Accused Criminal
6
“We need to stop at the store.” Lana tried to make herself more comfortable but found that any way she shifted cause some kind of pain or irritation.
Backing out of the parking space, Howard twisted as he asked, “What were you thinking about for dinner?”
As if she needed a reminded of how hungry she was, Lana’s stomach growled at the mention of dinner. Hospital food qualified as sustenance, but the thought of a home cooked meal brought saliva to her mouth. In their house, she did all the cooking and she began flipping through mental recipes, some of her favorites like lasagna and pork roast, before Lana realized she wasn’t in cooking condition. Another grumble from her stomach brought her from her thoughts.
“Get something at the store for tonight.”
They came to a red light and he turned to look at her. “Cameron has missed your home cooking.” Green light, the car pulled forward.
“I can’t wait to see her.” Smiling, Lana smoothed her hands over the hospital blanket she had inadvertently taken with her. With the heat on in the car she did not require the coarse material but she continued to hold it over her legs. “Yes,” she mused to herself more than to Howard, “it will be nice to be home with my family. How has Cameron been taking… the things that have happened?”
“Well,” Howard assured her. “She hasn’t wanted to discuss it much but she has a hand on managing the situation.” Cameron was a lot like her father, level headed and reasonable and it wasn’t hard for Lana to believe that her daughter would cope with her mother disappearing and then landing in the hospital with severe injuries in a collected manner. After all, Lana was safe now and the law aspects were being dealt with by the best, Howard. So, what did Cameron have to worry about?
They parked far from the store, as her husband preferred, and Lana felt her body tense. He had brought her to the store closest to their house and where she had been snatched. The man was dead. She had run a hot poker through him and made sure he was dead. Her stomach turned as Lana thought she might lose the meager amount of food in her. The image of the man’s brutalized form crawled into her mind and Lana lunged for the door. Handle grasped in her hand, she jerked the car door open and stuck her head outside. Rich brown hair slid over her shoulders and hung around her face. Her eyes were squeezed shut and Lana took deep breaths, cold air stinging her nose and lungs.
When she did not immediately puke, Lana loosened her grip on the handle.
Safe; the word rang out in her mind as she pulled down another breath. Eyes fluttering open, she stared down at crushed snow baring the marks of tires and black splotches of dirt. Moving from the ground, her eyes lifted to glance at her hand, bandaged as it was. Dark hair fell across her face but she could see the coverings and another wave of nausea rolled through her.
What had happened to her was beyond wrong and what she had done had been right… right? Considering the entire situation made her feel sick, even her own actions taken in anger and self-defense.
A slick pop caused bile to rise into her throat as she remembered pulling the eye from the man’s eye socket, the hard orb rising out of the dark cavern and a spill of thick blood racing from the wound. The sound was followed by a crunch and then another, feet meeting packed snow, and Lana realized that the sound had been the something on the snow.
Swallowing, Lana looked up and to her right, meeting the gaze of her husband. Gloved hands held the front of his coat together and his breath puffed into the air.
“Lana?”
She straightened and managed a weak smile.
“You don’t have shoes, dear. Wait in the car.” Although that had been her original plan, Lana suddenly wanted to go with him. She sucked down another breath, cold sinking into her fibers and then nodded.
She would be fine sitting in the car for a few minutes.
He closed the door and Lana watching him move briskly away in the side mirror. There remained light outside, but it would grow dark soon and Lana wondered if her agitation would increase when the sun set.
A chill ran down her spine and the hairs along her arms stood on end. The temperature inside the car had dropped, the hot air having fled the car when the doors opened. Gripping the blanket, she pulled it up to her shoulders and then folded her arms. She was still cold, and began to shiver. Lana’s nose felt like someone was holding an ice cube to it. It was difficult to decide rather or not she had made the better decision to remain in the car.
Unsure of how much time had passed, Lana measured the time her husband was in the store by how much she had adjusted to the cold. By the time he returned, her thighs and shoulders had warmed up, but her bare foot and nose remained cold and her arms were chilled. Her guess was that the store run had taken close to twenty or twenty five minutes.
Howard started the car, tossing a plastic bag at her feet and promptly starting the heater. It smelled like he had picked up a roasted chicken and from the heat radiating from the bag, there were other already cooked and hot items.
She shifted in the seat until her bare foot rested against the plastic bag, heat rushing over her skin and nearly burning her. Her booted foot retained more heat, but she placed it against the other side of the bag and felt it warm a tad.
Lana wondered if she would be able to sleep beneath a heavy blanket that night or if the weight would be too much for her sliced legs. The hospital blanket she’d had for the past few weeks afforded little heat and the room stayed chilly throughout the day, but to sleep, Lana had been zonked out of pain medication most nights or slept from exhaustion. Tonight she could warm by the fire and then lay in her bed with its silk sheets, heavy comforter and a mink blanket. Plus she would have her own comfy pajamas. A smile pulled up her lips as she closed her eyes imagining it.
