Premeditated

There was a knock at the door, Ruth stood from her rocking chair and answered it. She felt a pit in her stomach knowing it was her husband, Robby, though her facial expression remained dormant. She opened the door to see him holding a bouquet of wildflowers.

He flashed her a charming smile, “Hello, Doll, did you miss me?” Ruth stayed silent, “Well, are you gonna invite me in?”

Again, Ruth did not respond, she simply took a step back, giving Robby permission to enter. He stepped past her and into the home they once shared.

Robby was amazed by the newly remodeled and beautifully decorated first floor of the 1950s farmhouse, “I love what you’ve done with the place.”

Robby walked into the kitchen, leaving a trail of mud from his boots. He sat down at a small table and leaned back in his chair, resting his feet on the table. Ruth shut the door and approached him, giving him a very obvious scowl. Robby looked up to her and smiled before remembering the flowers he had brought her.

“Oh, these are for you.” Robby held them up to her.

Ruth hesitated for a moment before snatching the flowers from his hand, as she turned away from him she grabbed his ankle and pulled his feet down off of her freshly stained oak table. Robby’s feet hit the floor with a thunk as he was thrown forward in his chair. He looked up at Ruth, surprised by her shortness, and continued watching as she walked to the other side of the kitchen, shoving her bouquet down the sink and flipping on the garbage disposal.

After a moment Ruth flipped the switch, turning off the garbage disposal, “What do you want, Robby?”

“What, I can’t see my wife?”

Ruth turned to face him, “Technically we’re separated.”

“Damnit, Ruth.” Robby stood up from the table and walked over to her, “Can’t we get over this already?”

“That’s not how it works, Robby.”

Robby looked disappointed, he took a step back, “We’ll start slow, then. How ‘bout dinner?”

“I already ate.”

“Well, I’m starving, Doll. Care to fix me something?”

Ruth walked over to the fridge and pulled out a casserole dish covered with tin foil, she slammed the fridge closed and handed the dish to Robby.

He peeled away the tin foil, “What the hell is this?”

“Pear cobbler.”

“That’s not much of a dinner.”

“I made it with fresh pears from the tree out back.”

“There’s a pear tree out back?”

“I planted it the week you got sent away.”

“Well, can I have it heated up?”

“Of course.” Ruth said with a smile before rolling her eyes and walking past Robby.

“Hey, wait,” he called after her, “I can’t eat it cold.”

Ruth turned back towards him, “I’m sure three years in prison wasn’t long enough for you to forget how to use a microwave, Rob.” Ruth pushed open the screen door and walked into the backyard leaving Robby to fend for himself.

“Wow.” Robby muttered as he entered the backyard, holding a bowl of pear cobbler.

He looked around with amazement at the backyard. Last time he saw it it was nothing but a patch of dirt, but now there was a beautiful garden of flowers and vegetables that lined a privacy fence. The lush grass covered the yard, only broken up by the paved pathway leading to the pear tree in the corner. Robby looked to his right and saw Ruth sitting in one of the chairs that surrounded a freshly built fire pit.

Robby walked over to the fire pit and sat down next to Ruth, “You did a lot of work to this old place, huh?”

Ruth glanced over to Robby and smiled when she saw him take a bite of her cobbler, “Guess I needed something to keep me busy.”

Robby finished his cobbler and set the bowl down on the edge of the fire pit. He stood up and walked the perimeter of the yard, admiring Ruth’s garden. Ruth stood and followed him.

“What are these?” Robby pointed to a group of flowers with purple spots and streaks covering the stem. They had bright green, fern-like leaves and tiny, white flowers in umbrella-shaped clusters.

“Wild carrots.” Ruth replied.

Robby bent down and reached behind the flower, pulling out a dead mole. “I think it’s dead.”

“Must’ve been the insecticide I use.”

“Insecticide?” Robby asked while looking to his right at the tomato plant that has been damaged by fruit worms. Robby scoffed, “Might want to use a better brand.” He tossed the dead mole over the fence and continued walking.

Robby approached the pear tree, “Why pears? Do you even like pears?”

Ruth sighed, “Why are you here, Robby, really?”

Robby forced a smile, “I came back for you, Doll, because I missed you.”

Robby reached his hands out and grabbed Ruth’s waist, but she quickly pushed his hands away, “I’m going to bed.” She turned away from him, “You can spend the night on the couch, but you better be gone by the time I wake up.” Before he could protest Ruth re-entered the house and went upstairs to bed.

Ruth was fast asleep, but was awoken hours later by a loud noise. She put on her silk robe and made her way down the stairs. As she entered the living room she wasn’t at all surprised by the scene that was unfolding before her. Robby had spent the last few hours tearing apart the entire first floor. He started by first ripping out the floorboards in the living room before moving on to the kitchen. He cleared out every cupboard and began ripping them off the walls. Every piece of furniture she owned had been thrown about, broken or damaged.

