Wedding Day of Murder by Vanessa Gray Bartal Page A

teeth because they were pushing your other
teeth. Remember? You had to wear your retainer every night. You hated that.”
    Her eyes were vague and cloudy. “I
don’t wemember.”
    “Let’s go home,” he said. To the
nurse he added, “Is she ready?”
    “Take her,” the nurse said, dabbing
at her ruined mascara.
    As he escorted Lacy down the
hallway, he had the same feeling he got when he trekked a particularly
dangerous prisoner through the jail. Everyone came to a standstill and watched,
hugging the wall, ready to either run away or spring into action. He counted
seven women and one man who were drenched and dripping.
    “You really went on a spree, didn’t
you?” he whispered as they reached the outside. He was absurdly proud of her.
Lacy squinted and shaded her eyes against the sun without answering. He tucked
her in the car and slid behind the wheel.
    “What did you do wif de udder one?”
she asked.
    “What other one?”
    “Da udder Yayshon, da weal one,”
she said. Her hand edged toward the door handle.
    “I bashed him in the head and
stuffed him in the trunk. And if you don’t do what I say, you’re next, so hand
off the door.”
    She dropped her hand and glared at
him. They drove in silence for a few minutes. He hoped she was falling asleep,
but no such luck. “I don’t fink I wike you,” she declared.
    “Really? ‘Cause I fink you’re
pretty cute.” He reached over to squeeze her knee but she slapped him, hard.
“Ouch. Lacy, you hit me.”
    “You’we not awowed to touch me. I
have a boyfwend.”
    “I am your boyfr…You know what? Never mind.” He pulled into the
pharmacy and parked. “I’m going to pick up your prescription. Do not move from
that spot.”
    “I’m cold. I’m gonna fweeze.”
    “I’ll leave the car running on the
condition that you absolutely do not touch the keys or anything else. Got it?”
    She nodded.
    “Promise.”
    “I pwomise.”
    “This will only take a minute,” he
said. He left the car and sprinted inside. The surgeon’s office had called in
the prescription, so he only had to pick it up. It was ready and he was
finished in record time, but he was still anxious as he jogged back outside. He
needn’t have worried, though. Lacy sat in the car, resting her head on the
window.
    But when he pulled the handle of
his door, it was locked. He knocked. “Lacy, unlock the door.”
    She raised her head and stared at
him.
    “Unlock.” He pointed and knocked
again. She shook her head.
    “You’we not da weal Yayshon,” she
called.
    Rather than try to argue with her,
he pulled a chocolate candy bar from the pharmacy bag and pressed it to the
window. She unlocked the door. When he was inside the car, she reached for the
bag but he held it away. “Oh, no you don’t. Not until we get some real food and
water in you and you sleep some of the crazy away.”
    “You wied! I fought dat was fo me.”
    “It is for you but not yet. Be
patient.” She reached for it again and he put his palm on her chest to shove
her away. “For the love of all that is good, woman, don’t make me cuff you. Sit
there, Elmer Fudd, and don’t say another word or else.”
    She sat back and crossed her arms
over her chest. “I don’t wike you.”
    “Yes, I think we’ve established
that,” he said. “Stop talking before you undo your incisions.”
    She was quiet for a long time while
he navigated heavy traffic on the interstate. He hoped that meant she was either
asleep or coming to her senses. When he reached their exit, he chanced a glance
and found her head submerged in the pharmacy bag.
    “Lacy! What did you do?” he asked,
although the evidence was clear.
    She jumped guiltily and the bag
fell away, revealing a face covered in chocolate drool.   “I don’t feew so good.” One of her arms
pressed over her stomach. He dumped the medicine and chocolate wrapper and
shoved the now-empty bag back into her hands. “Please try to make it in the
bag. I just had this car