by Talia-Pauwels-Lloyd

 

 ^{Nancy Williams sat in the front seat of her car, ripping off her blood stained sweater. She walked several blocks to her house and entered slowly. She went straight upstairs, into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. With tears rolling down her freckled cheeks she jumped into the shower. Standing there lifeless, she let the warm water run over her back, down her arms, washing the blood from her hands and fingers. In the morning it will all be worth it, she thought to herself. As she stared at the last drop of pink water flowing into the drain, the shower curtain swung open. Nancy’s entire body froze.}

                ^{“Hi honey. Sorry I’m home so late,” the voice made the hairs on her back stand up.}

                ^{She didn’t speak. You’re supposed to be dead!}

                ^{“We ended up celebrating... Did you know Gary’s getting married in a few weeks?” Bill continued, ignoring her silence. “Allison was thinking of having you as one of her bridesmaids. I wasn’t supposed to tell you yet but I figured I’d give you a heads up so you can drop the last five pounds. You know, just giving you some warning before the dress fittings start.”}

                ^{“Uh-huh,” she grunted, climbing gracefully out of the shower. “I think I’ll go for another run then.”}

                ^{“That's my girl, kick that weight to the curb!” Bill chuckled, slapping her ass as she walked by. Nancy cringed, That stupid bitch broke her end of the deal...}

^*

^{Nancy’s fingers trembled as she tied the laces of her Nikes. Don’t chicken out, she thought. Her heart was pounding.}

 ^{“Pick up some milk on your way home,” Bill yelled out to her.}

^{“ Sure,” she said and bolted out the door.}

^{Nancy began running down the uplands toward El Camino Real. Slowly her run turned into a jog and then a brisk walk as came back to her silver Honda Element. She hopped in the car, adrenaline pumping through her veins. Driving down Claremont, she took a right onto Alcatraz. The car came to a stop in front of a small white bungalow a few houses down from the corner.}

                ^{With in a few minutes, Nancy was standing at the threshold of the Jones’ home. A tinge of confidence hit her as she surveyed the destruction. Glass lay strategically strewn across the shag rug at the base of the wall. The blinds shading the broken window were creased and bent, blood splattered in tiny droplets on the lowest metal slat. Directly across from the window lay a lifeless body. His throat slashed, limbs twisted in a pool of blood. Every inch appeared to be ransacked as if an armed robbery had occured. Surely she would get away with it. Nancy crept around the body and crouched down beside the door. She would wait however long it took.}

^*

^{2 days earlier...}

 

^{Nancy was on her way home to Oakland after visiting family in New York. She sat alone staring at Cate Beckinsale on the cover of Allure as she picked at her un-manicured nails. An uneasy feeling crept into her bones as she felt someone's eyes burning into her. She slowly looked up to find a slender blonde staring directly at her. Nancy stared right back at her and the blonde quickly shifted her gaze else where. Nancy kept her eye on her for a minute, observing her charcoal business suit and black leather pumps. Every so often the slender blonde caught her eye again, quickly averting her each time to avoid eye contact. What are you looking at? She wanted to yell across the gate. She couldn’t help but feel watched by this woman, causing her to feel more and more suspicious.}

                ^{“We will now begin boarding with group A...”}

                ^{Nancy felt a wave of relief as she collected her things and walked down the jetway. She made her way to the emergency row settling into the window seat. She began flipping through her magazine losing herself in the make-up ads and fashion articles. She looked up to watch the other passengers file in when she caught eyes with the slender blonde again. Nancy turned to the window and stared hard at the cargo loading into the other planes, pretending desperately not to see her. Just as she thought the woman had passed she turned back to the aisle, only to find her standing over her.}

                ^{“Excuse me, do you mind if I sit here?” the slender blonde woman had appeared in Nancy’s aisle.}

 ^{Nancy looked up and eyed her for a moment. Only if you stop staring.}

                ^{“Go ahead,” she replied, sliding her purse under the seat in front of her.}

                ^{“Sharon Jones,” the blonde woman extended her hand as she sat down.}

                ^{“Nice to meet you,” Nancy said shaking her hand. “I’m Nancy. Williams.”}

                ^{“Hi there ladies...” The two women looked up at the steward. “You are aware that this is a boeing 737 and by sitting in the emergency aisle you may be responsible for safety procedures... If for any reason you feel you cannot carry out these procedures please let me know and I can reseat you. Are you ladies comfortable here?”}

                ^{The two women nodded and the steward continued sounding off the exits to the remainder of the passengers.}

                ^{“This flight is really empty isn’t it?!” Sharon chuckled breaking the silence.}

