The Daughter In Law

“Really, is that what you were doing? I choose to see it differently. I told you this a million times, I tried to do it in a way that would cause less harm; maybe I was wrong for that. You still don’t get it.” She seemed so normal. How was it that she could come up with the things she did?

Looking at her, I saw the woman I knew her to be, but I’d been bitten by that snake before. I couldn’t forget the venom I’d seen in her in that hospital bed when she’d talked about destroying my wife. When she’d laid out for me all the ways she’d planned to do it and still will if she got the chance. But here, now, she looked like any other lady of means out for an innocent stroll.

And then just like that, it was there. I saw the look come into her eyes. That same rabid look an animal gets when it’s cornered or ready to strike. I didn’t have to see the gun to know she had it. She’s always been a good shot, came from all those hunting lessons she’d had as a girl. I daresay I got my shooting skills from her.

I heard the footsteps coming before she did. She turned to the men who appeared there, her eyes widening in fright.

“Mrs. Spencer you’re under arrest for trespassing, stalking and violating a restraining order.” They rattled off a list of her infractions as she yelled for me to help her. I closed the gate behind me and walked back to the party. One thought plagued me as I walked over to my wife and hugged her to my side. Who had been her intended victim, Vanessa or me?

THE END