“Mama asked me if I wanted to go, but I told her we might be having company for supper. I wouldn’t mind going with them, though . . .”

“Then go. Call your mama back and tell her. And hurry up before they leave.”

“What if Yvonne and Milton come over here this evening? I’d hate for you to have to deal with them alone.”

“They don’t bite, so don’t worry about that.” I laughed.

While Joyce was on the telephone with her mama again, a thought jumped into my head that almost made me do a cartwheel. If Yvonne and Milton came over for supper this evening, I could lace their food with the poison. But within a split second, that thought jumped back out of my mind. I didn’t want them to get sick in my house while they was having supper with me. If they did, it might look suspicious that they got sick and I didn’t. And if they died on the spot, I’d really have a mess on my hands. I had to get them to take the poison some other way.

CHAPTER 32 - ODELL

CHAPTER 32

ODELL

JOYCE APOLOGIZED SO MUCH ABOUT LEAVING ME ON MY OWN FOR the night, I was scared she’d change her mind. “Baby, your folks is already on the way to pick you up. I’d rather you disappoint me than them. I’ll be fine by myself. You coming home tomorrow morning before you go to work?”

“Uh-uh. I’m going to take some work clothes with me, and I’ll have Daddy drop me off at the school when we get back to Branson. If you don’t want to be bothered with Yvonne and Milton over here this evening, don’t answer the door if they come. If you decide to go over there, that’s fine. I think you should. After all you went through with your daddy this weekend, you deserve to have some fun.”