Previews A Poisonous Echo by Mai Griffin | Page 17

Mai Griffin
Without the faintest stab of guilt, Joyce remembered
using the wasp-stick to lever off the lid of the tin and
scoop out some of the contents. She experienced only
smug satisfaction... the stuff was definitely poisonous!
During the ensuing weeks, the cat had several bouts of
sickness, which worried and puzzled Joyce’s foster mother
who alternately blamed the animal’s natural greed and
the hot weather. Judging the time right for the final touch,
Joyce mixed a whole spoonful of the powder in the
animal’s dish with a spot of water and watched it
disappear as it melted. Just before leaving the house the
old lady emptied a tin of nutritious cat-food into it, and
became instrumental in poisoning her own pet! The cat
pounced on the meal immediately and within minutes of
licking its dish clean, the creature went berserk.
Unaware of the drama unfolding below Joyce sprawled
on her bed reading a comic until she heard the frantic
meowing and crashing. She rushed down but was too late
to enjoy the death throes. The black body was stretched
rigid: eyes staring: mouth agape, tongue thrust out.
It was definitely dead.
Joyce recalled with satisfaction that even at that age
she’d been sensible enough to wash the dish and retrieve
the meat tin smearing some liquid from it into the clean
bowl. She then tried to make the cat look less gruesome,
by re-shaping the limbs, and threw it out near the dustbin.
They all mourned the sad demise. Her foster-parents,
touched by Joyce’s tears, thought she had, after all, been
quite fond of poor puss! It had been so easy that she
afterwards whiled away many a happy hour planning to
use the same stuff again one day... maybe on them!
Her thoughts were suddenly jolted back to the present
when the car started up and she risked a quick peep as it
emerged into the lane. Crouching flat on the dry earth she
didn’t move until it drove down the road out of sight. She
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