Imprisoned Love

Once they arrived at Vicki’s house, Tiffany put her turquoise bracelet on that she kept on Vicki’s dresser, then turned to her and said, “I know we’re no secret anymore, but still, we’ll carry on our secret tradition to keep the special meaning of this bracelet as special as it is. That means I’ll keep it here and wear it when we’re together.” “Until you move in,” said Vicki with a chuckle, “and I’m still determined to get you to do so one of these days.” “Just maybe you’ll succeed eventually,” Tiffany said with a suggestive smile before they enjoyed a night of lovemaking, TV and pleasant chatter until Tiffany fell asleep in Vicki’s arms. A smile slowly spread upon Vicki’s face as she thought of what was to come next for poor little Tiffy, providing that all went well. And it did. In fact, it couldn’t have gone any better, though she hadn’t meant for anyone else to get killed. But hey, when people got in the way, they got in the way, and one simply had to learn to live with that and understand that sometimes there was no getting around that. The timing had been perfect. Her father was doing well over the speed limit on the highway when the wheel rolled off, causing the truck to spin out of control, hitting and killing a woman and her child in the next lane, as well as himself. Because it was a family member she had killed, Vicki knew she’d have to be incredibly patient, for Tiffany would surely want to stay close to home for a while. A week later, after keeping in touch almost every day by phone, even if it was only for a minute or two at a time, Vicki persuaded Tiffany to let her pick her up. At first, she was reluctant, but her mother urged her to get on with her life and reminded her that the kids were fine with her. “You sure you’ll be ok if I go, Mom?” she asked. “Of course I will, honey. You go and live your life. You know your dad would have wanted you to.” She did, though perhaps not with Vicki. But she was an adult who had the right to live according to whatever suited her, and that’s just what she would do as she thought of Vicki’s sweet smile, caring manner and sexy body. With Vicki, she felt just as warm and as safe as some women said they felt with their men. The only thing she lacked was a sense of humor, she thought, noting how Vicki always seemed to be more on the serious side. She figured it was part of being in law enforcement. Perhaps she felt that if she came off as “too nice,” people would try to take advantage of her. Vicki picked up a weary Tiffany whose bloodshot eyes gazed warily at the world around them. They were fairly quiet during the drive to Vicki’s house. Once they got there, all Tiffany wanted to do was sip hot chocolate and cry on Vicki’s shoulder. So much for getting any fun tonight, Vicki thought to herself as she patted Tiffany with fake sympathy. “I don’t know what to do,” Tiffany wailed hysterically. “Everyone I love is dying. I’m afraid for you, Vicki!” “Shush, don’t be. I’ll be just fine.” “Eric’s death was one thing, but to lose my best friend and then my father is another.” “I know, baby, I know.” Tiffany sobbed and sniffled. Just then, her gaze came to rest upon a bright pink object embedded between the sofa cushions. “What’s this?” she asked. “What’s what?” Vicki asked, pulling back to see where Tiffany was pointing. “A bright pink pill is stuck in the cushions.” “Oh that,” said Vicki, tossing it onto a plate. “That’s just an old sleeping pill I used to take when I was having trouble adjusting to the shift changes and all that back when I was a rookie.” Yet the pill seemed clean and new. Not as if it had been trapped in the cushions for a while, Tiffany realized. She also remembered that Vicki’s parents owned a pharmaceutical company and that Eric was said to have taken little round pink pills. Sleeping pills. Tiffany tried to hide the knot that was slowly beginning to form in the pit of her stomach and changed the subject instead. “Do you have to be up early tomorrow?” “Nope,” Vicki said with a smile, though Tiffany couldn’t see it because her head continued to rest on Vicki’s shoulder. “I’ve got the next couple of days off, so this works out well.” “Does it?” Vicki said nothing. “I’m so tired, Vicki. I wish I could be more fun, but I just want to use the bathroom and go to bed.” “It’s ok. I understand,” Vicki told her as they both rose to their feet. Vicki headed into the kitchen with their plates and mugs while Tiffany headed for the bathroom where she searched through the cabinet as quietly as she could. It didn’t take her long to find what she was looking for. In the back of the cabinet was a plastic container containing many of the pink sleeping pills. There were hundreds of them. Way more than any decent doctor would prescribe. She knew where they had come from, too. She also figured Vicki’s parents had no idea that their daughter had them. She must have swiped them when she knew they wouldn’t notice, she thought to herself. But reality hadn’t set in yet. That wasn’t until they turned the lights off and settled into bed for the