“The nurse is back to staring down the hall,” Marion warns. “I’m going to hang up if you don’t get out now.”

“Are you doing okay here?” Rose asks Chuck.

“Where is this?”

“She’s getting up,” Marion says. “Rose? Do you hear me? Get the hell out of there!”

“I’m in trouble, Chuck,” Rose says gently. “The nurse wants to catch me. Please, could you yell or cry or anything to keep the nurse from getting me?”

Chuck closes his eyes. “My good wife loved roses.”

“She’s out of my sight,” Marion says.

Rose jams the wig back on, then squeezes Chuck’s hand. “Good night, my friend.”

Karen is nearly to the room when she emerges into the hall. “Night,” Rose says cheerily, and hurries past.

The big nurse stops. “Alice, Mary, Mary Alice, we need to talk.”

CHAPTER 17

“We don’t need to talk,” Marion declares flatly. “Run.”

Rose agrees with her sister. Unfortunately, there is no place to run to.

Karen turns and walks back down the hall to where Rose is halted in her tracks. Big, the woman is big. Huge. Rose resists the urge to fall on her knees, crying, I did it, I did it. I poisoned your Pepsi, and robbed you, but I’m just a little old lady who didn’t mean any harm. Please don’t lock me up with the crazy people.

“Sure,” she says with a smile.

Karen plants meaty hands on sturdy hips, staring down at Rose. “First, I’d like to see—”

“Help!” comes a faint cry from Chuck’s room.

In a flash, Rose is forgotten as Karen runs to her patient’s room.

“Help!” Chuck calls again, louder this time.

Dashing into her old room, Rose promises herself that if she lives, and stays out of jail and the nuthouse, she will visit Chuck every week of his life. She jerks open the drawer of her bed stand. Latex gloves. She throws the box on the bed. Tissues. Another box tossed onto the bed. Sure enough, tucked behind them are six red capsules. The cleaning lady never gets this far.

Rose scoops the pills up and runs for the nurses’ desk.

“Help me!” Chuck is bellowing. Karen can be heard muttering soothing nothings. “Fire!” Chuck yells.

Rose fumbles the first capsule open and dumps the tiny white beads into the Pepsi.

“Stop that!” Marion says, horrified. “Are you crazy?”

Rose dumps in the second capsule.

“I can’t believe you are doing this again,” Marion cries. “This is criminal. You are a criminal. You will be sent to prison. Ask for San Quentin so I can visit.”

Hands shaking, Rose spills half of the third capsule, tiny beads scattering over the desk. The fourth goes in, and the fifth. Half of a red capsule falls to the carpet. No time to retrieve it; Rose kicks it under the desk.”

“Fire!” Chuck yells again.

Karen murmurs.

“Chocolate!” Chuck cries.