Stay With Me, Use Me, And Even Kick Me Out - Chapter 6

The cops exchanged glances. “What happened, ma’am?”

“She poisoned the lobster! I almost lost my baby!” She pointed at me. The officers turned to me.

“I called you. She’s making it up.”

“It was her! She hates me! She wants my baby dead!”

After much confusion, the police pieced the story together. “You’re saying she poisoned you. Who cooked the lobster?” one officer asked Jessica.

“My mother–in–law.”

“Who was it intended for?”

Realization dawned on Jessica’s face. She clammed up. They asked again. Finally, she pointed at me. “Her.”

“So you ate lobster meant for someone else and are claiming she poisoned you? Do you have any evidence?”

Mary chimed in. “It’s a misunderstanding. A terrible misunderstanding.”

But the police were there now. They collected the lobster shells. As they left, I said, “Officers, I have more evidence.”

Three days later, John and Mary were arrested. I had their things moved to their apartment. I wasn’t staying in that house. I knew Mark too well. He was all brawn and no brains, prone to violence. I needed to lie low.

I didn’t lie low enough. Leaving work one evening, Mark, bundled up and wielding a metal pipe, jumped me in the parking garage.

I ran, but he caught me, the pipe smashing into my shin. I heard the bone snap. Pain exploded in my leg. I screamed, activating the motion- sensor lights. He raised the pipe again, aiming for my head.

“Hey! What the hell!”

A group of guys from another company, on their way to happy hour, had heard the commotion. Thank God. They weren’t about to let it slide. Mark, seeing the crowd, dropped the pipe and bolted.

The guys called the police and took me to the hospital. “Any idea who did this?” the officer asked.

“I know exactly who did this.”

Mark was arrested.

The next day, Jessica, heavily pregnant and weeping, knelt by my bed, begging for forgiveness. Her parents had disowned her. Her in–laws were in jail. She was desperate. She offered to be my indentured servant if I’d drop the charges against Mark.

I watched her cry for a moment, then pulled a document from my bedside table. “I don’t need anything from you.”

“I know Mark gave you a card. That money came from my family. I don’t need it all back. Just the $50,000 dowry.”