Bonnie’s eyes took on a glassy, fixed cast. “Like you wouldn’t believe. I–I had heard stories about women- about-” She took a deep breath. “About battered women. But I never imagined. He hit me in the face-blackened both eyes. He cracked a collarbone. Bruised my arms, legs, breasts. Bleeding. I was a mess.”
Her head sunk low, as if the shame of the memory still haunted her. “I felt like I’d been crippled, in every way you can imagine. I just lay there on the floor in the living room, whimpering, barely breathing, unable to move. Finally, I guess it wasn’t fun for him anymore, punching an inanimate object. He ran off, probably to some bar. I can’t tell you how relieved I was. I–I really thought he was going to kill me.”
Megan kept staring straight ahead, trying not to react. “And that was when you left him?”
“Actually, no. Pretty pathetic, huh? No, even after that, I didn’t have the guts to make the move. I just lay on the floor for what seemed like an eternity until I heard Tommy coming down the stairs. He was still awake, you see. He’d seen the whole thing. I was so ashamed.” She covered her face with her hands.
“Was he … upset?”
“He was very subdued. Amazingly mature, all things considered. He knew I was hurt. He kept saying, ‘Come on, Mommy. Let’s go to the hospital.’ So I finally pulled myself together and went to the hospital. That’s when they told me I had a fractured collarbone.”
“And that’s when you decided to leave him.”
Bonnie let out a laugh, a small bitter laugh. “No, not even then. Not even then.” She raised her head, wiping her eyes clear. “Truth is, I didn’t know what to do. Didn’t have a clue. So we went home. Carl wasn’t there, so we both went upstairs to our rooms. I collapsed on the bed, fell asleep. Didn’t wake up for twelve hours.”
“You must’ve been exhausted.”
“I was.” There was a long pause. The tremble returned to her voice. “But when I woke up, Carl was home. With Tommy.”
Megan shook her head, too horrified to make an intelligent comment. “What did you do?”
“At first, nothing. It seemed innocent enough. They were sitting at the breakfast table together, eating cereal. Carl didn’t appear drunk. He wasn’t raving or lashing out. I had a headache like you wouldn’t believe. So I poured myself some juice and sat at the table with them.”
“As if nothing had happened.”
“That’s exactly right. As if he hadn’t tried to obliterate me the night before.” She took a deep breath, tried to steady herself. “Tommy was about to take his first bite before I noticed.”
“Noticed… what?”
“There was something powdery all over his cornflakes. And it wasn’t sugar frosting, either. It was rat poison.”
Megan’s foot slammed down on the brake. “Rat poison?”
Bonnie nodded. “You see, he had meant what he said. Every word of it. If he couldn’t have Tommy, no one could. And the thing is … the thing is …”
Her body began to quiver, consumed by anguish and fear. “The thing is …” she repeated, her voice choking, “he said the same thing this morning.”
“Eat your food,” Carl said.
Tommy pushed the spicy chicken with peanuts away. “I’m not hungry.”
“Here, I’ve got a little something that will make it especially good.” He poured a dark liquid over the food, then stirred it in. “You’ll really like this. I want you to eat every bite.” He looked steadily into Tommy’s eyes. “You understand me? Every single bite.”
8
“Please hurry,” Bonnie said. She was practically edging out of the car seat. “I have the worst feeling about this. We have to hurry.”
But Megan did not accelerate. They were negotiating the densely packed parking lot at Quail Springs Mall, and high speed was not an option.
“Don’t you hear me?” Bonnie’s voice was becoming shrill in its desperation. “We have to hurry!”
Megan stopped the car. She had hoped to postpone this discussion as long as possible, but the truth was, Bonnie was practically over the brink. Her fear was making her irrational.
“Bonnie, listen to me. I know how frightened you are. But the fact is, we’ve cruised every parking lot we could think of-”
“Don’t you understand? He’s insane! He’s going to try to kill my Tommy! We have to hurry!”
“Bonnie, listen! There’s no point in hurrying unless we have somewhere to hurry to!”
Bonnie fell silent. Megan seized the opportunity.
“We’ve tried every mall. We didn’t find him. Even if he was at one, he would’ve left by now. We have to come up with a new plan. Can you think of anywhere else they might go?”
Bonnie shrugged. Megan could see she was trying to regain control, trying to put her brain back in order. “I don’t know where he lives now.”
“And neither do the police. What else?”
“He has a cellular phone he carries. He gave me the number.”
“And you called it. No answer. What else?”
Bonnie shrugged helplessly. “I–I don’t know …”
Megan glanced at her watch. “It’s about lunch-time. Is there someplace special they might go for lunch?”
Bonnie’s eyes darted around the small car, as if the answers might be written somewhere on the upholstery. “I don’t know.”
“Think, Bonnie. Think. Does Tommy have a favorite place?”
Bonnie continued shaking her head.
“McDonald’s? Burger King? Split-T?”
“No, he doesn’t like any of-” She froze abruptly. “Oh, my-it’s Christmas Eve! I didn’t even think.”
“What? What is it?”
“Christmas Eve. It’s a special day.”
“Right. Major holiday. Santa Claus and ho-ho-ho.”
Bonnie shook her head. “More than that. It’s our wedding anniversary. We were married on Christmas Eve. Nine years ago today. No wonder he’s flown off his rocker. He must’ve remembered.”
“You were married on Christmas Eve?”
“Right here in OKC.” She snapped her fingers. “And after the ceremony, we ate at The Snow Pea.”
Megan did a double take. “The Chinese place?”
“Right. The one on Western. I know it seems crazy, but I just wonder if-”
She didn’t even have to finish the sentence. Megan had already thrown the transmission into Drive. The car lurched forward as she began weaving her way out of the overcrowded parking lot.
Now at last they had someplace they could go in a hurry.
“Tommy, I want you to eat your food.”
Tommy folded his arms across his chest. “I’m not hungry.”
“Just a few bites, then. For me.”
Tommy looked away, sullen-faced. “Mommy says I shouldn’t eat when I’m not hungry. She says it starts a bad habit.”
“That’s what this is all about, isn’t it? Your mother. She always comes between us.”
“She just doesn’t want me to get fat. Like this kid in my class, Jerry Douglas. He’s a real tub, and-”
“She can’t even allow me one little bit of pleasure, can she? Can’t give me one last moment of peace with my son.”
Tommy didn’t answer.
Carl leaned across the table. “Listen to me, Tommy. I’m your father. I held you in my arms when you were just a baby. I was there the day you were born. I’m your friend.”
