GENETITECH/BIOENG. confidential file
SUBJECT: --GOLDMAN, David
A.U. No.: --NC 654 55 D
S.C.I.D. No: --7474HHD
SUPERVISING DOCTOR: --Dr. Terrence LYNCH
ITEM: --Transcript of recorded testimony regarding subject's current condition. File for ASSESSMENT/INFO
[cont.]
"Bet y'all wish you'd been nicer to me now, don't you?" Linda said. We had cuffed her to the plastic banister, and she now sat on the floor, one arm raised over her head.
"You are *such* an idiot," I said, shaking my head. "I can't believe you'd sell us out like that."
Linda snorted. "Oh, give me a break. The only reason I'm in this mess is because you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] tricked me. Told me all those sob stories about how mean Carolyn was to you and how much happier you'd be with me. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have never tried to trick Carolyn."
She turned her head to look at Chad, and gave him a wicked smile. "And I woulda had my little Chad all to myself."
"[EXPLETIVE DELETED] you," Chad said, his voice more hurt than angry. "How could you do that to Denny?"
"You picked the wrong side, you stupid bitch," Julie told her. "We would have helped you escape. What's the best offer you think you'll get from your sister?"
"I tried telling Carolyn that I was tricked, that you little monsters played us against each other, but she wouldn't believe me," Linda said. "But right now, I think I've got a little more credibility with her. And tomorrow, when my husband shows up alive and well, she's gonna know you guys have been lying about everything."
The smirk on Linda's face was all too familiar. It was the same tight-lipped smile that she used to get when she was playing with us. Somehow, at this size, it was even more infuriating.
"So I imagine by this time tomorrow, Carolyn'll be apologizing for the way she treated me. And I'm gonna tell her I don't blame her at all. Just you guys."
I glanced at Julie and saw the same worry in her eyes. Unlike Carolyn, Linda wasn't a good liar, or even particularly clever. Unfortunately, in this case, she did have the truth on her side. Or at least a slightly skewed version of it.
"Im sure she'll keep you around, Davey," Linda said. "And if I ask her nicely, I think she'll let Chad off easy." Her eyes darted from one of us to the other, her wicked smile intact. "As for the rest of you, she'll probably squish you and flush you down the toilet."
She looked directly at Mr. Nichols and added, "I just wish I was still big enough to do it myself."
I turned to the others. "So what are we going to do with her?"
"I say we leave her chained to the stairs," Julie said. "Let her take her chances with Eddie."
"You heard Carolyn," Linda said. "Anything happens to me, and she'll take it out on Julie here."
Julie gave an impassive shrug. "So what? It would totally be worth it."
For the first time, Linda's confidence wavered slightly. Her smirk faltered, becoming less smug and more desperate.
"You keep me away from that crazy [EXPLETIVE DELETED]," she said, tugging at her cuffed wrist. "I'm not kidding, Dave. You better not let him anywhere near me!"
***
We found a wardrobe in the master bedroom, where Linda and Chad had been sleeping for the past week. It was made of baby blue plastic, and stood nearly eight feet tall, relatively speaking. We gagged Linda and cuffed her hands behind her, then shoved her into the wardrobe.
"One peep out of you, and we'll throw you back downstairs with Eddie," Julie said. Then she shoved the plastic doors until they clicked shut.
The furniture was all askew from when Carolyn had picked up the dollhouse. Our belongings were no longer in neat stacks, but were scattered across the floor in most of the rooms. The place was a shambles.
"Jesus," Julie said, rolling her eyes. "I don't even know why we bother to keep the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] place picked up."
We had claimed the master bedroom for ourselves, with the provision that we'd keep an eye on Linda. Chad had taken Denny's usual place on the couch downstairs, and Mr. Nichols was bunking down in the attic. As for Eddie, we weren't sure how he spent his nights, but he tended to stick close to the kitchen.
Our bed was made of blue plastic, same as the wardrobe, with molded linens and pillows. A piece of tissue, folded several times, lay on top of the bed to make it softer.
