The Perfect Marriage

Adam tells Sarah how he met Kelly/Jenna. It was shortly after Sarah and Adam bought the lake house. Adam visited the café in the nearby town where Kelly/Jenna worked: Seth’s Coffee. They got into a deep conversation; Kelly/Jenna even hinted that her husband was abusive—“It was the cracks in her voice that gave it away. Scott had hurt her. She didn’t need to tell me for me to know” (66). The same day they met, Kelly/Jenna and Adam slept together.

Sarah takes notes as Adam describes his first meeting with Kelly/Jenna. Sarah probes deeper when he suggests that Kelly/Jenna’s husband, Scott, was abusive. Sarah suggests that if they can prove Scott was abusive, it will help exonerate Adam—creating enough reasonable doubt that he is the murderer.

While Sarah and Adam are discussing the case, they are interrupted by Deputy Scott Summers, Kelly/Jenna’s widower. Scott enters the interrogation room and attacks Adam. Adam is taken to the hospital. Sarah is left alone with Sheriff Stevens, who asks Sarah if she thinks Adam killed Kelly/Jenna. Sarah replies, “I don’t believe Adam did this” (74).

Adam wakes up in the hospital after being attacked by Scott. Sheriff Stevens visits Adam in the hospital, and Adam suggests that Scott killed Kelly/Jenna. When Sheriff Stevens asks Adam why, Adam replies, “He [Scott] knew about us. About the affair. He was texting her the night she died. He was threatening her. He was abusive” (78). The Sheriff notes that Kelly/Jenna never made any allegations of abuse. Adam suggests this was because of Scott’s connections to the police.

Sarah’s friend Matthew drives her home from the police station. At home, Sarah gets a call from Sheriff Stevens, giving her an update on Adam’s condition in the hospital. Sheriff Stevens tells Sarah, “I’m just here to find out the truth and enact the proper justice” (82).

Adam is in his hospital bed, alone, thinking about the situation. Adam is convinced that Scott is the murderer. Adam thinks about calling Sarah but decides against it, thinking, “I love my wife, but I loved Kelly too. […] What have I done? What the fuck did I do?” (85). He cries.

Adam reflects back to two weeks earlier. He was at the lake house. Kelly/Jenna showed up with a black eye, crying. Kelly/Jenna said Scott hit her and told Adam, “Sometimes I think the only way I’ll ever get away from him is in death” (88). Kelly/Jenna told Adam her real identity, Jenna Way, and that she was married before. When she came home one night, she found her husband stabbed to death and was subsequently charged with his murder. Evidence was misplaced during the trial, and the charges against Kelly/Jenna were dropped. Adam is shocked but replies, “I fell in love with Kelly, not with Jenna. Who you were doesn’t matter to me” (89). Adam promises to protect Kelly/Jenna from Scott.

The day after Adam’s arrest, Sarah arrives at work. Sarah tells Anne about the situation. Sarah tells Anne that the autopsy report suggests Kelly/Jenna was murdered between 11:30 p.m. and 12:15 a.m., and that Sarah could not verify Adam was home until 2:00 a.m. The following exchange takes place between Anne and Sarah:

‘And we were out in D.C. until…’ Anne ponders.

‘After midnight, although it may have been a bit later.’

‘Yeah, that’s right.’ Anne sits there thinking. I can see that she wants to be of more help (93).

That afternoon, Adam’s mother, Eleanor, visits Sarah’s office. Eleanor and Sarah do not get along. When Sarah asserts that Adam is a suspect in a murder case, Eleanor replies, “My boy would never!” (94). Sarah reflects that “[p]arents are typically delusional when it comes to their children” (94).

Sarah goes to the lake house. As Adam’s lawyer, she is allowed access to the crime scene under Sheriff Stevens’s supervision. Before they go through the scene, Sheriff Stevens reveals that Kelly/Jenna had Rohypnol in her system. When Sarah asks Sheriff Stevens if Adam tested positive for Rohypnol, he says no. Sheriff Stevens further reveals that Kelly/Jenna was pregnant and that Adam was the father. This now makes the case a double homicide, and Adam will face the death penalty if convicted. Finally, Sheriff Stevens reveals that there were two other sets of DNA (semen) in Kelly/Jenna—in addition to Adam’s semen, there was semen from Scott, and an anonymous third set of DNA.

Sarah starts to go through the crime scene. She asks Sheriff Stevens whether the contents of the wet bar have been tested for drugs. Sarah flags the scotch decanter specifically, suggesting it should be tested for Rohypnol. In the bedroom, Sarah seems to have trouble facing the scene—an unmade bed, where Adam and Kelly/Jenna slept together, covered in blood. Sheriff Stevens seems to have empathy for her and escorts her out.

Sarah goes to Adam’s writing desk and opens a secret compartment. Inside is a gun. This is not a surprise to Sarah; Adam bought it for protection after they moved to the lake. The secret compartment also has an envelope with a photo of Adam and Kelly/Jenna and the words written on it, “END IT OR I WILL” (103). Sarah appears surprised. She tells Sheriff Stevens, “Someone knew about Kelly and Adam. This is a threat. This is proof that Adam didn’t do it” (103).

Deputy Marcus Hudson also shows up on the scene, uninvited. Sarah finds his interest in the case and his constant presence suspicious. Sheriff Stevens tells Sarah that Adam is going to be moved from the hospital to the Sheriff’s station for processing. Sheriff Stevens offers to drive Sarah to the station.

Adam is back in holding in the station. Sarah arrives, and Adam and Sarah have another client-lawyer meeting. Sarah asks Adam about the day that Kelly/Jenna was killed. Adam reveals, “I tell her everything” (108). Sarah brings up the envelope with the photo of Adam and Kelly/Jenna and the threatening note. Adam feels stupid for forgetting to share this detail. Sarah also tells Adam that Kelly/Jenna had three sets of DNA in her: “I’m saying you weren’t the only man she was cheating on her husband with. I’m saying you weren’t special. I’m saying she was a whore” (111).

Sarah and Adam also discuss the note that Adam left for Kelly/Jenna, which included the line, “You’re the words to a story I’ve been trying to write my whole life, and tonight I determined the ending” (112). Sarah asks about the vague “ending” Adam’s note referred to. He admits that when he wrote the note, he was planning to leave Sarah for Kelly/Jenna. However, when Adam came home and Sarah told him that she wanted to have a baby, Adam changed his mind: “I decided I was going to end it with Kelly, and I was going to be completely dedicated to you and our family” (112).

Finally, Sarah reveals to Adam that Kelly/Jenna was pregnant. Adam says he did not know. Sarah tells Adam that if he is convicted for double homicide in the state of Virginia, he will face execution.

Sarah gives Anne an update on Adam’s case. Anne ran background checks on Kelly/Jenna and Scott, per Sarah’s request. Anne reveals a big discovery: Kelly Summers is really Jenna Way. Kelly/Jenna was married before Scott, and her previous husband was murdered. Anne says, “He was stabbed to death by Kelly or should I say Jenna, and the odd thing is, she got off” (120). Anne further reveals that Kelly/Jenna got off because evidence in the case went missing—and that the arresting officer at the scene of the crime was “[n]one other than Scott Summers” (120).