Arnold entered the house through the front door at the appropriate time if he had worked that day, just as he had for years. He had dressed in his usual schoolteacher attire in the morning and had left as usual, to not raise suspicion just yet with Vera. He needed to keep the ruse a few days with his wife until he was certain the school was unequivocally not rehiring him; no need to add extra strife into the household if it would prove futile in a few days anyway. He set his briefcase onto the floor and removed his hat.
Vera, knitting on the sofa, glanced at him and smiled, then returned her attention to the television. Her silence and apathy were exactly what he needed. He strode past her into the kitchen and opened the cupboard below the sink. He rummaged into the back until he found th