As we undressed for bed, Julie sighed and took my hand. "We're in deep [EXPLETIVE DELETED], aren't we?"
My first inclination was to lie to her, to tell her everything would be okay. But I knew she'd never believe me. She wasn't looking for comfort, just confirmation of what she already knew.
So, "Yeah. I think it's going to be pretty rough until the whole thing with Linda's husband blows over. Carolyn'll be mad for a day or two, but it'll blow over and things'll get back to normal."
As soon as I said the word "normal," Julie gave me an incredulous look. Then we both started laughing.
"We're pretty [EXPLETIVE DELETED] far from normal," Julie giggled.
"I haven't seen normal in so long," I said, "I'd throw stones at it."
"The light leaving normal won't reach us for thousands of years."
Our laughter must have annoyed Linda, because she let out a muffled protest and thumped against the inside of the wardrobe.
"Shut the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] up!" Julie shouted, throwing one of her sandals. It hit the wardrobe with a loud thump, and Linda fell silent.
"Bitch," Julie muttered. She mashed the button on the floor to turn off the light, and then she climbed into bed next to me. As always, she slipped into my arms and wrapped hers around me. There was nothing romantic in the way we held each other. It was for comfort, for security.
For several minutes, we lay there in the darkness, listening to the sounds of the dollhouse: Linda shifting in her plastic prison, Mr. Nichols' heavy footfalls in the attic above us, Eddie pacing beneath us in the kitchen.
"Hey," I said softly to Julie. "I've got an idea. Hear me out before you tell me I'm an idiot, okay?"
Julie chuckled. "I usually do, don't I? What's on your mind?"
"Tomorrow morning, when Carolyn comes in here, you can confess. Tell her that Eddie lied about Linda killing her husband. Tell her that you wanted to tell the truth, but you were afraid of getting Eddie in trouble. Just throw yourself on her mercy."
Julie raised her head and, even though it was dark, I could *feel* the glare she was giving me. "Her mercy? Seriously? That's your brilliant plan?"
"I never said it was brilliant."
"Carolyn hates me," Julie said. "There's no way she'd let me slide on something like this. And even if she would, I'd never hang you and Eddie out to dry like that."
"Eddie's going to busted, no matter what," I told her. "There's nothing we can do about that. And Carolyn won't be nearly as hard on me as she would on you. I mean, I'm her 'special little guy,' remember?"
"I'm not going to do it, Dave. We've stuck to our story for this long, we might as well ride it out to the end. And whatever Carolyn decides to do to us, we'll get through it together."
I sighed. "No changing your mind on this?"
"Nope." She kissed me gently on the cheek, then snuggled in close. Within five minutes, she was snoring gently.
***
I envied Julie her ability to just drop off to sleep like that. I was exhausted beyond reason, but I just couldn't convince my brain to rest. Every time I'd feel myself starting to doze, I'd suddenly snap awake with a refreshed sense of anxiety.
When sleep finally came, it was in fits and starts, and was punctuated by odd, unsettling dreams. I had one where I was back in school and I suddenly remembered signing up for a class that I hadn't been to all semester. My only hope for passing was to get to the SMU campus to take the final, but I couldn't because Carolyn had stepped on my car and crushed it flat.
I was still lying there, bleary and half-asleep, when I heard the approach of Carolyn's footsteps in the hallway. I shook Julie awake, and we slipped into our clothes. With the dollhouse sitting up on the dresser, at least there'd be no morning formation. Small favors, right?
I pulled open the door to the wardrobe and pulled Linda to her feet. Julie unlocked the cuffs and I pulled the knotted strip of t-shirt out of her mouth.
She spat a couple of times and rubbed her chaffed wrists. "My sister is going to kill you," she said to Julie. "She's going to take..."
"You ought to learn some new material," I told Linda. "This [EXPLETIVE DELETED]'s getting old."
"No doubt," Julie added.
She and I made our way to the open edge of the dollhouse just as the door to the guest room opened. Carolyn came in, dressed for gardening in her red gingham shirt, denim shorts, and those grubby white sandals she always wore out there.
