Page 89 of Too Old for This

I rush in and find her pointing at the floor. Her mouth is wide open, lips trying to move, but nothing comes out. As if she can’t form words.

On the floor, a small plastic container.

Norma’s finger is inside of it.

CHAPTER 48

I had a plan for that finger.

It was supposed to be chopped up and put in the garage with the rest of Norma, but yesterday when I got home from the Harmony, I was in a hurry. The ice in the container had melted, leaving behind a small pool of water. I wasn’t sure if I would need her finger again, so it went straight from my bag into the freezer. The one in the kitchen.

Now Norma’s finger is stuck in the container, encased in ice. After being thawed and refrozen, it looks shriveled and grotesque. Her opalescent nail polish sticks out against the wrinkled skin.

“That’s not real!” I bend down and snatch up the container.

Morgan stares at me, her mouth still open in shock. Her hand moves, gesturing toward the finger, but no words come out.

I grab the lid off the floor and shove it on top, hiding the finger from her view. “It’s a prop. For a play.”

“But I could’ve sworn it was real.”

“No, no! Why would I have a finger in my freezer? That’s ridiculous.” And now I don’t know what to do with the finger except put it back in the freezer. “It’s a thing for a play, a prop.”

Morgan places a hand over her heart, as if trying to slow it down. I know that feeling. “A play? You’re in a play?”

“No, not me. God, no. I’m just helping out with the props and costumes, things like that.”

She nods, looking from me to the freezer. It’s still open.

“Well, you’re doing a great job. It fooled me.”

I pull her desserts out and slide them onto plates. “Come, let’s go back into the dining room.”

In my head, I am screaming at myself.

I know better. Iknewbetter. After what happened with my phone and Kelsie, it was obvious I shouldn’t be doing this anymore. Ever since, I’ve been trying to move past this and get back to my retirement, so my body and mind can decay in peace.

Then Norma showed up and drugged me.

If you look at this situation objectively, that’s when things started to go haywire. If Norma had been able to contain herself, I wouldn’t be arguing with Morgan about a finger.

She follows me back into the dining room and sits down, turning her nose up at the cookie sandwich in front of her.

“I really thought it was real,” she says.

“If it were real, I’d never be able to eat this incredible dessert. I can’t stand the sight of blood. Real blood, I mean. That blood is just corn syrup and food coloring.”

“But why is it frozen?”

“To keep it from getting mushy. It has to look real. We’ll have to freeze it every night as well, because the play runs for a week.” The words are just coming out of me now, building a story around a play that doesn’t exist.

“Archie never mentioned you were involved in the theater.”

“It’s a church play.”

Her eyebrows shoot up. “What kind of church play needs a severed finger?”

My knowledge of the Bible comes in handy. There’s a reference for everything. “It’s about Adoni Bezek. From the book of Judges?”