Chapter 32: Poison
The two kids hardly fit onto the bed. To give them more room, Joseph arranged the little boy with his head at the foot of the bed and the fat one lying in the opposite direction. He secured their hands to the bars of the brass frame while Samantha watched, making sure neither tried anything sneaky.
Since waking up, the little one hadn’t said anything. He wouldn’t even look at Samantha, instead turning his head away anytime she glanced at him. She felt bad for the kid, having his heart broken under the benches, but what did he expect? Did he really think she’d give up a strong, gorgeous man like Joseph for a shrimp like him?
The fat one had slept the entire way over, her snoring enough to drive Samantha crazy. She and Joseph spent the ride back to his father’s house trying to find a good description for the snoring. “It’s like a chainsaw,” Joseph said. “A rusty chainsaw from about fifty years ago.”
“It’s like a waterfall. Maybe
They settled on a pregnant sow with asthma. Now that the fat girl lay on the bed, Samantha could picture the fat girl with a snout and curly tail, a bunch of piglets sucking at her teats. Samantha giggled at this image and then reached over to push up the fat girl’s nose and make oinking sounds. Joseph laughed at this while the little one spoke for the first time. “Samantha, she’s your friend. How can you do that?”
“I’m just having some fun with her,” Samantha said.
“What happened to you? I want the old Samantha back.”
“You mean the ugly Samantha? The one with pimples and big ears and homemade clothes? She’s never coming back. Never!”
“You’re uglier now,” the little one said.
Joseph slapped him across the face hard enough to make the little boy’s nose bleed. “Watch your mouth,” Joseph said.
Samantha let go of the fat one’s nose to massage Joseph’s shoulders. “Leave him alone. He’s jealous because he’s a sissy and you’re my big strong man.” She kissed him on the neck, the little one squirming at this. “Let’s get out of here. We can get across the state line by morning.”
“We’re not going anywhere,” Joseph said. “We can’t leave them like this. They could escape.”
“What are you going to do then? You aren’t going to hurt them, are you?”
“No, of course not, baby,” Joseph said. “I’m going to give them what I gave my dad. By the time they wake up, we’ll be gone. Go downstairs and watch TV while I take care of this.”
“All right,” she said.
“Samantha, don’t let him do this! You can stop him!” the little one cried out. Samantha kissed Joseph on the neck again and then went down to the living room to watch TV.
A knock on the door startled her enough that she fell off the couch. She turned off the television, hoping whoever was at the door would go away. She imagined the sheriff waiting there, ready to bust down the door and haul her and Joseph away for drugging Mr. Pryde and tying up the kids.
The knocking continued, growing more frantic. A woman’s voice called out, “I know you’re in there. I see your cars.”
Before long, Samantha knew the racket would disturb Joseph and then there would be hell to pay. She hurried to the front door, peeking through the curtain to see not the sheriff but an old woman in a dingy brown overcoat. Samantha opened the door enough to fit her head through. “Who are you?” she asked.
“Well, aren’t you a rude one. I’ve been living in these parts since your grandmother was in diapers I bet. I don’t remember seeing you before. Are you a friend of Mr. Pryde’s?”
“Yes. He’s sleeping right now so you’ll have to come back later,” Samantha said. With the door open, the old lady’s mildew stench almost made Samantha’s eyes water.
“That’s fine. I’m not here to see him. There was a girl who came by my place earlier. A big girl.” The old lady held an arm out on either side to mimic the girl’s shape. “She said she was staying up here. I went by the sweet shop earlier and thought I’d drop off some fudge for her.” The old lady held up a white paper sack.
“You can give it to me and I’ll make sure she gets it.”
“Where is she that she can’t even come to the door and say hello to an old woman who did her a favor by driving her into town? She seemed like such a darling girl too.”
“She’s not feeling good right now. When she’s better I’ll let her know you stopped by.”
“I should have known. She didn’t look well earlier with her face so red and sweaty. In that case, I’ll go whip up some chicken soup for her. Much better for a sick girl than candy.” The old lady stuffed the bag of fudge into her overcoat and then turned to leave. That’s when a scream came from upstairs. From the shrillness of it, Samantha guess the fat girl had woke up at last. The old lady spun around, sticking her foot in the doorway before Samantha could shut the door. “What’s going on in there?” she asked.
“Nothing’s going on,” Samantha said. Another scream echoed through the house, this one belonging to the little boy. Sweat began to form along Samantha’s forehead and a nervous flutter unsettled her stomach.
The old lady tried to worm her way past Samantha, who fought to shut the door. “I don’t know what you children are up to in here, but I aim to find out. I will not have a group of hoodlums operating in my neighborhood. You let me in this instant, young lady or I’ll tell Sheriff McCovey.”
Samantha relented, opening the door enough for the old lady to slip through. “Young lady, are you hurt? Mr. Pryde? Can you—” The old lady didn’t finish her sentence. Samantha whacked her upside the head with the handle of an umbrella. The old lady toppled to the floor, where she lay unmoving.
Samantha stood frozen over the old lady’s fallen body. Oh God, let her be alive, Samantha thought. She could justify the robbery and even tying up the children, but she couldn’t find an excuse for killing an old woman.
“Sam, what’s going on down here?” Joseph called from the stairs. By the time he reached the bottom, Samantha had dissolved into a sobbing heap. He took her into his arms, stroking her hair and saying reassuring things that had no effect on her as she looked at the dead old lady.
“She threatened to call the police,” Samantha said. “I didn’t want to hit her, but she wouldn’t go away.”
“Don’t worry, everything will be fine.” Joseph leaned over the old lady’s body to feel for a pulse. “She’s still alive.”
Samantha wiped at her eyes and nose, trying to collect herself. She couldn’t help thinking of what she’d almost done; if she’d hit the old lady a little harder—
“Joseph, let’s get out of here. We can find another bank to rob somewhere else. One that’s bigger and has more money.”
He took her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Sam, there’s nothing to worry about. The old coot will be fine. We’ll put her upstairs with the others.”
“What about the kids? I heard them—”
“They’re fine. They’re asleep now,” he said.
“Joe, please, I don’t want to be here anymore. Let’s go.”
“Baby, I told you, there’s nothing to worry about. You trust me, don’t you?” She nodded. “Good. I’ll take Mrs. Schulman upstairs and tuck her in. Are you going to be all right by yourself for a few minutes?” She nodded again. “That’s my girl. Wait right here.”
Joseph disappeared with the old lady in his arms, leaving Samantha alone. After a moment she stumbled out the front door and collapsed onto the porch swing to bury her face in her hands. This kept getting worse and worse. It had all started out as a beautiful dream, but now it seemed more like a nightmare from which she couldn’t wake up.
0 comments:
Post a Comment