She walked over to the dollhouse and stooped slightly, checking the rooms to make sure we were all present and accounted for. She was scowling, with no hint of her usual playful, predatory smile. It wasn't even nine o'clock yet, and she was already in a bad mood. It didn't bode well.
Carolyn reached into her breast pocket and plucked out Denny. She held his naked form between her finger and thumb, letting him dangle helplessly before finally putting him in the dollhouse, next to me and Julie. The poor guy was sticky and bruised, trembling as Carolyn's hand lingered over him. When she finally withdrew it, he let out a relieved sigh.
"Y'all can do without breakfast this morning," she said. "And I *was* thinking about letting you guys have a picnic outside today, but Denny boy here [EXPLETIVE DELETED] that up for everyone."
Denny cringed when he heard his name. He kept his eyes averted, unable to look up into her angry face.
"If y'all can behave yourselves for the rest of the day, maybe I'll let you have some supper. Got it?"
"Why are you punishing me?" Linda complained from behind us. "I didn't do anything!"
Carolyn leaned in close, her massive face filling the gap of the missing wall.
"If you hadn't tried to [EXPLETIVE DELETED] shrink me, you wouldn't be in this mess." Her breath was a warm, wet miasma of cigarettes and spearmint toothpaste. "You're lucky I didn't flush you down the toilet. Especially after what you did to your husband."
"I didn't do anything to my husband!" Linda screamed. "He'll be home this afternoon! Then you'll see!"
Carolyn smiled for the first time that morning, but it was cruel and humorless. "I almost believe you, Linda. You've never been that good of a liar."
Her eyes darted from Linda to me to Julie. "Whoever's been lying to me, I'm gonna know by the end of the day. And you can bet your sweet ass I'm gonna punish 'em hard. So if any of you has anything to confess, now would be the time."
Linda glared at us defiantly. Julie tried to keep her face impassive, but I could tell she was worried. So was I.
After a few seconds of silence, we heard Eddie calling up to his wife from the kitchen below us. "Um, Carolyn?" he said, in a totally casual voice. "We're out of beer."
The entire dollhouse shook violently as Carolyn slapped the side of it with her hand. "Eddie, shut the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] up!" she snarled. Her eyes went from room to room, and her scowl deepened. "I got one nerve left, and you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are already working it," she said. "Next one of you smarts off, I'm gonna stomp the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] out of you."
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, as if that might somehow restore her calm. When her eyes opened again, she was looking right at me.
"Dave, get your ass over here." She tapped the dollhouse floor with her fingernail. "Front and center."
Julie gave me a worried look. I took her hand and squeezed it. "Don't worry," I whispered. "I'll be fine."
"Now!" Carolyn barked. I walked past the trembling, huddled form of Denny and stepped into Carolyn's waiting palm.
***
Since the incident with the grasshopper, Carolyn had insisted on keeping me close in the garden. Usually this meant whiling away the morning tucked in her breast pocket. But sometimes she'd be in a playful mood and she'd set me on her foot. I'd cling to her sandal as she worked, ever mindful of the way her toes clenched and wiggled beneath me. Sure it was demeaning, but I really didn't mind all that much. It was nice to be outside and, sometimes, I'd even find myself enjoying Carolyn's company.
However, this wasn't one of those times. The whole business with Denny had really soured her mood, and she wavered back and forth between tormenting me and ignoring me. Of the two, I much preferred being ignored, so I tried really hard to avoid drawing attention to myself.
I spent the first hour or so in her pocket, being buffeted around as she crawled around in her garden. There had been some heavy rain a few days back, but it had done little to cool things off. The air was thick and muggy, and seemed to be clinging to me.
Carolyn was sweating heavily, and the fabric of her shirt had become drenched. Damp and miserable, I tried shifting my position to something more comfortable. But it seemed like every time I moved, Carolyn would mash her fingers against me angrily and tell me to quit squirming or she'd pinch my head off.
