The Necklace by Matt Witten

Author:Matt Witten [Witten, Matt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing
Published: 2021-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, PRESENT DAY

AT SEVEN O’CLOCK the next morning, Susan paced the sidewalk outside the Village Apothecary on Main waiting for it to open. She’d had a long night, split between a motel lobby before they kicked her out and then the all-night diner again. She got maybe two hours of sleep, all while sitting up. Now she was beyond eager to get started on her plan.

The first thing she needed to do was get hold of a disposable camera at the drugstore. She was hoping to trade her engagement ring for one—it had to be worth at least forty or fifty dollars, and the fact it came from Danny was making her sick now anyway. If she couldn’t unload the ring, maybe she could trade her watch. She’d splurged and spent seventy dollars on it a couple years ago.

The lights came on inside the store and a woman walked in from the back room. She was in her forties with stylish auburn hair and a purposeful stride. Susan thought she was probably the store owner, which meant she’d be able to do a trade if she wanted. Good.

Susan smoothed her hair. She’d washed it in the bathroom sink at the diner, using liquid soap. The night counterman had still been on duty, and he gave her a fresh towel to dry herself off. She’d put on a little lipstick too.

The woman unlocked the front door and held it open. “Good morning,” she said with a businesslike smile. “Awfully cold out there.”

“Yes, it is.” Susan walked in with her suitcase. She didn’t have time to waste. “I’m looking for an inexpensive camera.”

The woman gave an apologetic frown. “I’m afraid we don’t sell cameras anymore.”

Susan stopped and looked at her in surprise. Stone’s Pharmacy back in Luzerne still carried cheap cameras; her mom had wanted one for the Crow Bar party. “Not even one of those disposable cameras?”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. With cell phones, who needs them?”

What about people with flip phones? she wanted to say. Her face fell.

“Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“No thanks,” Susan said, and left the store, her heart beating frantically. Shit, Emily will be getting to school in less than an hour. Susan wasn’t sure of the exact time. What the hell do I do now? I need a camera!

Then she remembered the elementary school was right across the street from the high school. And the high school would be full of kids with cell phones. Cell phones with cameras.

She walked the ten blocks there as fast as she could while dragging her suitcase. She asked the crossing guard, an elderly man with cheeks reddened by the cold, “What time does school start this morning?”

“High school is seven forty, elementary school is eight o’clock.”

It was seven twenty now. She hurried to the high school, a sprawling brick building. She hid her suitcase behind a tree so she wouldn’t be conspicuous and waited for the kids to come. “I can do this,” she whispered out loud, trying to convince herself.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.