He was right and she needed to calm down, think clearly. She knew what she needed to do to control this situation. There was only one option. “Howie, we shouldn’t be arguing over such things. We’re in this together. If you want Val to live, we can do that. We just have to figure out a way to make it work for both of us.” She patted the kitchen chair and motioned for him to sit. “Let’s talk about this.”

He did as he was told and sat down at the table. When his back was turned, Molly grabbed the rag from the counter and reached around Howie’s head and put it across his face. It only took seconds before the chloroform took effect and he slumped at the table. Then he slid to the floor.

“This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.”

Molly picked up the knife and stabbed him in the stomach. She pulled the knife out and stabbed him again.

“You see, Howie, you became one of my loose ends when you decided to screw with me. This has to be done.”

She held the knife up, ready to plunge again, when a loud thud came from upstairs causing her to divert her attention away from Howie. She took the bloody knife and walked towards the stairs. “My, my, sleeping beauty’s awake.”

Val, still wobbly and dizzy from being drugged, knew she was trapped. There was nowhere to run. The only way out was down the stairs and at that moment, Molly was coming up them.

As fast as she could, Val staggered to the bedroom window. Her hands grabbed the sash, pulling upwards, opening it as far as it would go, hoping to make it look like she escaped out the window.

She heard Molly approaching the top of the stairs. With no time to lose, Val ran to the closet and hid, keeping the door ajar so she could see what was going on. Shaking, breathing hard, she sat curled on the floor of the closet feeling around for any type of weapon she could find. Her hand searched frantically. It froze as soon as she saw Molly enter the room.

Molly walked straight to the window and looked out. It took a second before she slammed the sash down and turned her attention to the room.

“Please, do you think I’m stupid? Jesus Christ. Are you under the bed or in the closet?”

It was a matter of time before she would be found. In the closet, she was a sitting duck. As Molly bent down to look under the bed, Val stumbled out, hoping to get to the door and down the stairs. She made it about five feet into the bedroom before she lost her balance and fell to the floor. The effect of the pancuronium still overpowered her. After a few more stumbles, she managed to get up.