And finally, when I didn't think I could bear it any more, Carolyn slipped her fingers into her pocket and fished me out. I dangled helplessly between her finger and thumb, my hair and clothes soaked with sweat. I squinted in the bright sunlight as I looked into Carolyn's face for a trace of sympathy or good humor. But no such luck.
"You're a mess," she said with a hint of exasperation. "Is it hot in there?"
I nodded weakly.
Carolyn let out an annoyed sigh. "You have to tell me these things, Dave. I'm not a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] mind reader."
"I'm sorry."
"I swear," Carolyn muttered. "Do you even know why I'm mad at you, Dave?"
My mind raced to form a cohesive answer. "Um, because I didn't tell you about Denny's tunnel?"
"I've tried so hard to make things nice for everybody," she said. "But all y'all do is conspire and scheme to stab me in the back. I expect that kind of crap from those others, but I really thought you and I had something... special."
I shook my head contritely. "I'm really sorry, Carolyn." And the funny thing is, I actually did feel kind of bad for her. That was the power she had over me, and the only thing that kept me from losing myself completely to her was Julie.
"I trusted you," Carolyn went on. "I really thought I could count on you. But you're just as bad as everyone else."
"It's not like that Carolyn," I said gently, stroking her finger. "I just didn't want Denny to get in trouble."
"So you lied to me?"
"Well, I didn't exactly lie..." I began. Her eyes narrowed, so I tried a different tack. "I mean, yeah. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the tunnel, but I swear it wasn't anything personal. I was just trying to protect Denny."
She nodded. "And what about Eddie? Would you and Miss Julie lie to protect him?"
I felt a horrible knot in my stomach, and I was suddenly glad that I hadn't eaten breakfast. If I hadn't already been flushed with heat, Carolyn would have no doubt seen my cheeks go red.
"This is your one chance to stay out of trouble, Dave," Carolyn said. "All you have to do is tell me the truth. Because if I find out you've been lying to me about this, I'm going to punish you. For real."
God, I wanted to tell her so badly. My head was abuzz and my heart was pounding. Just one quick little confession, and this could all be over. I could be back in Carolyn's good graces again. I could go back to being her "special little guy."
But what if her offer of leniency didn't extend to Julie? There was no way I could ask without implicating her. And if she got punished while I got off scot free, I'd never be able to forgive myself.
"It's like I told you, Carolyn," I said as earnestly as I could. "Julie and I didn't see anything that happened to Linda's husband. We only know what Eddie told us."
"And you believe Eddie?"
I nodded. "We saw Linda kill his dog, and we saw her destroy her husband's car. The way she was acting, it seems totally plausible."
"I know she and Randy have had their problems," Carolyn said, looking past me towards the house. "Hell, I wouldn't have been half surprised to find out she'd shrunk him down and was keeping him as a pet. But I just can't believe she'd murder him like that."
It was a dangerous line I was walking. I wanted Carolyn to feel sympathy for Eddie, so when the truth came out, she'd be more likely to forgive him. And, by extension, me and Julie.
"I don't know," I said. "I don't think Eddie lied to us. But if it turns out he did, you should know it was your sister that drove him to it."
Her frown deepened and for a second, I was afraid I had pushed it too far. But then she relaxed and let out a weary breath.
"I don't know what I'm going to do with all you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED]," she said, shaking her head. "Y'all are gonna wear me out."
She started to stick me back in her pocket, but relented and instead set me atop her foot. Her toes were grimy with soil, and the smell of sweat and leather was overpowering. But I was just happy to be out of that damned pocket!
"Try to run off and I'll step on you," she said, flexing her toes beneath me. I wrapped my arms around her sandal strap and hung on.
I thought her mood had improved somewhat, but she was still a bit off, still a bit antagonistic. Ordinarily she'd tread lightly in her garden, especially when I was clinging to her foot. But she seemed to be stomping that morning. With each step, her foot would slam down into the earth, jarring me as I was pelted with bits of soil.
Then she gave her foot a shake, and I realized she was doing it on purpose. She was trying to make me fall off so she'd have an excuse to punish me. I clutched her sandal and held on for as long as I could, but she was relentless. I felt my arms slip loose as I fell from her foot into the warm, soft dirt.
