Chapter 5 - The Poison
I slipped through the kitchen entrance, moving as silently as a ghost.
I crept up the back staircase and practically burst into Richard's bedroom.
"They are doing it tonight," I gasped, locking the door behind me.
Richard sat up straight in his wheelchair, his expression hardening into stone.
"I saw your mother accepting a medical cooler from an unmarked van," I explained rapidly.
Richard rolled himself over to his bedside table and picked up his daily medication organizer.
"My afternoon pain management capsules were just restocked," he noted grimly.
I carefully opened one of the blue capsules and poured the powder onto a tissue.
Instead of the usual white powder, the contents were a pale, sickly yellow.
"Digitalis," Richard said, recognizing the substance immediately.
"It will cause a massive, untraceable heart attack within an hour of ingestion."
We frantically dumped the poisoned powder down the bathroom sink and replaced it with baking soda from my cleaning cart.
Just as I snapped the last capsule shut, heavy footsteps approached the bedroom door.
The handle rattled, and then someone knocked loudly.
"Maya, open this door," Eleanor demanded, her voice dripping with false sweetness.
I threw the pill organizer onto the nightstand and rushed to unlock the door.
Eleanor stepped into the room, holding a silver tray with a glass of water.
She looked at me with a sickeningly sweet smile that didn't reach her cold eyes.
"It is time for my son's afternoon medication," she announced.
She picked up the plastic organizer and handed two of the compromised capsules directly to Richard.
"Drink up, darling," she cooed, watching him with predatory anticipation.
May you like
Richard placed the capsules on his tongue and raised the glass of water to his lips.
I held my breath as he swallowed, praying he had actually managed to palm the pills.