night. Once Vicki’s breathing became regular and Tiffany had time to think without Vicki interrupting her thoughts, she became quite certain that Vicki had killed Eric. But what about Regina and her father? She didn’t know about Regina, but when she thought about it, she realized that Vicki had plenty of time to loosen the back wheel of her father’s truck between the time it took her to place things on the passenger side and when she rounded the back corner of the truck to find Vicki holding the crowbar. She had plenty of time to loosen the lug nuts and she knew that Vicki was well aware of the fact that her father hadn’t approved of her. Besides, wasn’t it an awfully strange coincidence that three people who had had a significant meaning in her life were dead? Tiffany looked over at Vicki’s sleeping shadowy form. She fought the urge to jump out of bed and run out of the house screaming and thought of what else she could do instead. Proving Vicki’s involvement may be next to impossible. She’d obviously covered her tracks well. How she managed to get Eric to take the pills was beyond her. Maybe she held him at gunpoint. With Regina, she probably went over to her house for some phony reason, caught her in the tub and drowned her or pushed her. Tiffany shuddered to think of it, hoping her friend had not suffered for long. She’d later learned that the autopsy report said she had a head injury, so she guessed that Vicki had knocked her out, and then placed her in the tub to make it look like she’d slipped. Even if Vicki’s crimes could be proven, would she really do much time in jail? Or would her connections help her cut corners, freeing her in just a fraction of the time she should serve, freeing her to possibly come after her and those close to her who remained alive. And just what would happen to her and those who were still alive if she kept her discoveries to herself? An image of her two cherished children came to mind and Tiffany decided that she wasn’t going to allow there to be enough time to find out. The next morning, after Vicki brought her home, her first thought was to tell her mother what she had learned, then decided against it. Instead, she arranged for Vicki to pick her up a few days later. “I want to cook us a nice dinner. I never cook for you and it’s about time I start if we’re going to be an item and maybe even live together, don’t you think?” she asked over the phone. Vicki laughed with delight. “Sure, why not? I’ll pick you up and then we can go to the grocery store together and you can cook us a nice homemade dinner, ok?” “You got it,” Tiffany told her, then hung up to pace nervously until Vicki’s blood-red car appeared in front. “Bye, Mom! Call me if the kids get to be too much for you.” “Ok,” she called out from the kitchen. “Have a good time.” Tiffany did her best to appear cheery and unsuspecting as she and Vicki cruised the aisles of the local grocery store. Once at Vicki’s house, Tiffany insisted she go watch TV so she could surprise her and “do her thing” in the kitchen. “Promise not to peek in on me?” “I promise,” said Vicki. “Besides, I want to catch the news and see what’s going on.” I’m sure you do, Tiffany thought as she headed for the bathroom. Once inside with the door shut behind her, she removed her bracelet and placed it on the counter by the sink. Then she plucked out a pair of rubber gloves, slid them on, opened the container of pills, and slipped a few dozen pills into a plastic bag which she then crammed into the pocket of her shorts. She placed the container back in its place, removed the gloves, flushed them down the toilet, and then returned to the kitchen. Vicki glanced up at her for a second as she passed by. She got the pork chops and potatoes baking, then proceeded to saute some broccoli. While that was cooking, she began to prepare the dessert which she’d claim to be too full to have any of. First, she boiled the pills in a pan of water on the stove, then used it to mix into the gelatin dessert she then chilled in the refrigerator. For a fleeting moment, a tinge of guilt surged through her when the reality of what she was about to do set in. In order to go ahead as planned, she needed to remind herself in her mind over and over again like a broken record, that Vicki had killed her best friend, her father, Eric, and God knew who else as well, and that she and the kids could very well be next on the list. She knew that going to the police would be useless and that she had to take matters into her own hands if she wanted to prevent anyone else from falling prey to Vicki’s murderous ways. When dinner was ready, she told Vicki to take a seat at the table she’d set for the two of them. “Smells wonderful,” Vicki said. “Does it matter where I sit?” “Nope, anywhere is fine.” Vicki kissed Tiffany as she turned to put the bowl of broccoli on the table. “Need help setting things up?” “No, not at all. I’ve now got just about everything we need that I can think of on the table, so just dig in and enjoy. Remember to leave room for my extra special