"What did I tell you?" she said, looming over me, a silhouette in the sunlight. "Are you trying to piss me off?"
"I'm sorry," I told her, sitting up. "I lost my grip."
She slipped off her sandal and held her bare foot over me. The pale, wrinkled flesh of her sole was streaked with grime and dirt. Her toes wiggled playfully as she brought her foot down.
Warm, leathery flesh pressed against my entire body, burying me as I was pressed down into the yielding soil. I squirmed and struggled as the dirt was packed around and beneath me. I tried to call out, but I couldn't get enough air in my lungs.
Finally, she released me. I was lying deep in her footprint, partially buried in the soil. I sputtered and wheezed, shaking my head to dislodge the dirt from my nose and mouth.
"Poor little Davey," Carolyn giggled. "You think maybe you'd grow a little if we planted you?" With her bare toes, she began nudging the soil on top of me.
"Stop it!" I screamed. I was helpless, unable to move my arms or legs as she buried me alive. Her toes packed down the dirt around me, so that only my head and shoulders were left above the ground.
When she was done, she slipped her shoe back on and dropped to her hands and knees. Her face just inches from me, she watched my feeble struggles with some amusement.
"So tiny and weak," she said. "I can do anything I want to you little guys, and there's nothing you can do to stop me."
"Carolyn," I gasped. "Please."
"I'm pretty sure you and little Miss Julie have been lying to protect Eddie," she said. "And when I find out for sure, I'm going to make you watch while I torture her."
All my frustration, anger, fear... something snapped inside me and I began sobbing. It killed me to be crying in front of her, but I couldn't help it. And with my arms pinned beneath the dirt, I couldn't even wipe the tears from my cheeks.
Still, no sympathy from Carolyn. I blinked away the tears just in time to see a flash of metal. I screamed as the blade of her trowel thunked down into the dirt next to me. I felt the hard aluminum come up beneath me, lifting me along with the soil. As the dirt fell away from me, I brought my knees to my chest and curled up in a fetal position.
"Look at you," Carolyn said, making a tsk-tsk-tsk sound of disapproval. "You're absolutely filthy."
Her finger and thumb grasped me and lifted me from the blade of her garden tool. She rubbed me against the damp fabric of her shirt, then held me up to regard me.
"Well, nothing we can do about it now," she said. "You'll just have to stay that way until we have our bath." And with that, she tucked me back into her pocket.
***
The less said about bath time, the better. I spent most of it between her toes, either struggling as she held me underwater, or squirming as she ground me between them, bringing me to reluctant orgasm.
She had such power over me, and I hated her for it. But in spite of everything, I still longed for her approval. I wanted to be her "special little guy" again. And I hated her for that as well.
***
After our bath, Carolyn slipped into some clean shorts and a pink t-shirt with one of those Precious Moments angels on it. Naked and shivering, I huddled in her palm as we walked down the hallway. I'd assumed she was going to drop me off at the dollhouse so I could get dressed, but she walked on past the closed door to the guest room and carried me down the stairs.
"I'm gonna make a sandwich," Carolyn told me. "You be good, and maybe I'll let you have a bite." Defeated, I just nodded.
She set me on the counter and went to rummage through the refrigerator. She was still setting condiments down all around me when the phone rang. My throat felt tight, and my heart pounded so hard I thought it was going to pop out of my chest. I knew this was it.
So did Carolyn, although she played it coy. "Hmmm," she said in mock surprise. "I wonder who *that* could be." She crossed the kitchen to check the Caller ID. Then she gave me a sardonic smile.
"You," she said, "are so dead."
She hopped up on the counter and tapped the button on the speaker phone. "Hello, Randy."
The voice on the other end was agitated, with a heavy drawl you'd usually associate with banjos and moonshine.
"Carolyn! I just got home and I can't find Linda nowhere! No note or nothing!"
Carolyn looked at me and shook her head. Still naked, I was crouched behind a cold jar of mayonnaise, listening.
