| Failure to Acknowledge Excerpt |
A small nagging fear tugged at his stomach. She was so pale and looked almost like
Joey in the last day of his life. He had a flashback of the kid who was nothing but skin
stretched tightly over bones. He could see Joey lying motionless in his crib with the
feeding tube in his stomach. Jessie had told Doris that it was inhumane to keep
feeding the boy when he couldn’t taste the food nor get any pleasure from it. She had
glared at him and snapped that it helped keep Joey alive.
Now a small smile flickered across Jessie’s face showing his crooked, nicotine
stained teeth. It was that tube that had aided him with ending the boy’s misery and no
one was any the wiser. Every day for over a week he had added washing powder to
the formula Doris mixed up to put down the tube. Near the end the mixture was more
washing powder than anything else. Fearing that Doris would be able to smell the
difference he had volunteered to take over the feeding, explaining since she was so
tired he could at least help out by doing that. And too, if this was murder, which he was
convinced no one could ever see it as that, he did not want Doris to take any of the
blame. He grinned again. Ole Doris had been so grateful, talking about how sweet
and thoughtful he was and how she knew all along he really loved Joey.
Maybe what he felt for Joey was love. He knew it tore him up inside to listen to the
racking wheeze as the kid struggled to breathe. He had felt like crying as he watched
the tiny chest shudder with each breath. Helping to bring Joey’s death a few days early
and putting an end to his suffering was the only thing Jessie felt he could do. Yeah,
maybe he had loved Joey. But it was nowhere near the love he had for Doris. He
would do anything in his power to make her happy. He missed the sweet smile she
flashed so readily before Joey. If she didn’t like this kid he would get rid of her and
steal another one. Maybe he should just kill this one for Boss Man and steal Doris a
boy. He glanced down at the tiny girl snuggled against his side. She was sleeping
soundly again.
It would be so easy to just toss her out the window of the moving truck. She would
bounce on the blacktop and her head would explode like a watermelon. He held the
steering wheel with his left hand and scooped the sleeping baby in the bend of his right
arm. So easy. He thought as the wind ruffled his hair.
Joey in the last day of his life. He had a flashback of the kid who was nothing but skin
stretched tightly over bones. He could see Joey lying motionless in his crib with the
feeding tube in his stomach. Jessie had told Doris that it was inhumane to keep
feeding the boy when he couldn’t taste the food nor get any pleasure from it. She had
glared at him and snapped that it helped keep Joey alive.
Now a small smile flickered across Jessie’s face showing his crooked, nicotine
stained teeth. It was that tube that had aided him with ending the boy’s misery and no
one was any the wiser. Every day for over a week he had added washing powder to
the formula Doris mixed up to put down the tube. Near the end the mixture was more
washing powder than anything else. Fearing that Doris would be able to smell the
difference he had volunteered to take over the feeding, explaining since she was so
tired he could at least help out by doing that. And too, if this was murder, which he was
convinced no one could ever see it as that, he did not want Doris to take any of the
blame. He grinned again. Ole Doris had been so grateful, talking about how sweet
and thoughtful he was and how she knew all along he really loved Joey.
Maybe what he felt for Joey was love. He knew it tore him up inside to listen to the
racking wheeze as the kid struggled to breathe. He had felt like crying as he watched
the tiny chest shudder with each breath. Helping to bring Joey’s death a few days early
and putting an end to his suffering was the only thing Jessie felt he could do. Yeah,
maybe he had loved Joey. But it was nowhere near the love he had for Doris. He
would do anything in his power to make her happy. He missed the sweet smile she
flashed so readily before Joey. If she didn’t like this kid he would get rid of her and
steal another one. Maybe he should just kill this one for Boss Man and steal Doris a
boy. He glanced down at the tiny girl snuggled against his side. She was sleeping
soundly again.
It would be so easy to just toss her out the window of the moving truck. She would
bounce on the blacktop and her head would explode like a watermelon. He held the
steering wheel with his left hand and scooped the sleeping baby in the bend of his right
arm. So easy. He thought as the wind ruffled his hair.
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