He straightened up. He wondered if it was time to call emergency or if he should wait a little longer. It was a hard decision, because he didn’t want her waking up when she was given oxygen in the emergency room. If that happened she might be able to tell the doctors and nurses the progression of her symptoms. At the same time, Yuri felt it would be best if she was still alive when she got to the hospital. He reasoned there would be fewer questions about why she hadn’t been brought in sooner.

Yuri turned on the bedside light before pulling open her right eye. Her pupil was widely dilated and fixed. As far as he was concerned, that meant it was time to call emergency.

Returning to the kitchen, Yuri used the wall phone. He tried to sound as distraught as possible, claiming he’d found his wife passed out and hardly breathing. He described her color as dusky and said that she’d been wheezing earlier in the evening. He gave the address and was told an ambulance would be there as soon as possible.

Returning to the bedroom, Yuri looked down at his wife. It was then he started to worry about the swollen left eye. He didn’t want anyone to suspect domestic abuse, since it might lead to suspicions of foul play. He reasoned that he could say that she’d fallen, but he was worried it would be unconvincing, since she was lying in bed. Glancing through the open bathroom door gave him an idea.

Going around to the opposite side of the bed, Yuri tried to get Connie into a sitting position. Unfortunately her sheer bulk and weight made it extremely difficult, especially since her body was completely limp. Instead he rolled her slightly onto her left side facing away from him and got his arms under her armpits. Putting one foot on the edge of the mattress, he succeeded in slowly dragging her toward him. But then disaster struck.

Just when Yuri had managed to get Connie’s torso clear of the bed, the throw rug he was standing on slid out from under him. Yuri fell onto his back and Connie rolled over on top of him, knocking the wind out of him so that he was unable to breathe.

For almost a minute, Yuri struggled for air. Under Connie’s weight, he couldn’t inhale. The room began to blur; he was afraid he might pass out.

In a final, desperate movement, Yuri was able to twist to the side enough to let him get at least enough air to keep from asphyxiating. Then it became a matter of disengaging himself from Connie’s flaccid, spread-eagle embrace.