Does that meet with your approval?”

Perkins signals me to stay behind. “Of course, dahling,” I say, attempting to match her accent. “Go on in. I’ll settle up with the good man and join you momentarily.”

They walk to the front door and Perkins waits for her to enter. As she does, Lissie gushes, “Perkins, this has been the most wonderful night ever. Thank you for driving us. It’s been such a pleasure to meet you!”

“The pleasure’s all mine, Miss.”

She looks at me, standing by the car. “I’ve got the greatest husband in the whole world! What do you think, Perkins? Is he a keeper?”

“He’s certainly one of a kind, Miss.”

Perkins watches her enter the house and close the door. Then he approaches me.

“You think I’m scum, don’t you?” I say.

“We’re all scum,” he says. Then he points at the front door. “Except for her. A girl like that? She deserves better.”

“What happens now?”

He reaches into his pocket and removes a white capsule and hands it to me. “You’re going to pull the capsule apart and empty the contents into her drink. You’re going to stand over her and make sure she drinks every last drop.”

“What is it?”

“A sedative.”

“Is it safe?”

“Of course it’s safe. A word to the wise, make sure she’s in bed when you give it to her.”

“Why’s that?”

“Look, you’re running out of time, so don’t screw this up, okay? No long-winded toasts, no love talk, no sex. Get this into her system immediately. You do that, she’ll be zonked by one o’clock, and she’ll stay that way until you return.”

“You going to be here when Rudy comes?”

“No.”

“He said there’d be another guy here.”

“So?”

“You know who it is?”

“No.”

“You seem a nice guy, Perkins. Why are you involved with a guy like Rudy?”

He pauses a moment, then says, “Buddy, look at me.”

I look into his impassive face.

“Yeah?”

“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you and I are friends, because we’re not. Personally, I don’t give a shit what happens to you.”

“Okay. It just seemed like you were trying to help.”

He gestures to the house. “Her, not you.”

“Story of my life,” I say.

“She deserves better.”

I can’t argue the point, so I look at the capsule in my hand, and say, “Lissie doesn’t really drink at home.”

“You better hope she does tonight.”

“Why’s that?”

“If she’s awake, Rudy will make her participate.”

 

Chapter 22

 

Lissie says she’ll be happy to toast to our new success after slipping into something more comfortable, which turns out to be a sexy nightie she’d purchased for the occasion.

“You like it?”

“Love it!”

We’re in the bedroom. I’m sitting on the edge of the bed, holding two glasses of wine. She’s standing in front of me, lifting the nightie, offering me a peek at her matching see-through panties.

“Wanna test drive?”

I do, but I remember what Perkins said about getting the drug into her system immediately. He made a good point about not giving Rudy an excuse to involve Lissie in the whole Jinny Kidwell and Ed Oglethorpe situations. Jinny said Lissie would never believe what we did, but Rudy strikes me as the type of guy who’d have proof. Lissie might also wonder what type of monster could escort her to dinner and a concert while knowing he had a dead body in the trunk of his car the whole time.

It takes some urging, but I finally get her to sit beside me and drain her glass. Perkins was right about making sure she was in bed first, because the minute I get our empty glasses on the night stand, Lissie falls sideways and slides off the bed. Fortunately, I’m within three feet of her, so I’m able to catch her before she hits the floor. She seems twice as heavy as she should, and I remember reading a novel once about how carrying “dead weight” is much harder than people think.

In any event, I manage to get her on the bed, and push her far enough toward the middle to keep her from rolling off again. She’s snoring lightly, so I put a pillow under her head and turn her sideways.