"Take it easy, Randy," she said. "She's probably gone to the grocery store or something. Was her car there?"
"No! Mine wasn't neither! My Z is gone!"
"Your Z?" Carolyn asked.
Randy huffed impatiently into the phone. "My 280-ZX! Damn thing wasn't running, so I don't know where it went. I tried to tell that detective, but he wasn't listening to a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] thing I said."
At this, Carolyn perked up. "What detective?"
"He left a card," Randy said. "Detective Leibowitz or Horowitz or some Jew name. It was on my door when I got home."
Carolyn glared at me. "And you called him?"
"Yeah! I figured he knew something about Linda or my car. But he didn't care about none of that. Said he was looking for some other guy that had gone missing. Linda's boss."
"And that's all the detective said?" Carolyn asked. "He didn't ask you about anything else?"
"Carolyn, what the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] is going on? Where the hell is my wife?"
"I don't know, Randy. I swear."
"She run off, didn't she?" Randy asked. "She done left me and run off with her boss or something."
"Randy, you need to calm down," Carolyn said. "I don't think this has anything to do with Eddie."
"You know where she is, don't you?" Randy was breathing hard, and each breath was an explosion in the speaker. "You're hiding something, Carolyn."
"Randy, I don't know what to tell you," Carolyn said. "I haven't talked to Linda for a couple of days now, so I don't..."
"You know what? [EXPLETIVE DELETED] you," Randy shouted. "If you're not gonna give me a straight answer, I'll call your folks."
Carolyn sighed and slapped her palm to her forehead. "Okay, Randy. You wanna talk, come on over here and we can talk. Just don't drag my parents into this."
"I can't come over," Randy said. "I ain't got no car. But I can give Lowell a call and see if..."
"No, that's okay," Carolyn said. She slipped down off the counter, her sandals slapping on the kitchen floor. "You just sit tight, okay? I'll come see you."
She tapped the button to hang up on him, then smashed her fist down on the counter. "Dammit!" she shouted. "Mother [EXPLETIVE DELETED] son of a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] bitch whore!" She came towards me, her hand out, and I braced myself to be grabbed roughly. Instead, she snatched up the jar of mayonnaise and threw it against the wall. The glass shattered, leaving globules of mayo all over the wall and floor.
Then, as I'd seen her do before, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, she was still angry, but calm. She reached down and wrapped her fingers around me.
"You little [EXPLETIVE DELETED]," she said, shaking her head. "You're gonna pay for this."
***
Carolyn didn't even bother to go upstairs. She just grabbed her keys and her purse off the kitchen table. Still holding me in her fist, she carried me out the door and to her car.
I spent the trip sitting in the cup holder, naked and huddled among the loose change. From where I sat, I could see her profile as she sped down the highway. Her jaw was clenched and her eyes were narrowed. I don't think I'd ever seen her that mad before.
"You think I was kidding in the garden?" she asked me. "I'm gonna take a pair of nail clippers to little Miss Julie, and I'm gonna make you watch."
"Carolyn, please! I swear, we didn't lie to you!"
"So, what? It was all Eddie?"
"He fooled us too, Carolyn!"
"Well, he'll answer for that," Carolyn said, slapping the steering wheel with her palm. "You can [EXPLETIVE DELETED] count on it."
I still felt bad about hanging poor Eddie out to dry like that, but I felt like he'd brought it on himself. The only reason Julie and I were in trouble now was because we'd tried to protect him.
But still, I didn't want to see him hurt.
"Please go easy on him, Carolyn," I begged her. "He's not in his right mind."
Carolyn gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. "I know how he feels."
***
Carolyn put me in her purse and told me to sit tight. "If I look in there and don't see you, I'm gonna take it out on your little girlfriend when I get home."
Crouched uncomfortably between her wallet and a small bottle of Aqua Net, I promised her I'd be good. She dropped her keys into the purse, and they struck her wallet just inches away from me with a loud jangle. Then she snapped the purse shut, leaving me in darkness.
I could hear her muffled voice as she spoke with Randy. "You didn't call my parents yet, did you?"
