The Killing Vision - By Will Overby Page 0,66

but Marla caught her just inside the bedroom door and gave her a punch to the head that sent her sprawling into a bedside table. Abby started pleading with her then. Crying and begging her to stop. But Marla could not control herself. Her anger took over. Beside her was an ironing board. The iron sat atop it. Marla grabbed for it and it went flying, striking Abby in the temple. The girl balled up in pain, then got to her hands and knees to crawl away.

But Marla was too strong for her. Instantly she caught Abby’s ankle and shoved her knee into the small of Abby’s back, then threw her full weight on it. The girl cried out, but Marla already had the iron’s cord wrapped around her throat and was pulling tight. Abby was gasping for breath, and her hands flailed behind her head, clawing frantically at the air. Marla pulled tighter. Sweat was pouring down her face from the effort. She couldn’t see Abby’s face, but she kept her eyes on one of the girl’s ears that stuck out through the mass of curly hair. The ear turned bright red, then violet. Gradually, Abby’s struggles became weaker and Marla felt her go limp. She continued to pull on the cord long after she thought the girl was dead. She wanted to be sure.

Finally, she fell back off the body and slumped against the bed, exhausted. She wiped the sweat from her face with the tail of her shirt and untangled her legs from Abby’s. She watched the girl’s back for several minutes before she was convinced she was dead. Then she collapsed on the floor. Her back and shoulders ached, and she rested for a moment to catch her breath and think. And while she lay there, the plan formed in her mind. It was perfect. As long as she didn’t get caught.

She pulled the sheet off the unmade bed and clumsily wrapped it around the body. Abby was solid, and the dead weight was nearly impossible to maneuver, especially in the confined area between the dresser and the bed. When the sheet was tucked around the body, Marla looked around the room and spotted Abby’s purse on a hook behind the door. She pawed through it until she found a brown leather wallet, and she pulled Abby’s license from the holder and stuffed it into her own pocket.

In the darkened living room, she peeked through the curtains to the street below. Night had fallen and the streetlights didn’t reach where she had parked the truck at the back of the apartment lot. She watched the street for a moment. No cars passed, and there were no people to be seen. This was her chance.

In the bedroom, she grabbed Abby’s body by the ankles and dragged it down the hall toward the door to the apartment. She stuck her head out one more time to make sure the street was clear, then pulled the body out onto the small porch and down the wooden steps. Abby’s head knocked against each step on the way down, and for a moment, giddy with nerves, Marla thought she would get the giggles. She took a deep breath and continued down to the gravel lot. At the truck, she lowered the tailgate and hoisted Abby’s legs into the bed. Then she grabbed the body under the arms and shoved with all her strength. For a moment she thought her legs would buckle, but she managed to find an extra burst of energy and lift the rest of the body. The sheet had come loose and Abby’s hair splayed out across the bed of the truck. Marla climbed up and wrapped the body tighter, then covered it with some of the junk in the pickup’s bed. She took a seat on the wheel well and looked at her work. It would be good enough to get out of town, anyway.

She closed the tailgate as quietly as she could, then climbed into the cab. Her hands had begun to shake, but that was from exhaustion. Her mind was calm and clear. She could do this.

She started the truck and backed out of the drive before she turned on the lights, then she headed down the street toward the intersection that would lead her out of the city limits. She watched the body in the rear-view mirror. The junk kept the sheet in place, but she would not breathe easy until she was completely