Mile High Murder

by Marcia Talley

  ‘She tried to smother me, just like she did Daniel,’ I confessed. ‘But luckily, Colin showed up and was able to stop her.’

  ‘Judas Priest, Hannah! Why’d she do that?’

  ‘I guessed about the CTE and asked her about it. We actually had a pretty civilized discussion, but she must have realized she’d said too much. When she sobered up a bit, she decided to shut me up.’

  ‘Why didn’t you tell anyone?’

  It was a fair question – one I’d asked myself hundreds of times since our return from Denver. Why hadn’t I said anything to the police? I should be furious! Vengeful. Pitiless. Years ago, after a hard-fought battle, I’d beaten breast cancer. I’d won a second chance at life. How dare Cindy try to take it away from me?

  ‘What purpose would it serve?’ I asked my friend. ‘Daniel’s dead. I’m not.’

  ‘I don’t know how you can be so forgiving,’ Claire said.

  I managed a smile. ‘Cindy wrote me a letter apologizing for what she did and begging for forgiveness. It was quite poignant. Clearly her love for Mark and her concern for their future together overruled logical thought.’

  ‘That’s what they all say,’ Claire scoffed. ‘They’re just sorry they got caught.’

  I pulled into the right lane and slowed down. ‘I didn’t forgive Cindy for her sake, Claire, I did it for mine. She’s likely to spend a good, long time in prison for Daniel’s murder. How much time would a simple assault add to her sentence? Weeks? Days?’

  ‘Don’t be silly,’ Claire said. ‘It wasn’t a simple assault. You could have died!’

  ‘Besides,’ I added, cutting to the heart of the matter, at least for me, ‘Colin would have to testify.’

  ‘Ah, I see,’ Claire said.

  We drove in silence for a while. As we sped past the exit to BWI airport, I said, ‘You know that Chinese proverb that goes: whenever someone saves another’s life, he’s responsible for that life forever?’

  ‘That’s Wookies, Hannah, not the Chinese.’

  I laughed. I was no Wookie, but Colin was certainly my hero in a Han Solo sort of way. ‘Colin does keep checking in on me,’ I said. ‘He’s convinced there was some sort of cosmic reason compelling him to show up at the critical time. He probably needs to make sure I was worth the effort, that I don’t blow my chances for a happy, productive life.’

  ‘Arrgh!’ Claire cried out so suddenly that I swerved onto the shoulder, my tires vibrating noisily over the rumble strips.

  ‘Claire!’

  ‘Sorry,’ she said, as I eased the car safely back onto the road.

  ‘Jeesh!’ I said. ‘You scared me half to death. I thought I was about to hit a deer or something.’

  ‘Sorry,’ she said again. ‘I just realized how close I came to getting snuffed out. What if I’d woken up while Cindy was smothering Daniel?’ She shivered.

  ‘But you didn’t.’

  ‘I feel almost guilty about that.’ After a moment, she laid a gentle hand on my knee. ‘Are you all right, then, Hannah? No damage?’

  ‘According to my doctor, no. Nothing permanent, anyway.’ I grinned. ‘The truth is I still have headaches, but until medical marijuana goes live in Maryland, I’ll simply have to make do with aspirin.’

  POSTSCRIPT

  DR CARROLL: ‘Yes, that happened right here, to your neighbors. It is not too much to say that in your hands lies the possibility of averting other tragedies like it. We must work untiringly, so that our children are obliged to learn the truth. Because it is only through knowledge that we can safely protect them. Failing this, the next tragedy may be that of your daughter. Or your son. Or yours. Or yours. Or YOURS!’

  Reefer Madness, Sc. 34 – Int. – Classroom – Night