                ^{“Mmhmm, it sure is,” Nancy turned back to face the window. She didn’t know what this woman’s deal was but she knew it was going to be a long flight.}

                ^{“I’ve totally lost track of how many times I’ve flown!” Sharon continued.}

^{Nancy continued her silence as the Sharon rambled on about work and her husband and an upcoming trip, somewhere exotic. Nancy didn’t care. Tid bits of the unending monologue echoed in her mind as she tried to ignore the sounds. After what seemed like ages Sharon turned to her.}

                ^{“So what’s your story...?” she asked.}

                ^{My story is that I’m going to move my seat if you don’t shut up, Nancy thought to herself, but she decided to humor her.}

                ^{“I’m on my way home from New York I was visiting my sister... I like to sit in the emergency aisle and read Allure... quietly.”}

^{Sharon didn’t catch the hint.}

                ^{“Oh me too! My husband hates sitting in the emergency aisle. I sit in it every chance I can,”  she squealed.}

                ^{Nancy gave into Sharon’s friendly and inquisitive chatter.}

                ^{“My husband is the same way,” she said. “He wont let me sit here when we fly together. He is a bit of a control freak...”}

                ^{“Oh I understand, honey. What I wouldn’t give for a divorce.”}

^{Nancy was shocked by how comfortable this woman was in sharing intimate details about her personal life. She was no longer annoyed or suspicious. Instead she was oddly curious.}

                ^{“Why don’t you?”}

                ^{“Lots of reasons... He’s a divorce attorney, so he’d take every cent.” Sharon said brushing a hair away from her gleaming blue eyes. “Plus,” she continued her voice quieting. “I’ve been having an affair on the side-” she hesitated quickly. “Oh god that makes me sound terrible doesn’t it?”}

                ^{Nancy and Sharon were enthralled with eachothers company. Talking back and forth for the remaining hours of the flight. They discussed the ins and outs of both marriages. Nancy gossiped about cheating husband who was taking his mistress on a romantic tahitian getaway. Sharon consoled her with stories about being stuck married  to a senile divorce attorney while she waited to collect on his hefty life insurance.}

                ^{Nancy had treked through the dysfunction of her marriage with a woman she hardly knew. She’d never been more open with anyone in her life, especially not a stranger. There was silence, both women had said everything there was to be said and Nancy sat there releived to finally speak her mind.}

                ^{Nancy began to feel Sharon’s eyes burning into her, just as they had done in new york. She turned to her new confidant, suddenly feeling awkward and self-conscious.} 

^{“Hey,” Sharon stared seriously into Nancy’s eyes. “I’ll kill yours if you kill mine.”}

^{There was a moment of silence as Nancy turned the proposal over in her mind.}

^{“Okay,” Nancy said with no hesitation. She felt an air of confidence she’d never felt before in her life.}

                ^{Thus the plan was devised. The two weren’t connected in any other way than this flight. There would be nothing to link the two murders. No mutual friends, no shared memberships, nothing. In one week, the wives would kill at the same time on the same night, meeting in a secluded spot to confirm the deeds were done.}

                ^{As the plane landed at the Oakland airport the women exchanged knowing looks.}

                ^{Pleasure doing business with you, Nancy thought}

^{“Nice meeting you,” Sharon said and briskly walked out into the terminal.}

^*

^{Stealthfully hidden behind the door, Nancy was ready to pounce the moment Sharon Jones returned. Nancy shuddered at the sound of the grandfather clock signalling eight o’clock. Any minute now.}

^{Just as her nerves began to calm the phone went off. Nancy jumped. She began breathing heavily as she waited for the answering machine to pick up.}

                ^{“Hi, you’ve reached the Jones’,” a cheery voice rattled on. “Leave a message and we’ll call you back as soon as we can. Thanks. Bye!”}

                ^{The same familiar voice resounded through the house, making Nancy’s heart race.}

                ^{“Hi, Honey. I’m stuck at the office, you know getting things in order before I leave for Tahiti. I won’t be home till later. Don’t wait up. Love you.”}

                ^{What the fuck is going on? Nancy became frantic. There was no way Sharon had forgotten their deal. Something was wrong and Nancy was going to figure it out.}

                ^{Nancy left her position at the doorway and made her way to the master bedroom. The bed was perfectly made, not a thing out of place. She threw open the drawers of the bureau sitting along the wall. Every drawer was empty. She ran to the closet, that too was empty. There was no trace of Sharon left in the room.}

^{Nancy went back stairs and replayed the message. After the second listen she put it together, but it was too late. Her husband was off to Tahiti with his mistress and sirens were blaring in her ears. She’d been set up.}

^{Nancy fell to her knees and waited for the wailing sirens to arrive.}