Backing out of the parking space, Howard twisted as he asked, “What were you thinking about for dinner?”
As if she needed a reminded of how hungry she was, Lana’s stomach growled at the mention of dinner. Hospital food qualified as sustenance, but the thought of a home cooked meal brought saliva to her mouth. In their house, she did all the cooking and she began flipping through mental recipes, some of her favorites like lasagna and pork roast, before Lana realized she wasn’t in cooking condition. Another grumble from her stomach brought her from her thoughts.
“Get something at the store for tonight.”
They came to a red light and he turned to look at her. “Cameron has missed your home cooking.” Green light, the car pulled forward.
“I can’t wait to see her.” Smiling, Lana smoothed her hands over the hospital blanket she had inadvertently taken with her. With the heat on in the car she did not require the coarse material but she continued to hold it over her legs. “Yes,” she mused to herself more than to Howard, “it will be nice to be home with my family. How has Cameron been taking… the things that have happened?”
“Well,” Howard assured her. “She hasn’t wanted to discuss it much but she has a hand on managing the situation.” Cameron was a lot like her father, level headed and reasonable and it wasn’t hard for Lana to believe that her daughter would cope with her mother disappearing and then landing in the hospital with severe injuries in a collected manner. After all, Lana was safe now and the law aspects were being dealt with by the best, Howard. So, what did Cameron have to worry about?
They parked far from the store, as her husband preferred, and Lana felt her body tense. He had brought her to the store closest to their house and where she had been snatched. The man was dead. She had run a hot poker through him and made sure he was dead. Her stomach turned as Lana thought she might lose the meager amount of food in her. The image of the man’s brutalized form crawled into her mind and Lana lunged for the door. Handle grasped in her hand, she jerked the car door open and stuck her head outside. Rich brown hair slid over her shoulders and hung around her face. Her eyes were squeezed shut and Lana took deep breaths, cold air stinging her nose and lungs.
When she did not immediately puke, Lana loosened her grip on the handle.
Safe; the word rang out in her mind as she pulled down another breath. Eyes fluttering open, she stared down at crushed snow baring the marks of tires and black splotches of dirt. Moving from the ground, her eyes lifted to glance at her hand, bandaged as it was. Dark hair fell across her face but she could see the coverings and another wave of nausea rolled through her.
What had happened to her was beyond wrong and what she had done had been right… right? Considering the entire situation made her feel sick, even her own actions taken in anger and self-defense.
A slick pop caused bile to rise into her throat as she remembered pulling the eye from the man’s eye socket, the hard orb rising out of the dark cavern and a spill of thick blood racing from the wound. The sound was followed by a crunch and then another, feet meeting packed snow, and Lana realized that the sound had been the something on the snow.
Swallowing, Lana looked up and to her right, meeting the gaze of her husband. Gloved hands held the front of his coat together and his breath puffed into the air.
“Lana?”
She straightened and managed a weak smile.
“You don’t have shoes, dear. Wait in the car.” Although that had been her original plan, Lana suddenly wanted to go with him. She sucked down another breath, cold sinking into her fibers and then nodded.
She would be fine sitting in the car for a few minutes.
He closed the door and Lana watching him move briskly away in the side mirror. There remained light outside, but it would grow dark soon and Lana wondered if her agitation would increase when the sun set.
A chill ran down her spine and the hairs along her arms stood on end. The temperature inside the car had dropped, the hot air having fled the car when the doors opened. Gripping the blanket, she pulled it up to her shoulders and then folded her arms. She was still cold, and began to shiver. Lana’s nose felt like someone was holding an ice cube to it. It was difficult to decide rather or not she had made the better decision to remain in the car.
Unsure of how much time had passed, Lana measured the time her husband was in the store by how much she had adjusted to the cold. By the time he returned, her thighs and shoulders had warmed up, but her bare foot and nose remained cold and her arms were chilled. Her guess was that the store run had taken close to twenty or twenty five minutes.
Howard started the car, tossing a plastic bag at her feet and promptly starting the heater. It smelled like he had picked up a roasted chicken and from the heat radiating from the bag, there were other already cooked and hot items.
She shifted in the seat until her bare foot rested against the plastic bag, heat rushing over her skin and nearly burning her. Her booted foot retained more heat, but she placed it against the other side of the bag and felt it warm a tad.
Lana wondered if she would be able to sleep beneath a heavy blanket that night or if the weight would be too much for her sliced legs. The hospital blanket she’d had for the past few weeks afforded little heat and the room stayed chilly throughout the day, but to sleep, Lana had been zonked out of pain medication most nights or slept from exhaustion. Tonight she could warm by the fire and then lay in her bed with its silk sheets, heavy comforter and a mink blanket. Plus she would have her own comfy pajamas. A smile pulled up her lips as she closed her eyes imagining it.