Randy's response was equally dampened, but his indignation was obvious. "Hell no! I said I wouldn't, didn't I?"
"Randy?" she said, in a tone of voice that implied she didn't quite believe him.
"Don't [EXPLETIVE DELETED] 'Randy' me! I didn't call your [EXPLETIVE DELETED] folks! Now tell me where my wife is, okay?"
Carolyn sighed. "I don't know, Randy."
There was a loud thump, as Randy hit the table. "[EXPLETIVE DELETED]!" he shouted. "You said you'd tell me!"
"No, I said we'd talk," Carolyn answered, somehow keeping her voice calm and rational. "That's what we're doing. Now why are you so sure Linda left you?"
"Well, hell. She's been threatening to do it since we got married, but I never thought she would. And she was real eager for me to go on this fishing trip, which shoulda made me suspicious. But you know? I just figured she'd bang somebody while I was out of town. Had no idea she was gonna get rid of my car. Or leave me."
"You think Linda was cheating on you?"
I heard the refrigerator door open and close. Then the pop of a can being opened.
"You wanna beer?" Randy asked. After a couple seconds of silence, he spoke again. "Kinda weird how she took off so soon after your Eddie left, isn't it?"
"This has nothing to do with Eddie," Carolyn said.
"The hell it don't." Randy drank with a noisy gulp. "You heard anything at all about Eddie or them other two what took off with him? That science girl or that college boy what was staying with you?"
"No, I haven't," Carolyn said, growing exasperated. "What's that got to do with Linda?"
"I just figured there was some connection," Randy said, "what with their history together and everything."
"History? What the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are you talking about?"
"Aw, hell, Carolyn. I figured you knew by now. I mean, it's old news, ain't it?"
I felt the purse shift as Carolyn took a step forward. "What?"
"You know. Linda and Eddie had an affair a few years back. Went on for a couple of months, 'til ol' Eddie got to feeling guilty and ended it."
"Eddie and my sister? Were [EXPLETIVE DELETED]?"
"Yeah. Linda said she did it to get me back for nailing that stripper at Lowell's bachelor party. So I figured we were even, you know? She might screw around on me, but I didn't think she was going to leave me. And what the hell did she do with my Z?"
"I don't know, Randy." Carolyn actually sounded a little flustered.
"So, I figure that's too big a coinkydink, you know? First Eddie, then Linda. There's got to be something going on."
I heard Carolyn take a deep breath to gather herself. "Listen, Randy. Eddie's disappearance is a matter of security, okay? GenetiTech is handling the investigation themselves. I can't tell you any more about it, but I promise you it has nothing to do with Linda."
"Oh yeah? You think them boys at GenetiTech know what your Eddie was up to with my wife? Maybe we should give them a call and tell them there's been... what, a new development? Yeah, a new development in their case."
Carolyn chuckled. "Okay, Randy. You got me. Linda came to see me last night. Said she was thinking about leaving you and needed a place to stay while she worked things out."
"Son of a bitch!" Randy thumped the table again. "I knew it! Is she [EXPLETIVE DELETED] her boss or what?"
"I don't know. But I think she's making a huge mistake. I told her so. Told her you guys should talk things out, see if you can work out your problems."
"Yeah, talk things out," Randy said eagerly. "If I can just talk to her for ten minutes, I know I can change her mind!"
"Well, she was pretty stubborn on that point," Carolyn said. "But like I said, I think she's making a mistake. And she'll probably kill me for this, but if you like, I can take you to see her."
"Yeah!" Randy said. "Hell, yeah!"
***
You can probably figure out what happened next. With aspirations of reconciling with his wife, Randy came home with Carolyn and eagerly followed her back into Eddie's lab. And she zapped him.
When she finally took me out of her purse, she set me down on the workbench next to Randy. He was lying unconscious, his NASCAR t-shirt covered with puke and his dirty jeans stained with urine. He was a scrawny guy in his early 30s, his pinched face adorned by a scraggly beard. His blonde hair was long and stringy in the back, but balding on top, giving the impression of a half-assed mullet.
