The cops exchanged glances. “What happened,
ma’am?”
“She poisoned the lobster! I almost lost my
baby!” She pointed at me. The officers turned
to me.
“I called you. She’s making it up.”
“It was her! She hates me! She wants my baby
dead!”
After much confusion, the police pieced the
story together. “You’re saying she poisoned
you. Who cooked the lobster?” one officer
asked Jessica.
“My mother–in–law.”
“Who was it intended for?”
Realization dawned on Jessica’s face. She
clammed up. They asked again. Finally, she
pointed at me. “Her.”
“So you ate lobster meant for someone else
and are claiming she poisoned you? Do you
have any evidence?”
Mary chimed in. “It’s a misunderstanding. A
terrible misunderstanding.”
But the police were there now. They collected
く
11:38
the lobster shells. As they left, I said, “Officers, I
have more evidence.”
Three days later, John and Mary were arrested.
I had their things moved to their apartment. I wasn’t staying in that house. I knew Mark too
well. He was all brawn and no brains, prone to
violence. I needed to lie low.
I didn’t lie low enough. Leaving work one
evening, Mark, bundled up and wielding a metal
pipe, jumped me in the parking garage. I ran,
but he caught me, the pipe smashing into my
shin. I heard the bone snap. Pain exploded in
my leg. I screamed, activating the motion-
sensor lights. He raised the pipe again, aiming
for my head.
“Hey! What the hell!”
A group of guys from another company, on
their way to happy hour, had heard the
commotion. Thank God. They weren’t about to
let it slide. Mark, seeing the crowd, dropped the
pipe and bolted.
The guys called the police and took me to the
hospital. “Any idea who did this?” the officer
<
11:38
asked.
“I know exactly who did this.”
Mark was arrested.
The next day, Jessica, heavily pregnant and
weeping, knelt by my bed, begging for
774
forgiveness. Her parents had disowned her. Her
in–laws were in jail. She was desperate. She offered to be my indentured servant if I’d drop
the charges against Mark.
I watched her cry for a moment, then pulled a document from my bedside table. “I don’t need
anything from you.”
“I know Mark gave you a card. That money
came from my family. I don’t need it all back.
