Chapter 90

“It was…It was in for a penny. I don’t know.” She waved the gun nonchalantly. “It’s weird, the deeper you get into this stuff, the easier…”

“Karen…what are you saying?” Keith fell into a chair.

“The first murder is hard, the second, not so much. There’s actually a saying to that effect,” I shared.

“I couldn’t let Ralph take me away from our children and grandchildren. I don’t want to be like Poppy. Everyone calls him that, and he gives us all that stupid middle name, like we mean so much. It’s poppy this and poppy that, the color red, and the stupid flowers. He’s obsessed with them.”

I recalled the casket photo. “Even in death.”

“Just like that, we’re out of his life. It’s all about family for me. All of it. Our dream to travel together, Keith. It was finally coming true. It was happening. I was close. We were close.”