the top of your lungs, I want you to shout…
Ella
But then she’ll know where I am!!
Mom
Ella, you know I love you with all my heart, don’t you?
Mom
Please. Shout THIS IS ELLA.
Mom
At the top of your lungs.
Ella
But if I don’t make it out of here alive…
Mom
I love you too — with all my heart, Ella.
Mom
It’s REALLY Mom this time.
Ella
I did what you told me to do.
Ella
And Cindy ran out of the house.
Ella
But the police got her.
Ella
And they arrested her for his murder.
Ella
What do you mean, it’s really you?
Mom
Let me call you to explain.
Ella’s phone rings, and she answers it on the first ring.
She’s so happy to hear her mother’s voice.
Mom
I’m at the police station now.
Mom
I just gave them my statement.
Ella
What happened to you?!!
Mom
That was your father before, texting you.
Mom
He was pretending to be me.
Mom
Cindy and your father were having an affair.
Ella
Dad was? With Cindy?
Mom
I know it’s hard to believe.
Mom
It took me awhile to wrap my head around it.
Mom
They wanted to run away together.
Mom
That’s why she killed Jason.
Mom
It gets worse. Ella, your father…
Mom
And he…he was going to kill me too.
Mom
He needed money before they ran away, so he planned to collect my life insurance.
Mom
I guess Cindy and your father both had the same idea independently.
Ella
Mom, that’s crazy! You must have been so scared.
Mom
I was. Ella, he followed me to the store.
Mom
He came up to me as I was leaving my car. He looked crazed.
Mom
I asked him what was wrong.
Mom
He forced me into the backseat of the car. He tied my hands behind my back.
Mom
Then he drove me to a deserted area…
Mom
He was going to shoot me and dump my body in the river!!
Ella
What?! Dad was going to do that??
Mom
I know. I can’t believe it either. I think I’m still in shock.
Mom
Thank God someone saw us in the parking lot and realized I was in trouble.
Mom
The police found me just in time.
Ella
Oh my god, Mom! I still don’t get how Dad could do that to you!!
Ella
And how did he know I was texting you?
Mom
I’d left my phone in the cupholder.
Mom
And he heard it go off when he was driving.
Mom
That’s when he started texting you, pretending to be me.
Mom
He wanted you to stay away from our living room window…
Mom
So you wouldn’t be a witness to what Cindy did.
Mom
Then he realized that Cindy thought I was home…
Mom
And that she was coming over to kill me too, right after she killed Jason!
Mom
He thought she might kill you by accident instead.
Mom
He couldn’t let that happen. He loves you too much.
Mom
I know. I’m so glad you’re alright.
Ella
I’m so glad YOU’RE alright.
Mom
I’ll be leaving the police station soon.
There is a pause over the phone line.
Mom
Ella, there’s something else.
Mom
God, it feels strange to even tell you this.
Mom
Before the police took your father away, he said…
Mom
Tell Ella I love her with all my heart.
Ella
Oh wow. He texted that to me today, Mom.
Ella
Except I thought it was YOU saying that.
Mom
You need to always remember something, Ella.
Mom
Both he and I love you so much. We always will.
Mom
And even though that man is evil to his core…
Mom
Even though he and Cindy will be in prison for life…
Mom
There will always be one good thing about him.
