She popped her head around the corner as if she hadn’t been there the whole time.
“I’m heading out, meeting a friend for breakfast.”
The drive over was a blur, and I was thankful the roads were mostly empty. Everyone else was still in bed. Merissa took my advice, literally huddled in the hallway near the phone. It hung from its cord, where it had fallen from her hand. I’d slipped through the back with relative ease. There was only one guard, and he was too busy reading a paperback to notice me. I waved an impatient hand at her.
“Get up.” She scrambled to her feet, pressing the heel of her hands to her swollen eyes. Make-up smeared in messy lines down her face. Her chin wobbled as she pointed to the main bedroom. She was dressed in a lilac slip nightgown, and lace trimmed the dip between her breasts. She still had shadows of bruises, but nothing like the tapestry Lanton had left on her before.
“I-I did what you s-said, and I gave—” I reached out and clamped my hand over her mouth. The startled cry she mademuffled against my iron grip. Merissa was several inches taller than me, but she cowered under my furious gaze.
“You didn’t put enough water in the mix?” I arched an eyebrow and tilted my head to the side. Merissa’s chest hitched, and a rush of hot air pressed against my palm. I moved back with a small noise of disgust, wiping my hand on my thigh. I didn’t know how many people Lanton had working in this silent tomb of a house. Merissa blinked, realizing my attire. Still dressed in my filthy overalls, I only retrieved my kit from the greenhouse before driving here. I’d even tucked my hair into a cap. From a distance, I could pass as a young boy. I hadn’t parked in front of his house, but a street away.
“Just show me,” I muttered. Merissa scurried in front of me, twisting her hands together as she smothered more quiet sobs. She didn’t say a word as she led me into the main bedroom. The last time I had been here, the sheets were neat with military precision, but now they lay tangled in a knot at the base of the mattress.
“In here.” Merissa inched toward the bathroom, her exhales turning wet and loud again. The scent of sweat swelled sour in my lungs. I could taste the tang on the back of my tongue. Lanton looked small, crumpled on his bathroom floor. His chest wasn’t moving, so I poked him with the toe of my boot. He groaned and lashed out, his clammy grip fumbling with my pant leg. I crouched down, fascinated by the sheen of sweat on his forehead and the gray countenance on his skin.
“What the fuck are you doing here? I said to call a doctor.” His enormous chest rattled with heavy mucus, and he coughed into the baby blue tiles. Merissa stammered, but I waved a hand without looking at her.
“Get me a glass of water. Mr. Vani looks parched.” His lips cracked and red-rimmed, as if he’d been licking at them. A narrow glare swallowed his beady eyes. I tilted my head as Itried to work out what had happened. The dose should have been more than enough to make his heart stop. Being so closely involved, I couldn’t have there be anything unusual about his death. Merissa returned, padding over with a chilled glass of water. I flipped open my kit on the bathroom counter and tapped some dark powder in the water.
“The doctor is on his way, but I have something that will help you feel better. Take a sip, that’s right.” I tilted the lip of the glass for Lanton, and he gulped, greedy by nature. I pulled it back when there was a finger of water left. I looked at Merissa, who had wrapped her arms around her waist, her teeth clattering together.
“Finish it.” I waved the glass at her. She balked, noisy wheezes escaping her as snot trickled from her nose.
“Please, I d-did everything you said. It d-didn’t work.” Her hysterics made my head pound.
Lanton slumped on the ground, his hand clutched at his stomach while he moaned. Merissa looked at him, her nostrils flaring, the first sign of fight since I’d arrived.
“I know you did, but there’s been a change of plans. This is too messy, and now you’re going to have one more day of pain.” I carried the glass to her, pressing it into her palm. “Then you’ll be free. That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?”
Merissa’s eyes were saucers, and she shook her head before dropping her chin on her chest. Rivulets of tears stained the nightgown.
“It won’t kill you.” I tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. “Drink it up and lie in his bed. Let whatever happens happen, and make sure you moan loudly when it hits you. Understand?”
She hiccupped as she took the glass from me. I made encouraging noises as she brought it to her bloodless lips. Thewater sloshed, and when it hit her tongue, she whimpered. But she did it.
“Good girl,” I praised.
“I’m still thirsty. Get me another glass of water.” Lanton’s powerful voice was a harsh whisper. Even boneless on his bathroom floor, he wasn’t aware he was in danger.
“You’re very bossy for someone who needs my help so much.” I chastised him but poured another glass of water from the tap. I stirred the powder with his toothbrush. He blinked up at me, hazy with impatience.
“Thank you, Anita.” He said as I helped him drink the entire glass. A surprising show of humility, one I didn’t think he was capable of. He curled on the floor, hand still clutched to his stomach. The underarms of his white and green striped pajamas were soaked with sweat. I perched on the granite countertop, content to watch as the poison did its work.
“Imagine what your husband is going to think when I tell him I was alone with his wife.” Lanton tried to joke, face twisting in a grimace as a cramp hit him hard. He planted his hand on the floor and tried to leverage himself up, but it was no use. My wares had rendered his muscles unusable. He slumped onto the cool tile, trying valiantly not to show how weak he felt.
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell him if you don’t.” I grinned, and it mustn’t have been the one I practiced, because Lanton’s forehead furrowed with deep lines. He’d been halfway through relieving himself before the dosing I’d given Merissa had started to work. His pants rucked haphazardly over his hips, but a triangle of bare, hairy ass was visible. The stink of stale piss permeated the room.
“Get onerr tha staff, need a liff.” His lips moved against each other ineffectually, the words coming out slurred. I swung my legs, enjoying the steady decline. Watching Lanton writhe on the floor was well worth the trouble of the botched dose. I wouldhave to further test my calculations, work out why it hadn’t performed as I intended. Perhaps Lanton was half cockroach. He needed a more direct stomp to be destroyed.
“Help.” His thick fingers clutched at nothing, and he tried to roll upwards but paused with a soft whine. Out in the bedroom, Merissa was retching.
“Let it come up and cover the bed. That’s right.” I called out, pleased when I heard the telltale choke and thick expel of vomit. Merissa sobbed, her voice ratcheting a little higher than it needed to. Lanton looked at the empty glass sitting next to me, face contorted in pain. His fingers reached, grazing the toe of my swinging shoes.
“Oh, so close. Give it another go.” I didn’t bother trying to mask my expression this time. Letting the ugly, twisted glee free. An airy laugh escaped me when he slumped to the ground. I covered my mouth with my hand. Trying to muffle my enjoyment of this moment.
“Did Romeo do thhhs?”
I clicked my tongue, letting my heels slam into the cupboards. Of course, he would think Romeo was the brains behind this. His ego would never let him think a woman was capable of murder. I was doing this for all the women he’d destroyed. But Lanton didn’t bother with subterfuge. He tore them apart, piece by piece. And he was allowed to get away with it. But not anymore.
