Crime Writer Margot Kinberg

The park was already getting crowded when I got there. It was sizzling outside, so I was wearing cutoff shorts, a screen print T-shirt, and a straw hat – sunglasses, too. I got out of my subcompact and pulled my sign and flag out of the back seat. I checked to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything, locked the car, and walked towards the front of the park, where the group was gathering, stuffing my key in my pocket as I went.

I saw Bryan, Tammy, and Lenore first, so I went over to say hello.
‘You guys ready?’ I asked.
‘I am,’ Tammy grinned. ‘I don’t care what those idiots yell at us.’ She would say that. Tammy gives as good as she gets.
‘Let’s do this,’ Lenore said. I nodded and we all walked towards the pavement.

The group had picked a good corner for a demonstration. There’s a lot of traffic around here, so we’d get our message out. We held up our signs and got to work. I smiled as I watched the cars go by. A lot of the drivers honked their horns or waved at us. Today, there were only a few who threw us the finger or glared.

It was all going great until I glanced down the line of protestors and saw Heather standing by the cooler full of water battles. I can’t stand that woman and she knows it. It’s all her fault, though. She started it. I met her the first time I joined the rally group. She made it a point to say hello and introduce herself, so I thought she was a nice person. And everybody else still thinks she is. I know better.

You see, Heather’s been chasing after my husband for a month or more. I brought Jason to a meeting once, and as soon as Heather laid eyes on him, she tried to steal him. Jason says I’m exaggerating, he loves me, don’t be so jealous, the whole load of crap men say. He even let me check his phone. I didn’t find anything, but it’s so easy to delete texts and photos. And then there was that time we ran into Heather while we were at the grocery store. She came right up to us and started talking to Jason. And he didn’t even try to stop her! Every time I see Heather’s ugly smirk, I know the truth. I even confronted her once, and she said I was crazy. I just know she’s after Jason, though, I just know it. So I was really upset that she was at the rally.

‘What’s the matter?’ Tammy asked. She’d seen my grimace.
‘Heather’s here, that’s what.’
‘What is it with you and her? You used to get along.’
I didn’t feel like explaining. I shrugged and shook my head. ‘I don’t know. We just don’t anymore.’

When Tammy wasn’t looking, I stole another glance at Heather. Then I looked around. It was weird. Everyone was facing the street, waving signs and chanting. A few people were chatting with each other, but nobody was really paying attention to what was going on. Then I got the idea. I looked around the park. There was a clump of trees a short distance away. You could hide a body back there and nobody would notice. The thought took hold and wouldn’t go away.

Beads of sweat trickled down the back of my neck, and I could feel my face getting red, even with my hat on. I looked over at Bryan. He was guzzling a bottle of water while he mopped his face. Lenore was looking a little pale, and struggling to open her own bottle.
‘Just sip at it,’ I advised her. ‘If you drink it too fast, you’ll just feel sick.’ She nodded and started to take small sips. Then she sat down on the grass, breathing deeply.
‘You OK?’ I asked her.
‘I will be in a minute.’

Once I saw that Lenore was starting to recover, I looked back in Heather’s direction. That horrible bitch was still there, smiling as if she didn’t have a care in the world. That clump of trees started calling to me. On top of everything else, it’d be a lot cooler there. The idea wouldn’t go away. I took a deep breath, checked that my friends were OK, and walked over to face Heather.

‘Hi!’ I hate that fake bright tone of hers.
‘Hey, Heather.’
‘This heat is just awful, isn’t it?’
No time like the present. ‘It is. Why don’t we get a bottle of water and sit by those trees over there for a few minutes. There’s plenty of people here to keep the rally going for a bit.’

Heather gave me a strange look, as though she knew what I was planning. But she nodded, picked up her bottle of water, and followed me to the trees. I noticed she was wearing a buff around her neck. That would make it easy.

We were almost to the trees when I felt a hard sting on my right arm.
‘Ouch! I think a bee just got me!’
‘Are you allergic?’ Heather’s voice sounded concerned. That would be a first.
‘No, I’ll be fine.’

We got to the trees and I sat down. I blinked a few times. Things were starting to look blurry, but that was probably the heat. I took a sip from my water bottle. All of a sudden, it felt so heavy I couldn’t even hold it in my hand. I dropped it.
‘Are you OK?’ Heather’s voice fuzzed in and out.
‘I don’t feel good. I’m going to rest.’
‘It’s the heat. Why don’t you lie down for a bit.’
The pain started. ‘Yeah, maybe I will.’  I lay down, but now the pain’s worse. Maybe I’ll just stay here for a while. I tried to say something to Heather, but I’m finding it hard to talk. Why is she smiling at me?