Deadwrong
the conclusion
A rectangle of light appeared around the door, he had flipped the switchi in the hall at the top of the stairs. Footsteps muffled by carpet approached the door, until the light fromt he hall was partially obstructed. The door flew open and Leonard’s silhouette loomed in the threshold. His features were darkened by depth-less shadows and in his right hand he held something long like a machete. As he took a step toward her, she could see a meat cleaver in his left hand.
Her trembling finger wrapped around the trigger. Before she could scream not to come any closer, the gun went off. The flash of fire from the end of the barrel was blinding. The roar of gunfire left her ears ringing. The force of recoil had lifted her hands up and backwards toward her face.
The meat cleaver exploded onto the floor as the machete sailed through the air and landed inches away from her feet. Blood oozed from the right side of Leonard’s head above his ear. With a thump, he dropped to his knees and fell forward onto the floor.
With a handful of balloons and a bottle of champagne, Sara ran into the rooma and flipped on the light switch. Sara’s foot caught a heavy, solid object. She looked down to see Leonard on the floor, and counterbalanced her weight to keep from falling. Once steadied, she looked at Veronica standing a few feet away. Veronica’s glazed eyes were unfocused in her blue face, and her trembling hands held a pistol.
Sara released ger grip on the strings and the balloons floated tot he ceiling, the champagne bottle bounced on the thick area rug and rolled toward Veronica. “What have you done?” Sara cried as she dropped to Leonard’s prone, unconscious form.
“Leonard was going to kill me!” Veronica said defensively. “I heard him...you..” In the bright glare of the overhead light, her eyes found the meat cleaver was scattered typed papers on the floor and the machete was a single long-stemmed rose.
“He wanted to surprise you with his finished manuscript.” Sara pointed at the scattered papers. “That’s what he’s been doing, negotiating with a publisher. He signed the contract today.”
Veronica’s eyes narrowed in on a single sheet of paper on the floor. She fell on her knees and read the typed words: Untitled by Leonard Hamilton. As if she had a venomous rattlesnake in her hand, she thres the piston on the bed. “What have I done?” She crawled to Leonard pleading, “Sara, call 911 and get help. Hurry!”
Panic formed on Sara’s face as she scanned the room for a phone.
“It’s in the kitchen on the wall,” Veronica’s voice echoed in desperation.
Sara ran out the door.
Veronica pulled Leonard’s head into her lap and wrapped her thick pink bathrobe around his injured bleeding scalp. Tears streaked vertical paths through the cracked and dried blue mask as the blood of her lover seeped through the robe to her hands.
THE END
Veronica could feel the heat risingto her cheeks at the idea of having a gun in the house. "Are you out of your mind?" she admonished. "No, I don't want a gun in this house."
Daphne frowned, "I would appreciate it if you would take it, at least for my peace of mind."
"If I take it then it means I don't trust my husband,"
"Well, what woman does?"
"I do."
"Okay, but I think you're making a big mistake not taking the gun," Daphne said, giving in under the pressure until she spotted Veronica's open purse on the floor. Steathilyshe eased the pistol into the side pocket. "Well, I'm going," she added, gathering her purse and keys from the table."Will you be alright?"
"I'll be fine."
"If you need me, call."
"I'll be fine," Veronica repeated."Now go home before you turn me into a nervous wreck."
Veronica watched as Daphne stepped from the ktichen and out out the door leading to downstairs to the bookstore. Breathing a sigh of relief when the door closed,she leaned back, making her mind go completely blank as she drained the last drop of coffee from her cup.
Leonard glanced up to see Daphne bounding down the stairs. With her bleached blonde hair piled high, her too tight blouse and overly applied makeup, she looked to Leonard to be every bit the Dolly Parton wanna-be. She marched directly across the floor and stood inches from him.
"Well, hello." Leonard said cordially.
"Don't hello me," she shot back.
Leonard's bewildered gaze met Daphne's blazing blue eyes.
"I know what you're up to."
"You do? he said cooly.
"I've got my eye on you, MISTER!" she snapped, turned her back on him, stalked off toward the entrance and slammed the door behind her so hard the glass vibrated on its frame.
Leonard looked at Frank and said, "Her parents should have named her Daffy instead of Daphne."
