Chapter Five
Barbeque
“What on earth did you do to
your hand? It looks like a bite.”
“It is a bite, the bite of a
German shepherd to be precise. Our neighbor’s dog got out of their yard and
attacked me on the way to the mailbox. If you think that’s bad, take a look at
this,” she said lifting her pant leg to show the angry gash on her calf.
“My God! Did they put the dog
down?”
“Nope. They didn’t because I
didn’t report it. I have to continue to live next door to these people, so I
decided to let it go.”
“Well, I hope he doesn’t get out
again. You should report it.”
“Settle down, Sister. I’m a big
girl now, so you can stop looking after me.”
“Sometimes I wonder!” she
laughed. “Come on in and see the baby.”
“She’s precious,” she whispered.
“As soon as she wakes, she’s mine for the day.”
“Dan’s out back turning
hamburgers and hot dogs to cinders on the grill.”
“Be nice, now. Dan just likes
meat to be really, really cooked,” her sister said as she made her way through
the kitchen and out to the patio.
“Hi Dan-O.”
“Hey, Lisa. Glad you could make it.”
“Seeing the baby is my first
priority, but I’m banished from the house until she wakes from her nap. She’s
beautiful, Dan.”
“Yeah, I’m going to be such a
push-over when she gets a bit older. Kelly will have to be the bad guy in the
family.”
“She can handle it. She had
plenty of practice keeping me in line after Mom died and Dad took up drinking
for a profession. We were pretty much on our own even after he took up with our
“wicked” step-mother.”
“Don’t be so hard on Karen,” Dan
told her. “She tried to step in and be a mother to you girls. You just wouldn’t
have it.”
“Yeah, I know. We didn’t give
her a chance. She calls me occasionally.”
“Even after their divorce?”
“Un huh. I think she feels
guilty for not being able to reform the alcoholic before he totaled himself and
his car. I wasn’t unhappy to see him go. Truth be told, he thought I was his
own personal plaything when I got to be 14. But, now’s not the time to bring
that up. Sorry.”
“No problem. I’m aware. How are
you and Tripp doing?”
“No better. I’m afraid to divorce
the SOB because of the income I’d lose.”
“Listen, you might not be that
bad off, Lisa. Why don’t you drop by the office, and we’ll run some numbers.
You’d stand to gain a share of the auto shop and half of whatever you two have
acquired over the course of your marriage. You might be surprised.”
“I’ll think about it,” she said
as she turned to go back in the house at the sound of the baby crying.
She wandered into the nursery
where Kelly was changing the baby’s diaper.
“Is it time for her to eat?”
“Yes, and she’s letting me know
about it, too,” Kelly chuckled. “You want to give her a bottle?”
“Perfect!”
The women sat quietly as Lisa
rocked the baby and Kelly could sense her sister’s longing as she fed and
cuddled the baby.
“I wish things could have been
different for you and Tripp, Lisa.”
“Me too. It wasn’t my plan to
marry a bully. Losing the baby nearly killed me. Dan says he might be able to
help me get a divorce that could leave me with a nice income from Tripp’s
business. I’m afraid that might give Tripp one more reason to harass me even if
we were divorced. I know that guy, and he won’t agree to a healthy settlement
for me.”
“Well, it won’t hurt to get the
facts together anyway. Stop by and see Dan. He’s a good divorce lawyer, and
he’ll most probably represent you for free.”
“You know I wouldn’t let him do
that. You’re right, though. It wouldn’t hurt to at least know my options.”
Internally, Lisa’s mind churned
with the desire to tell her sister all about her plan to erase Sheila Barns
from Tripp’s life and their marriage. If only she could tell her sister all
about her first kill and how close she came to hitting the golden triangle.
“I’ve got to go start setting
food out on the table. Dan is probably close to finishing with the grill.”
Lisa felt calm with the baby in
her arms and let her mind wander to her plans for Sheila. She thought about
including Tripp in her scheme. Two birds with one stone, so to speak. She’d be
the prime suspect though if both of them ended up dead. Maybe, maybe the right
move would be to make Tripp just disappear after she killed Sheila. How hard
could it be to hide a body where it would never be found?
She noticed the baby had drifted
off to sleep, and she sat staring at her peaceful round face before laying her
down in the crib. She felt bereft and cold without the warmth of the baby in
her arms and silent tears began to flow. She willed them to stop with thoughts
of her gun out in the driveway in the trunk of the Lexus. As soon as she
finished dinner, she’d make excuses and head downtown to watch Sheila as she
left work.
Later, as she drove downtown,
she considered the possibility that Tripp would meet Sheila and walk her to her
apartment building over by the Arizona Center. Lisa kept trying to imagine when
and where she could find Sheila alone. More surveillance seemed to be the
answer. This woman certainly must have a life besides her time with Tripp and
working at the Matador. If Tripp really had a boxing thing going on then maybe
Sheila might be walking home all by herself. That thought excited her, and once
again she got that orgasmic feeling in her body.
“What if she’s alone tonight?”
she thought. “Am I ready to do this thing? Is more practice in order? More
planning? If Tripp disappeared at the same time Sheila turned up dead, then
he’d be the most likely suspect, wouldn’t he?
The Lexus hummed through the
quiet streets of her sister’s neighborhood and turned in the direction of
downtown Phoenix. She’d take Central all the way downtown and enjoy watching
rich people jogging along the bridle path under the big trees that shaded it.
She saw a lean woman pushing a baby stroller rolling along on huge wheels.
“What must it be like to be
rich, beautiful and have a baby to keep you company while you jogged?” she
thought. She knew she would never have the chance to find out, and it made her
uncommonly angry at the young mother running along the path.
“That woman doesn’t deserve to
have everything I want,” she thought as she slowed the car and parked on a side
street just as the street lights began to flicker to life along Central
Avenue’s bridle path.
