Chapter Six

 

Chapter Six

Within a few moments James’s eyes began to droop. From medication or his full stomach, Trisha didn’t know. She sat frozen in her chair afraid that if she moved to quickly James would come out of his stupor and go on with his evening as usual.

            She didn’t know if the medicine would work on him. She didn’t know how she would know if he was dead. She didn’t know how to react now that there was no going back. So for the time being she just sat there, staring at him as he slowly breathed in and out.

She didn’t know how long she sat there frozen in anticipation. Every few moments she would hear a trickle of laughter come from upstairs. Each time her heart would bang against her rib cage as if it was a prisoner trying to escape a prison. Each time she would pick up her fork in a flurry and begin to pick at her now long cold Dinner, trying to appear casual.

            Around her the night grew old. Beyond the vast windows the world grew dark. Bird ceases their chirping and the crickets picked up the tune where they left off. The laughter from above her grew silent.

            Looking around as if awakening from a dream Trisha stretched. Her neck and back protested the movement after sitting still for so long. She looked across the table at James. His head was now slumped to the side. His mouth drooped open on one side and a small bit of saliva pooled at the opening.

            Unconsciously, her eyes drifted towards his chest. It rest unmoving in front of her. Its silent screamed at her in the silence.

            “James?” her voice was no more then a whisper but it sounded too loud in her ears. For a moment she sat there too stunned to move as she waited for a reply. No reply came. Not a single breath or flutter of eyes lids to announce itself.

            She slowly stood up and walked the few feet towards her husband. With sweaty palms she reached towards his hand which rest in his lap. Both hands were clasped together peacefully in his lap. Even from this close he still looked like he did most nights. Half asleep in his chair waiting for her to help him to bed when he was unsure of his steps.

            Her hand suspended in mid air, shaking slightly just a mere inch above his wrist. She half expected for him to open his eyes and groggily question what she was doing. Fear made her see this image in her mind, but common sense told her that he would not be waking up as she examined him. She had given him enough sleep aid to knock out a horse and common sense sang in the back of her mind that no man could live through that high of a dosage.

            Her hands gentle pressed down against his wrist where the heart beat would be most easily felt. After a long moment she left go of him as if she had been burned. Nothing. There was no pulse beating against the thin skin. There was no life coursing through his veins.

            He had quickly fallen asleep and as he dreamed his heart had gently stopped beating. She might have hated James but a part of her was glad He had passed away peacefully in his sleep. Maybe it was her conscience trying to save her soul. Knowing that she had taken the life of another maybe the thought that he had went peacefully would help her cope with it.

            At this point in time she felt nothing. The dull numbness that had followed her around all evening had now enveloped her completely as she stood over her husband’s dead body.

            Part one of her plan had worked ac according to plan and now she had to go on to part two. She had to get rid of the body before anyone noticed that there was a dead man sitting at their dining table.

            “Mrs. Spilling?” A soft voice drifted to her from the kitchen door. With a small yelp she spun on her heels to see Rosa the nanny staring at her from around the door frame. Trisha’s hand went to her throat in surprise.

Reviews

[KAOlmsted]

"if she moved to quickly"
--too

"Each time her heart would bang against her rib cage as if it was a prisoner trying to escape a prison."
--ah man...we were going along so GOOD there!! *laugh*

"long cold Dinner"
--was dinner that awesome it needed to be capitalized? *wink*

"Bird ceases their chirping"
--birds ceased

"Its silent screamed at her in the silence."
--I love this sentiment but the wording is off. Clearly the first 'silent' (used wrong anyway) needs to go bye-bye. Its 'stillness' perhaps?

"or flutter of eyes lids"
--I don't really need to say anything, do I?

"She slowly stood up and walked the few feet towards her husband. With sweaty palms she reached towards his hand which rest in his lap. Both hands were clasped together peacefully in his lap."
--I think I would use 'toward' instead of 'towards' here, the first time you used it, and 'the few feet' is unnecessary. I would consider eliminating the second 'towards' and using something else, simply because you already used it. Lose 'which rest in his lap' if you plan on keeping the bit about his hands being clasped peacefully in his lap. Or maybe fuse the two together? 'With sweaty palms she reached out to touch his hands, which rest peacefully in his lap.'??

"Her hand suspended"
--Her hand was suspended.

"Her hands gentle pressed"
--if you change this to 'her hands gently pressed' I would advise you to lose the gently. Sounds...like she gives a s**t about him. And if she thinks she just killed him, well...lose the gentleness.

"After a long moment she left go"
--she let go

"a part of her was glad He had passed"
--sorry to keep nagging about little stuff, but...capital H

"maybe the thought that he had went peacefully would help her cope with it."
--maybe? Kind of passive. He had went? How about he had gone.

"to see Rosa the nanny"
we know Rosa is the nanny.

She's going to try to get rid of his body? See, now I'm confused. Maybe she should have thought this through a little more. Maybe she should have brought him his poison drink as a nightcap in bed...surely she could have lured him up to the bedroom and surely she could have persuaded him to have a drink. Now she's got a dead guy at her table full of sleeping pills she needs to get rid of because who takes an overdose of sleeping pills then sits down to have some pot roast? And when she says she has to get rid of the body, does she mean she's going to make this guy disappear? Because that is going to land a metric ton of suspicion directly on top of her...more so than if poor old James, who was under so much pressure, died as the result of an overdose of drink and pills.

Well. I guess some of these questions will be answered in the next chapter. I'll see you there.

:-) kimmer

[Craig2591]

Another good chapter. Again with the suspense! Her hesitation, her doubts, her fears. And a good cliff hanger at the end.