dessert, though, ok?” “Sure will,” said Vicki with a smile as Tiffany thought of just how “extra special” it really was. During the meal, Tiffany tried to keep her hands from trembling. Once, when she went to reach for her water glass, she nearly dropped it on her plate. “You’re awfully quiet,” said Vicki, after complimenting her on her wonderful cooking. “I was just lost in thought,” she told her. “About what?” “About all that’s been going on, I guess.” “You can certainly say you’ve been through a lot,” Vicki said, almost with a slight smile one would give when talking about good things. Dinner couldn’t seem to end fast enough. By the time Vicki did get to the dessert, Tiffany was afraid something would go wrong, like maybe she wouldn’t eat enough of it, or maybe she’d just get sick or something like that. When Vicki finally did show signs of illness, Tiffany could only hope and pray that it would be over with fast enough. “Oh, my gosh, what’s w-wrong with me?” a flustered, breathless Vicki asked, pulling back from the table. Tiffany put down her water glass and stared at Vicki. She was afraid to do anything just yet lest Vicki surprise her by making an unexpected recovery. If she did recover somehow, she was the last one she wanted her to suspect or else she’d be dead for sure. But Vicki was only getting worse. She fell to the floor with a thud, barely conscious and looked up into Tiffany’s eyes. “What did you do to me?” she asked through glazed eyes. “What did you do to Eric, Regina and my father?” Tiffany asked softly yet seriously. “I-I,” Vicki stuttered, struggling to keep her eyelids open, “I did it for us.” “For us?” Vicki barely managed a nod. “I had to punish you for getting me in trouble at work, and th-they were g-getting in the way.” “Getting in the way how?” Tiffany demanded louder. “I-I just…” Vicki’s eyes closed. Tiffany leaned over her and listened for any signs of breathing while continuing to watch for any signs of movement. Then she knelt down to feel for a pulse. She decided that if there was any, it was too faint for her to detect it. She scurried to dump the rest of the dessert down the garbage disposal, then, using a towel to keep her prints from it, brought the pill container to the table where Vicki had sat. Stepping over the woman who had once made her tremble with ecstasy, she dialed for an ambulance. “What is your emergency?” asked the dispatcher. “I need help fast. Send an ambulance! My girlfriend tried to overdose on these strange pills after confessing to killing a few people I was close to.” “What’s your name and address, ma’am?” Tiffany gave her name and the address. Epilogue Tiffany lay in her bed late one morning on her day off at her parents' house, thinking. That’s all she could do, so it seemed, since Vicki’s death. Vicki haunted her brain night and day and probably always would, though she had no guilt or remorse for what she’d done. She believed she’d had no choice and that turning Vicki in would only fail to succeed in getting her punished for long, if at any length of time at all, and that it would only prompt Vicki into killing her and others. She remembered speaking with the two detectives that night. She had told them that Vicki had begun swallowing pills while she was in the bathroom, unbeknownst to her. Then, when she’d returned, that was when Vicki made her confession and told her she had taken enough pills to kill herself. She said Vicki spoke of retaliating for getting her in trouble at the jail after she explained to the detectives that they had met there. “Where’d she get so many pills?” Detective Chase had asked her. “Her parents owned a pharmaceutical company. I’m thinking she might’ve gotten them there.” Tiffany gave her tearful statement with them promising to “keep in touch,” yet much to Tiffany’s relief, she never did hear from the detectives again. Meanwhile, life had gone on. She took over the daycare along with Regina’s cousin while continuing to live at home. She doubted she’d be moving out anytime soon. Just then, the ringing of the doorbell jarred her back to the present. She glanced at the clock by her bed. It was rather early for the mail and they weren’t expecting any packages at the moment, so who could it be? she wondered. She rose out of bed, trudged down the hall and headed for the front door. She pulled the door open to find no one there. She glanced towards the right and then to the left. Still, she saw no one. No signs of life at all. Not even sound or movement from any cars. She took a few steps outside and again checked her surroundings. She let out a sigh, and after a moment, decided it was just kids playing pranks, despite the odd time it was, then turned to head back inside. That was when she saw it. It was lying just under the bottom corner of the door. Tiffany blinked, trying to tell herself she must be dreaming, but when she opened her eyes, the turquoise bracelet was still there. Tiffany clenched her fists and let out a long, loud howl that echoed throughout the neighborhood before she slumped to the ground in shock and panic.