Previews A Poisonous Echo by Mai Griffin | Page 15

Mai Griffin
At the cloakroom, all went according to plan. She had
stayed out of sight, her blue leather grip hidden inside a
huge plastic bag found in a car park. She had known
immediately that it was perfect for her needs: having no
idea herself where the advertised shop was, the staff
would certainly not know her! Ten minutes dragged by
slowly – then, at last, she heard the cheery exchange of
greetings between the two attendants. The one who had
seen her looking normal informed the newcomer,
“All okay luv, only one, in number four! ‘Bye, see yer...”
After the footsteps receded she had emerged slowly,
differently garbed, with old cloth gloves concealing her
varnished nails. Clutching her shopper and the strap of
an old shoulder bag with one hand, she dropped a coin
onto the strategically placed saucer with the other and
made her way out to the platform. She giggled aloud,
delighting in her own cleverness. Anyone could look
different by resorting to a wig and thick make up, but
facial expression was far more important. Sponge inside
her cheeks, lipstick cleaned off, steel-rimmed glasses, and
a rain hat pulled over her hair had transformed her, yet
it would be easy to restore her appearance to normal
before she went to the house. Joyce wanted his vapid wife
to see her at her best. It was the moment she anticipated
with the most pleasure.
As she reviewed the last few hours she hugged herself
with glee… Surely nothing could go wrong now. Resting
in the shallow ditch, she trembled with excitement.
Seeking reassurance that it was still there, she felt the
small packet of powder through the fabric pocket of her
suit and smiled smugly, reflecting that all those years ago,
after discovering how effective it was, she had been
shrewd enough go back to the shed later, to check the
label on that rusty tin...... Sodium Fluoroacetate. She had
later looked it up in the library: water soluble, tasteless,
colourless and fast acting.
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