Chapter 58
LIZZIE NUNEZ HEARD an electronic beep that woke her up. It took a moment to remember where she was. She’d slept so long and hard, it was already dark outside.
What was in the drink that woman gave me?
Then she felt panic. She couldn’t move her arms or legs freely.
She looked down and realized her wrists and ankles were wrapped in gray duct tape.
She struggled to sit up a little on the couch.
She heard the beep again and turned to look to her right.
One of the defibrillators was open next to the couch and a green light was flashing.
The older woman came back into the room and looked at Lizzie. “Did you have a good sleep?”
“What are you doing?” Lizzie had given up any pretense of trying to act cool. She had heard the hitch in her own voice and realized she was about to cry.
“Well, it’s sort of an experiment. You know, science kinda stuff.” She put on plastic reading glasses and tried to follow the instructions on the inside of the case’s lid.
Lizzie jumped when she heard a loud electronic voice say, “Unit is powered on. Clear the immediate area.”
The woman looked up and calmly said, “It’s like this: I sell these things and make a few bucks.
But if I can prove that they make it look like someone died of a heart attack, I could sell them to the gangs for a whole lot more.
It’s nothing personal, sweetheart. You seem like a nice enough girl.
But I’ve gotta make sure this works before I start running my mouth.
” She grasped the paddles and turned toward Lizzie.
“You’re going to electrocute me?”
That made the woman pause. “I never looked at it like that. I guess that’s what I’m going to do. You should only feel a jolt. Then you won’t have to worry about men chasing you on the street no more or where you’re going to get your next meal.”
Lizzie’s head was spinning. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The woman awkwardly got to her feet to take the last two steps toward the couch. She was holding the paddles out in front of her.
“I’m gonna put one just above the top of your blouse and the other on your belly. Might feel a little cold to the touch.”
Lizzie flat-out panicked at that point. She swung her whole body so her taped-together legs struck the woman right at her belt line. It was a clumsy move. She felt like a walrus trying to fling its entire tail at something.
But it worked. The blow made the woman step back, then she tripped over the defibrillator. The paddles dropped from her hands. One of them struck the defibrillator and the machine sparked maliciously.
Lizzie wasted no time in jumping off the couch, then hopping across the room toward the front door.
The woman reached out a hand and grabbed Lizzie’s ankle just firmly enough for her to lose her balance.
She fell to the ground, barely able to break her fall with her taped arms in front of her.
She slipped out of the woman’s hand. Lizzie crawled like an inchworm toward the corner of the room that served as a kitchen.
She used the counter to pull herself off the filthy floor.
A couple of old Cheerios were stuck to her face.
When Lizzie looked behind her, she saw the woman was gathering up the paddles again.
She was still trying to go through with her crazy plan.
The woman paused and looked down at the machine.
It was now flashing a red light. She stopped for a moment to read more instructions on the inside lid of the defibrillator case.
The woman mumbled, “Do I have to reset this whole goddamn thing?”
As soon as Lizzie was standing up straight, she saw the bloody box cutter sitting on the counter just a few inches from her. She reached over and struggled to maneuver it enough to cut the tape on her wrists. She managed a little cut, then was able to rip the tape the rest of the way.
Lizzie looked up to see the woman lunging toward her with both of the paddles extended. The electronic voice said, “Prepare to deliver shock.”
Lizzie blindly slashed the air in front of her with the box cutter. She caught the woman’s arm and heard a yelp. But she was still right there, with the defibrillator paddles in front of her like two tiny high-voltage shields. Blood poured from a gash in her right forearm.
Lizzie hopped back. She’d put a few more feet between her and the crazy woman.
Just as she risked leaning down to cut the tape around her ankles, the woman marched toward her, the cables from the paddles dragging the defibrillator case across the gritty, nasty floor. Then the machine made several more noises, and suddenly all the lights in the case went out.
The woman paused and looked behind her to see what the cause of the power outage was.
Lizzie didn’t give her a chance to figure out the problem. She lunged forward. Her full weight hit the smaller woman. She used the box cutter to slash the woman across her upper chest and shoulder. The woman let out a shriek like an ambulance siren.
Lizzie rolled off her and slashed the tape from around her ankles.
She rushed to the front door and opened it.
Before she ran out, Lizzie stopped to look back at the woman.
She was rolling on the ground and whimpering.
There was a lot more blood on the floor than she had expected.
The woman’s dress was almost completely red above the waist. She was making no effort to get off the floor.
Lizzie wanted to deliver some parting insults. Instead, she closed the box cutter and slipped it into the pocket of her jeans.
Something made her take an old rag from the counter and wipe the doorknob as she left.