Robby took a pocket knife and tore open each couch cushion while muttering, “Where is it?” over and over again.

Ruth smirked, “Looking for something?”

Robby looked up, a crazed look in his eyes. He was pale, sweat beads rolled down his face as he stomped toward her, “Where did you put it?”

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Robby aggressively grabbed Ruth by the arm, “Where is my money, Ruth?”

“Money...what money?”

“You know damn well what money!”

“You mean the money you allegedly stole from that bank?” Ruth tugged her arm out of Robby’s grasp, “Haven’t seen it.”

Robby held his stomach and leaned over in pain, “Stop playing with me, woman.”

Ruth walked over to her rocking chair that had been knocked over. She picked it up and sat down, “Everything seemed to line up just right for you, didn’t it? You were able to pin the whole thing on Mason, told the cops you had no idea he planned to rob the bank, he just asked for a ride. When the cops couldn’t find him or the money, the only thing they could pin on you was reckless driving and some other bullshit charges.”

“What the hell are you going on about?”

“I thought you came back to see your wife, not hunt down the money you lost.”

“I didn’t lose shit!” Robby darted towards Ruth, he grabbed a fist full of her hair and pulled her back. He moved his face so close to hers, his sweat began dripping onto her cheek, “You tell me where you put that money, Ruth, or so help me…”

Ruth smiled, she wasn’t afraid, in fact she felt overwhelmingly excited, “Maybe, while you were away, Mason came looking for it. Maybe a family of mice found it and spent it all on a lifetime of cheese. Or maybe I’m the one who found it, stashed away in a black duffle bag under the house, great hiding place by the way.”

Ruth began laughing, which irritated Robby. He let go of her hair and pulled back his fist, striking her across the face. Ruth looked back at Robby and continued to laugh as blood seeped from the fresh cut on her lip.

Robby put his pocket knife against Ruth’s throat, “Tell me what you did with my money, you wicked cunt!”

Ruth stopped laughing and sighed, “I burned it.”

Robby took a step back, “You what?”

A malicious smile grew on Ruth’s face, “Or maybe I spent it all, can't be sure. Counted it first, did you know you stole almost two hundred grand? The news said it was only twenty but I never believed them. But you know what I found in the duffle bag that was more interesting than all that money...tickets. Two tickets, to be exact. Two one way tickets for a bus to Mexico.” Robby couldn’t even come up with a response. It didn’t matter what excuse he could think of, Ruth found out the truth long ago, “I wanted to believe that you bought them for us…”

“I did.”

“Shut up, Rob!” Ruth sat up in her chair, “Mason came looking for that fucking money the day after you were arrested. I played dumb at first, so he told me all about you and that blonde bimbo with the fake tits. I guess he thought if I hated you enough he could convince me to give him the money and we could ride off into the sunset.” Ruth slumped back into her chair, “Still, I didn’t give it up. He had the same notion as you, tore the entire house apart looking for it. Unfortunately, he found it. Then he tried to kill me, something about keeping it for himself or not wanting me to call the cops.”

Robby grunted as he keeled over in pain, he landed on the floor and gripped his stomach tightly, “Jesus woman, what the hell did you put in that cobbler?”

“Nothing special; sugar, sliced pears, cinnamon...hemlock.”

“Hemlock?”

“It’s a flower that is almost indistinguishable from wild carrots, a person would never be able to tell how poisonous the plant was just by looking at it. A person...or mole, poor thing.”

Robby winced in pain, “You’re lying.”

Ruth stood from her chair, walking over to Robby and kneeling beside him, “I guess we’ll know in a few minutes, won’t we?” Ruth walked to a closet in the living room, she opened the door and pulled out a large blue tarp, “I was never angry about the lying, I didn’t even care much that you got yourself sent to prison. Sure did give me some peace and quiet.” Ruth opened up the tarp and spread it across the living room floor, “But the moment I learned of your plan to leave me, run away with all that money just to spend it on some other girl...I...well, I sort of snapped.”

Ruth grabbed hold of Robby’s ankles and pulled him onto the tarp. Robby groaned as every slight movement felt like a dagger in his abdomen. Ruth then moved on to his top half, pulling the rest of him onto the tarp by his wrists.

“You know, you should count yourself lucky.” Ruth let out a tired grunt as she dropped Robby onto the tarp, “I didn’t have nearly as much time to plan how to get rid of your cousin as I did you.”

Ruth sat down on the floor next to Robby, “Just a dash of poison versus a meat mallet to the face.” Robby slightly rolled to the side as he began vomiting a mixture of pear cobbler and blood. Ruth looked down on him with a slight sense of sympathy, “His death was much quicker, I’ll give you that.”

Robby laid on his back, he spoke quietly through labored breaths, “Be honest with me, Doll, what did you do with the money?”

Ruth smirked and began gently running her fingers through his hair, “Don’t worry, Doll, you’ll be with your precious money soon enough.”