Almost-A- Murderer: BACKFIRED Chapters Two & Three

Almost-A- Murderer: BACKFIRED Chapters Two & Three CHAPTER TWO Gloria was furious. The air in the attic was both hot and stale, drying out Gloria’s mouth, yet causing her sleeveless silk shell to stick to her sweaty flesh. If only she could tear off the jacket and wring out her blouse until drips would fall upon her tongue... No... She’d run down the steps, kick open the door to the attic and wring her son’s neck. Then afterwards, she’d stroll happily to her car, pop open the trunk where she always carried bottled vitamin water inside a canteen mixed with vodka and drink greedily. Then, she’d get inside and blast the air-conditioning until she was suitably frozen, before thinking of how she would dispose of her wicked son’s body. Those thoughts kept Gloria occupied for a good hour. Until the heat became too oppressive. She felt her energy level sinking fast. Unfortunately, she began to weep; wasting even more fluid. While inside her car, every fifteen minutes or so, for the past forty-five minutes, Gloria’s phone would ring. Usually, on the weekends her phone was pretty silent. Just spam calls. And she hadn't been too optimistic regarding the young couple stopping by. The plans they'd mentioned for their morning, she believed, would prevent them from viewing the house. So, more-than-likely, it was her daughter-in-law, Rachel. Rachel knew that her mother-in-law was friendless. Therefore, on the occasional Saturday she’d check in on her. See if she’d want to stop by to grab something to eat with her and a desultory Micah. Rachel decided against leaving another message; thinking: “She’s probably showing the couple the house and she or Micah will call when they’re through... I’ll just be obedient and do as the doctor says, 'stay off your feet' until they get here.” Sliding past the glass coffee-table, Rachel eased her increasingly heavy frame onto the floral sofa, slipped off her house shoes, then raised her thickening legs, sighing. She recalled the night she’d gotten herself into this situation. Usually so careful, knowing that menopausal women got pregnant often, Rachel allowed her body to comfort a sorely distressed Micah increasingly venting acid anger at his mother’s frequent abusive comments. With no time to prepare, Rachel felt that her life was about to take another drastic turn. Her premonition proved correct. A doctor’s appointment a month later confirmed what she knew. Rachel picked up the magazine Psychology Today, then continued to read an article she started earlier about caustic mother and son relationships. She sort of hoped that their child would be a female. Not that she wouldn't love a son. She just didn’t know how she and Micah would do as parents of a male. Would he be interested in him? Would he be jealous of their mother-and-son bond? Could he even love him? Those questions constantly plagued her. But, Rachel knew that for the safety of her child’s disposition she'd need to concentrate on pleasantries. So, she closed the magazine and picked up another magazine left earlier by an attractive middle-aged couple entitled AWAKE! They highlighted its theme: Wisdom for Life and Happiness. https://www.jw.org/finder?wtlocale=E&issue=2021-03&pub=g21&srcid=share And yes, she answered, the Table of Contents drew her: 3 Wisdom for Life and Happiness 4 Wisdom for Family Happiness 6 Guidance for Peaceful Relationships 8 Keys to Contentment 10 Why Do We Suffer, Grow Old, and Die? 12 Teachings That Give Hope 14 Knowledge That Draws Us to God 15 Wisdom Within Your Reach 16 Would You Like to Learn More? "Actually, I would," Rachel thought, but didn't vocalize. Though the couple's unexpected visit had given Rachel a much desired lift. Especially since they were so kind. When about to depart, they made congratulatory mention of her pregnant state, taking the time to show her a two-minute video entitled: Little One, that she found endearing. They left a card where she could locate the video and other children's videos like it, for the family's enjoyment. Rachel laid back on the sofa pillow, took her phone, typed in www.JW.org, then typed Little One in the search box. “There it is!” she cried out loud to the empty house. The darkness that always seemed to descend upon her soul upon contemplation of Micah and his mom’s relationship receded as Rachel repeatedly played the little song until she soon knew it by heart. https://www.jw.org/finder?srcid=share&wtlocale=E&lank=pub-pkon_25_VIDEO... CHAPTER THREE Both Mike and Carol held their tongues as they left Micah's porch with Rachel, his wife, courteously watching. Carol turned to wave one last time before walking around the back of their rental and taking her seat on the passenger's side. Lowering her mask after buckling in, she began to speak before Mike pulled away from before the house. "Micah's wife... I'm a little worried about her, Rachel... She did say her name was Rachel, right?" asked Carol, angling her body to slightly face Mike. "Yes... Why are you worried? I didn't see anything particularly alarming." "Particularly?" Mike looked quickly over at Carol with a little smirk on his face before focusing