everything on her altar. She removed the linen tablecloth, carried it to the washer, and turned the machine on. Later, when the cloth was in the dryer, she would wash her linen gown. She returned to the dining room and replaced the silk flower arrangement that was the centerpiece. Next, she opened all the shutters. The room was instantly flooded with early morning sunshine.
It was after eight when Elaine entered the kitchen to make coffee. While she waited for it to drip into the pot, she smoked two cigarettes. She wasn’t a smoker by any stretch of the imagination, but she’d found that smoking after an intense ritual calmed her to the point where she thought she was almost having an out-of-body experience. She loved the feeling.
Two cups of coffee later, Elaine made her way upstairs to get ready for the day.
Showered, powdered, and perfumed, Elaine took exceptional pains with her makeup, hair, and her outfit. She decided that her makeup was flawless, and she looked dewy and healthy. Her luxurious, honey-colored hair was swirled with stray tendrils curling by her ears. She reached for a can of sparkle and sprayed her hair. Just one quick press of the pressurized button and her hair glistened. The outfit she had chosen was a designer suit that was so severe, one knew it had cost a fortune. And it had. It was the color of oyster shells. The blouse that she chose to go under the suit had a demure string bow at the throat. It was the color of a morning dove. She looked at herself from every angle in the mirror. She was satisfied that there was nothing more to do. In her mind, she looked perfect. Simply because she was perfect . And how could one improve on perfection? One could not, that was her bottom line.
Elaine slipped her feet into sling-back spike heels that showed off her legs and gave her a regal look. She was a head turner, and she knew it full well. A smile played around the corners of her mouth as she made her way downstairs. It was a shame that she had to drive that shitty little yellow Volkswagen. She belonged in a Mercedes convertible. Soon, she’d be driving one, she was certain of it.
Elaine had a bad moment when she reached the door. She was about to set the alarm when a thought occurred to her. She quickly rummaged in one of the kitchen drawers for a roll of duct tape. She picked up a pair of shears and a ballpoint pen. Outside, she set the alarm and closed the door behind her. She made a mark on the doorframe and cut off a strip of duct tape and stretched it across the door. She smoothed out the tape so there were no creases or wrinkles. If anyone broke into her house, she’d know it when she returned because the mark she’d made on the doorframe would come off on the sticky side of the duct tape. Plus, no matter how hard you tried to reuse duct tape, you could tell once it had been pulled free of whatever it was sticking to. Gus had told her that, but she couldn’t remember why. On a whim, she scribbled a note on the duct tape: the police are watching this house. She ran around to the front door and did the same thing. There wasn’t anything else she could do, so she left the house and drove to the hospital where Isaac Diamond was a patient.
Elaine had called precisely at six o’clock last evening when the new shift came on duty, to ask if Isaac could have visitors and was told he could and that no real visiting hours were in effect. The news fit in perfectly with the rituals she had performed all night long. As far as she was concerned, Isaac Diamond was toast. He just didn’t know it yet.
Gus stopped the car with a wide sweep in front of Barney’s garage. Barney hopped out and opened the garage door. “I’m going inside to fetch some more knock-around clothes, and I’ll meet you at Shady Pines in thirty minutes. Listen, pal. You sure it’s okay for me to bunk in with you? You sure you don’t mind?”
“If I did, you’d know it. Get your stuff and make it snappy. I told Granny we’d be ready by eleven for our sit-down orientation. The seniors get antsy when things don’t go off on