The border circuit was laid out on the floor, and Carolyn was kneeling on it, cleaning up the mess that Randy had left behind with a tissue. The shrink ray... sorry, matter-proportioning matrix sat on a separate table beyond the edge of the workbench. For a crazy moment, I considered bolting across the bench and leaping the gap to the table. Then all I'd have to do is scramble along the keyboard and leap on the Enter key, and visit poetic justice upon Carolyn.
But I barely had time to think it before Carolyn was done. She tossed the tissue into the trash can, then scooped me and Randy into her hand. She was still angry, but said nothing as she carried us into the bathroom. She set me down, then stripped Randy's clothes off with practiced ease. She let the water run until it was warm, and then she rinsed him off under the faucet. A look of disgust marred her face as she rubbed his naked body clean with her thumbs. I glanced over and noticed that the unconscious Randy was sporting a seriously huge erection.
When Randy was clean, Carolyn carried the two of us upstairs and into the guest room. She snapped on the light with her other hand, and I could see the others rushing to the edge of the dollhouse.
Linda set me and Randy down in the bedroom, next to Linda. Linda looked down at her unconscious husband with wicked glee.
"Holy [EXPLETIVE DELETED], Carolyn!" she called up to her sister. "I can't believe you went and did that!"
Carolyn's eyes went from room to room. "Eddie? Where the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are you?" She reached down into the kitchen and snatched him up. Then she dumped him onto the plastic bedroom floor next to Linda.
"Keep him away from me!" Linda shouted, stepping away. "He's crazy!"
Carolyn smacked the dollhouse with the palm of her hand, knocking furniture askew and once again scattering our stacked belongings. "Shut the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] up! Next one of you that opens their mouth without permission is going down the garbage disposal. Got it?"
Eddie climbed to his feet and stepped away from the edge. Linda gave him wide berth.
"I can't believe I was such an idiot," Carolyn said, staring into the dollhouse with her arms crossed. "I knew Eddie was [EXPLETIVE DELETED] around on me. I made such a fool out of myself, accusing everyone under the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] sun. Even little Miss Julie here."
Her eyes were suddenly on Linda and Eddie. "But my own sister?" She slapped the dollhouse again and shouted, "MY OWN SISTER?"
"Carolyn," Linda began. Before she could say another word, Carolyn gave the dollhouse another thump.
"I said shut the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] up!" she screamed. "I have had it up to here with all the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are putting me through!"
Tears were running down her cheeks as she ranted angrily at us. "Why do you have to make everything so [EXPLETIVE DELETED] hard? What's wrong with you [EXPLETIVE DELETED] people?"
And then, as she had done so many times that day, she closed her eyes and took a deep, wavering breath.
And at that moment, Eddie lunged forward. He clipped Linda in the back with his elbow, knocking her over the edge of the dollhouse. She screamed all the way down, then hit the floor with a sickening snap. I ran to the edge and peered down. Linda lay in a crumpled heap on the hardwood floor, her neck twisted at an impossible angle.
For a second, there was no sound other than Eddie's maniacal laughter. But that was quickly drowned out by Carolyn's primal scream. Her hand shot into the dollhouse so fast that it knocked me backwards against the plastic bed.
Carolyn snatched Eddie out of the dollhouse and, still screaming, hurled him against the wall. It seemed to happen in slow motion. I could even see the look of crazed victory on Eddie's face as he smashed into the sheet rock. His broken body fell to the floor, leaving a blood stain next to the light switch.
Down below, I could hear Julie screaming and Mr. Nichols crying "Oh, Lord," over and over again. But I couldn't speak. I couldn't move. All I could do was watch Carolyn.
With wide eyes, she stared at the two bodies. She looked at the blood on the wall, then looked down at her hand. Her breaths became gasps, and suddenly she was crying. Not just sobbing, but wailing like something in the wild.
She stumbled out of the room, nearly tripping over the wooden barricade. Then she slammed the door shut, leaving us alone.
***
Giantess World
Summer Job by Cayce