"A fan?" Sara said with a smile. Her sandals clicked against the narrow wood planks as she ame around the counter wearing a Green Peace T-shirt and faded jeans torn across the knees.
"Number one." Leonard joked.
"If she's your number one fan...I sure would hate to meet your number one enemy." Frank grimaced.
"As I started to say, this is the receiver box, these three lights when lit represent the area which has been activated. The first light is at the counter, the second light is the classic section and the third light is your office."
"It's no larger than a weather band radio," Leonard observed.
"Yeah, micro-technology has improved components. Last year the receiver I installed for a law firm was no larger than a cigar box--"he paused before resuming his instructions"--Plug it in then pull up the antenna and when it sounds, hook in the headphones and the light will indicate where the intruders are located," he said handing Leonard the invoice.
Thirty minutes later after Leonard had taken the receiver upstairs, he walked behind the counter and tapped Sara on the shoulder startling her from her book. "Tonight we end it," he stated.
"It's about time. Does she have a clue?"
"I don't think so. She looked a little suspicious when she spotted the book on poisons but I don't think she knows about the Tunica visit."
"I can't wait to ee the look on her face."
"Yeah, it's going to be a big shock."
"And what are you going to do with all that money?" Sara said.
Leonard smiled.
Veronica had spent most of the evening running errands for the bookstore before finally getting around to cleaning the entire apartment.
Now it was time to pamper herself and take that relaxing bath she had been promising herself.
She lit peach-scented candles, placed them around the tub and switched off the overhead light. She had planned on soaking for only twenty minutes but dozed off as soon as her head rested against the tub. An hour later, she awoke feeling like a wrinkled prune.
Barefoot and wrapped in a pink terrycloth robe, Veronica emerged from the bathroom into her bedroom. Leaving damp ghostly heel prints behind on the hardwood floor, she stepped to the vanity and settled down onto the cushioned stool in front of it. From the TV, she could hear Dave Brown's weather forecast. Crossing her legs she studied her mirrored image. She pushed her chestnut-colored hair away from her face, secured it with a white headband, opened a tube of revitalizing mask, and squeezed a clump of blue gel into her hand. As she smoothed the blue-colored gel onto her face, her wedding band glinted in the overhead light. Aware of her solitude and lonliness, she couldn't help but wish Leonard was home. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It read ten twenty-nine.
The Action News Five closing theme music faded as The Tonight Show's filled the air. Yawning, she picked up the remote control, pointed it at th set, and clicked off. With the TV silenced, she became aware of low static babbling voices coming from Leonard's side of the bed. She glimsed her blue face in the mirror as she swivelled around toward the sound and a puzzled expression pulled at her masked face.
Veronica stepped over to the bed and scanned for where the sound was coming from until her eyes located the small plastic box with it' blinking light and headphones. She picked up the headphones, slipped them on, and identified Leonard a Sara's voices.
Leonard: She should be asleep by now.
Sara: How are you going to do it?
Leonard: Don't worry, I've got it all figured out.
Sara: I hope so.
Leonard: It was close. I thought the book on poisons gave me away and I didn't have an explanation. Not a believable one.
As Veronica ripped the headphones from her head, she bit her bottom lip so hard she tasted blood. She threw the headphones as far as the cord would reach. The realization that Daphne was right about Leonard sent icicles up her spine. She dug inside her purse grasping for her cell phone but instead her fingers located Daphne's pistol. Her damp hand locked around the cold metal.
She heard the thump, thump of Leonard's heels against the stairs. Her inhaled breath formed a hard knot in her chest and the rush of blood past her ears was deafening. She dashed across the hardwood floor and hit the light switch, hoping darkness would give her the advantage.
Moonlight reached through the window, caressed the floor with dim illuminaion, and left geometric rectangles on the narrow wood planks. She could hear him coming down the hallway and her heartbeat increased with each step that brought him closer. Hurrying over to the bed, Veronica tried to crawl underneath, but the space between the box springs and the floor was too narrow for her to slip beneath. Holding the pistol in one hand and the cell phone in the other, her trembling fingers punched the 911 buttons. She swallowed her scream when she discovered the phone's batteries were dead.
