for support. But her mother couldn’t even look at her.
“Only God can forgive you,” she said.
Mary Katherine could have dealt with her father hitting her for the rest of the day. But she couldn’t stand one second of her mother’s disappointment. Within moments, her father returned with a doctor that Mary Katherine didn’t recognize.
“Hello, Mary Katherine. I’m Dr. Green,” he said. “We are going to give you a mild sedative.”
He gave a look to the nurse, who began to clean her arm with a cotton ball and some antiseptic.
“It’s just to help you with the move,” Dr. Green continued.
“What move? Am I going home now?” she said.
“No. You’ll be staying here for a while.”
“Dad, what’s going on?”
Her father wouldn’t look at her.
“Mom?”
Her mother was silent. It only took Mary Katherine another moment to realize that they all thought she was insane. She started to struggle, but within seconds, some orderlies rushed in from the hallway.
“Please, Mom. Don’t let them do this.”
“We’re going to get you help, honey,” her mother said.
“Mom, it’s an immaculate conception. You taught me this my whole life.”
The orderlies grabbed her. She rocked her body backward to break their grip, but they were too strong.
“NO!” she screamed. “PLEASE!”
The doctor pulled out the syringe.
“I’M NOT LYING! I SWEAR ON MY SOUL! PLEASE! SOMETHING TERRIBLE IS HAPPENING!”
The doctor shoved the needle into Mary Katherine’s arm. Within seconds, she went limp with the sedative, and right before she fell into a deep sleep, she looked at her mother.
“Mom,” she said in a calm voice. “Please, don’t let them take me.”
She saw her mother turn away as the orderlies dragged her out of the room.
“You need help, Mary Katherine,” the doctor said. “It’s time.”
Chapter 86
Mrs. Henderson drove the sheriff’s car toward the elementary school. She kept the scanner on, listening for any sign of a manhunt. But there was none. In fact, the radio had been silent since she ran from the sheriff’s office, leaving him and the deputies bleeding to death. Earlier in the day, she was confused by the silence. Then, she was elated. She realized she had done her job. At least the first part of it.
There were no police left in Mill Grove.
When she arrived at Mill Grove Elementary School, Mrs. Henderson parked the sheriff’s car in her usual spot. She watched the sun disappear from the school playground. Such a big beautiful sun. Son. The son that Mr. Henderson never gave her. He said it was her fault, but when she went to the doctor, she learned her parts were fine. But would her husband get checked? Oh, no. He was too busy screwing around. God, she wanted to stab him again. She wanted to stab him again and again and have him never die. Just stab him again and again for eternity and have his blood run down the slide of the school playground. Right past the four-square court and the swing set.
Mrs. Henderson looked into the school. The hallways were empty. The doors locked. So, she reached back and broke the window to the library with her fist. The glass cut her fingers to ribbons, but she didn’t mind. As long as her hands were healthy enough to stab, that’s all that mattered. Mrs. Henderson pulled herself through the window and walked into the library.
She’d only been in jail for a little while, but the library was much smaller than she remembered it. The little desks and tables. The bookshelves placed a little lower so that smaller hands could find bigger words. The art projects from poor, drunk Ms. Lasko’s class. Little handprints dipped in paint and turned into little paintings of Thanksgiving turkeys. She saw that one of them was made by Christopher.
Such a shame what was about to happen to him.
Mrs. Henderson climbed on top of her old desk. She removed a white panel in the ceiling and pulled out an elegant leather suitcase. She had hidden the bag in the ceiling right after the blizzard. She didn’t know why at the time. It seemed strange, but a little voice told her that she might need it. A little voice told her that it was very romantic to hide a little weekend bag in the library just in case Mr. Henderson ever wanted to surprise her with a spontaneous trip.
For weeks, she had pictured her husband saying, “Darling, I want to whisk you away to a little bed-and-breakfast. I want to thank you for giving me the last fifty years of your