Once dressed, I go to the kitchen, and I’m grateful I prepped for dinner this morning. Now all I have to do is pop the casserole dish into the oven and wait for it to cook. I set the timer for one hour and go about my other chores for tonight. First thing is mapping out my route to the next victim's house. It’s a good thing he’s not too far, I can walk. Taking public transportation gives the police a better way to track me.
Once I have my route, I clean and sharpen all of my knives and my Katana. I make sure everything I own has no trace of me on it. Once I’m done with cleaning, I put them back into my backpack. The timer on the oven goes off, and I set the table. I have exactly five minutes before they walk through the door. My father likes to listen to classical music while we eat. I hate classical music, but he likes to have music filling the air around the dinner table so we don’t have to interact. If he only knew that I didn’t want to talk to begin with, he’d probably force me to be their entertainment.
“Maddie.”
My thoughts falter as I take a deep breath and try hard not to hide. My father’s voice sounds on edge. I bite my lower lip telling myself I’ve done nothing wrong. He’s going to be nice tonight.Right?
I walk slowly into the living room, seeing my father to the right of the door by the fireplace. He stares at me, his hands behind his back. He could be holding anything, and I don’t feel good about this.
“Dinner better be ready,” he hisses at me.
I’m quick to nod. “Yes, Sir. It’s on the table.”
“Good, now come here.” He points to the spot right in front of him and taps his foot, waiting for me to move.
As I walk over to him, I look into his black eyes, which are nothing but pools of endless menace. I stand in front of him. I cannot find a single thing in him that is kind. He snatches me by my arm and forces me to the right of the fireplace. My back hits the wall, and I gasp.
His hot breath against my ear makes me flinch. He knows how much I don’t like him crowding my space, yet he pushes his body against mine until not even a sliver of space separates us. His hand rubs against my breasts as he holds me there, forcing me to listen. With clenched teeth, he growls, “You tell anyone about our business in this house, and I will kill you. Do you understand me, Maddie?”
My lower lip trembles with anger as I look at him. I try to school my features and keep my tone even. “Yes Sir, I won’t.”
He throws me to the side, and I slide down the wall. “Good, now go open the back door for your brother.”
I want to tell him that my brother can open the door for his damn self, but I don’t. Picking myself up from the floor, I walk to the back door and unlock it. I whisper to myself, “Bide your time.”
Donnie stands with his hands empty, smirking at me.
I’m immediately wondering why he needed me to open the door.
“Forget your keys?” I ask with a snarky tone. God, I can’t seem to help myself. I’m playing with fire here, and I know it. Maybe Iama glutton for punishment. I know that at any moment he could slap me—or worse. I chide myself for being stupid.
“Nah, bitch, it’s just time you learned who your superiors are.” He walks in the door, and I roll my eyes and slam the door shut, locking it.
We sit down and eat in silence. I cannot wait for the sleeping pills to kick in. It will take some time since I diluted them in the drinks, but once they take effect, I can get busy.
Once dinner is over, I clean the table off and go to the kitchen. The farther away I am from them, the better. I hear them yawning as they scrape the chairs across the dining room floor. I smirk to myself; it won’t be ten minutes before they are fast asleep. Last night I forgot to put the sleep medication in their food. I didn’t forget it tonight. In fact, I put in a bit more than normal.
I wash each dish by hand since my father refuses to let me use the dishwasher. He’ll have a tantrum if he thinks I’m being lazy. After the dishes, I tiptoe into the living room and they’re both are out. I giggle, knowing that they will never know I’m leaving the house. A sigh escapes my lips as I go to my room to get ready for tonight’s activities.
The next night,I’m driving around with Donnie, getting ready to get some coffee. Donnie loves donuts, but I don’t stop for them. “Alpha Bravo #21, copy?”
“Alpha Bravo #21, go ahead dispatch.”
“Respond to Royal Grand and Heart. There’s a report of a fight.”
“10-4, mark en route,” Donnie says as I gun the gas. The last two nights have been rather quiet. Getting a call this early means it’s going to be a busy shift.
“Alpha Bravo #21, copy,” Delta #5 chimes in. Donnie raises an eyebrow but acknowledges them.
“Alpha Bravo #21, over.” There’s a moment of silence, and then Delta #5 chimes in again.
“One confirmed dead. But we have another issue. We are getting reports of a mob trying to surround the suspect.
Donnie swears and responds, “Alpha Bravo #21 to Delta #5, copy.” I shake my head, knowing we’re in for a shitstorm.
“Delta #5, over.”
“Let’s get crowd control underway. If we can apprehend the suspect, do so. Only if it’s safe.”
