The Misadventures of the Laundry Hag 00 - Skeletons in the Closet

Rat, Coop, he’d contrived all of their deaths.
    I glanced at the pointed gun, then out the window. Patterson followed my line of sight and shook his head. “Maggie, Maggie, poor stupid Maggie, don’t you know that no one is coming? I never called Detective Capri. That woman couldn’t find her skinny white ass with both hands. The Finkelsteins won’t be back for hours. And since you so conveniently sent your brother off to get your darling husband, I can say with complete confidence that our privacy is guaranteed.”
    He rubbed the side of his jaw with his left hand. “The stress of all this is getting to me. I think I need a vacation.”
    “Why?” My mouth was so dry that the question came out as a croak.
    Think, Maggie! Think! You have to figure out a way to fight him!
    “Well if everything had gone according to plan, I would have been done with this weeks ago. But the little cleaning lady had to provide Doug with an alibi and throw a damn monkey wrench into my well-oiled machine. I think I deserve a nice, long rest.” He chuckled sadistically. “Although you’re going to have a much longer one.”
    “But why did you kill her? Mrs. Kline wasn’t anything to you!”
    “She was the love of my life! We met in college, and it was love at first sight. But she threw that love away, and for what! A rich-bitch existence with a limp-noodle businessman? She stayed faithful to him too, for almost a decade. And when she did decide to end her self-imposed celibacy, who’d she pick? Some scumbag gym rat who was lower than piss on a snake.” Venom in the form of spittle flew from his lips, and I was truly sorry I’d asked.
    “Marty knows you were here. He knows that you were the last person with me and he’ll tell Neil. Neil will never stop until he finds you and kills you.” I was all false bravado but I had enough faith in my husband that I hoped I sounded convincing.
    “Which is why I plan to be long gone before he gets within a mile of this place.”
    I couldn’t help but detest the psychopath who had an answer for everything, especially when he cocked the gun.
    “I’m an Ivy League man, Maggie. Do you know why the bad guy always explains everything before he offs the victim? Because he’s arrogant. He believes he’s thought everything through, and since the person he’s about to kill can’t relay anything to the outside world, he indulges in his own conceit while the cavalry is riding in for that last-second rescue. Pure hubris and the gods always punish him in the end.”
    I heard the shot and dove to the floor. A sharp pain in my head made me cry out, and the cold ceramic tile rested against my cheek as Patterson spoke the last sentence I’d ever hear him utter.
    “But, I’m not the bad guy Maggie, I’m the victim.”

    * * * *
    The blood was everywhere, it pooled beneath my hands, and the tangy smell of iron invaded my nostrils. I was afraid to open my eyes so I remained as still as possible while listening. There was no sound at all, and I held my breath, hoping Patterson had left. I had to get outside and hope someone found me before I bled to death.
    Okay, Maggie, move as quickly as possible and don’t look back. I gave myself a small pep talk, hoping if Patterson was still around, I could find help before he got me.
    Taking a quick deep breath, I pushed off the floor and in a somewhat smooth move, pivoted and ran for the door. I couldn’t feel any pain, other than where my head hit the floor, but my survival instincts had kicked in and the adrenaline was keeping me going.
    A trail of bloody footprints marked my passage over the floor I’d just cleaned. I spied the door I’d come through with Patterson an eternity ago.
    Almost there!
    My efforts were rewarded by the glimpse of Marty’s car through the front window, and I made the extra push to reach the door. I stumbled through it into Neil’s waiting arms.
    “Maggie!”
    “Patterson,” I gasped at him. “He shot me!”
    “Call 911!” Neil bellowed at Marty while his hands quickly roved my ruined clothing. “I don’t see a wound; where were you shot?”
    A roaring blasted in my ears, and I don’t know if I answered him before the world went dark.

Chapter Sixteen
    T he white light took my breath away. I fought its pull because I knew I wasn’t ready. I couldn’t leave my family no matter what. I still had so much to tell Marty, I wanted to see Kenny and Josh graduate from high school and go to college and maybe someday