on turning onto Main St. with its increasing traffic. Though, not too heavy since the massive swell of Island vacationers had gone. "Oh. And before we begin this discussion, are you getting hungry?... I was thinking of a deli sandwich." "I'm thinking you don't mean the one around the corner." "You got it, babe!" Carol settled back into her seat, since they chose to drive an extra ten minutes to a little spot they knew would serve them up right. Oftentimes, two sets of eyes are better than just the driver's. "Fine by me... Okay... Particularly?" she asked again, glancing over to read his expression. "No, nothing 'particularly alarming'... Seems to me, young lady' that you're getting a bit rusty with your sleuthing." "Rusty! I just told you that I'm concerned about Rachel and you call me 'rusty'!" Mike lightly drops his hand onto Carol's arm to calm her down, all the while laughing. "Hold on. I'll grant you your powers of observance regarding Rachel, since I didn't see anything unusual with her besides the fact of being well along in her pregnancy. And maybe a little tired looking. But two months away from the agency has dulled your once keen canine sense," he ended with a grin. "Must I remind you, kind sir, that we are both on vacation. And this little side job you've taken can be handled by you alone with just your little pinky." Mike's ego was suitably stroked. It was true that this client hiring him in regards to Micah Givens didn't seem too difficult of an assignment. And Mike was taking it on, more-or-less, as a favor to Carol's aunt, who seemed to be taken with this owner of a small chain of hardware stores similar to Ace's. "Okay. You're off the hook for now... However,... I need you to hone your skills and keep them honed... You never know when I'll need you back at the agency." Although Carol was flattered by Mike's words, she'd rather hoped that Mike would be joining her in her new line of full-time service. Detecting was needed there too. But, Carol chose to smile rather than reply to his statement... "Soooo, what did I miss?" she asked instead. She didn't scold him for his lack of sympathy for the woman they just left. Micah's wife looked as if she needed to get to the hospital yesterday. She appeared to be interested in their questions, but found it difficult to focus. As she stood with the screen door slightly ajar, Carol could see a bit of perspiration on her nose and above her lip, although she and Mike were quite enjoying the pleasant breeze while on her porch. And she squinted as if she had a headache. While she held her belly with one hand, she leaned heavily against the door jam as she tried to concentrate. And lastly, while it is true that pregnant women swell in their face, hands, and feet, Carol has seen more than enough relatives who've had Toxemia during their pregnancy, to wonder if Rachel was not experiencing the same. Being a mature woman with no visible evidence of other children around the home put her at great risk. "Wow, Carol, I must've missed a lot. Here, I've been chatting you up for the past five minutes and you haven't interjected a word." "Oh, oh... I'm sorry, honey... I don't know. Maybe you didn't... She just looked very tired and a little worried." Mike loved Carol's natural concern for people; especially since these 'last days' put 'unnatural affection' and 'lovers of self' perched high as a crow's nest above 'love'. So he didn't harp upon the fact that she missed his thoughts about where to now begin searching out Micah. While Carol was observing Rachel, Mike noticed no visible sign of Micah's presence. No coat tossed upon the floral sofa or tan leather lounge chair. No metallic black 2018 Toyota Tundra out front and no word from Rachel about his just leaving or when he'd returned, when he casually asked about speaking with him. Amazingly, she didn't even ask about who they were and why they were seeking Micah. Like it was the most natural thing in the world for them to be at her door. Though they used their 'being' Jehovah's Witnesses, who mind you, had not been at anyone's door since Covid was a mute point. Matter-of-fact, she seemed puzzled when Mike mentioned it. Mike was about to relay this to Carol when he spotted a metallic black 2018 Toyota Tundra swerving over to pull alongside the curb outside Pete's deli. "Well, look who we have here, my dear. I had just been wondering where to begin my search. And lo and behold... I think I'll make our sandwiches to go..." So Mike jumps out of the rental so as to be the first at the counter to watch Micah arrive... ***If in anticipation of the finished published book on 5/2/2022, Chapters Four and Five I will post on the 28th. BACKFIRED Prologue “Sure, I knew he was capable of murder... I'd groomed him to be,” reasoned Micah's mom, as she struggled with the rope binding her hands behind her back; thinking: “Doesn't every mom wish their son could commit murder for them?... I just didn't think in a trillion years it would be me... How could he?... Surely, he can't or he would've done it by now,” she mouthed under her breath. "Right?" © 30 minutes ago, Lucretia McCloud teen • society • sad • pain • family • death