Shit!
She saw the expression on his face. “Is anything wrong?”
“No, baby. I told you, I just like our private times to be private.” I’ll have to be careful, he thought. Very careful. “Let’s hurry.”
His impatience warmed Kat.
Inside the apartment, Mallory said, “Let’s go into the bedroom.”
Kat grinned. “That sounds like a great idea.”
Mallory watched Kat undress, and he thought, She still has a great figure. A baby would ruin it.
“Aren’t you going to get undressed, Ken?”
“Of course.” He remembered the time she had gotten him to undress and then walked out on him. Well, now she was going to pay for that.
He took his clothes off slowly. Can I perform? he wondered. He was almost trembling with nervousness. What I’m going to do is her fault. Not mine. I gave her a chance to back out and she was too stupid to take it.
He slipped into bed beside her and felt her warm body against his. They began to stroke each other, and he felt himself getting aroused. He entered her and she began to moan.
“Oh, darling…it feels so wonderful…” She began to move faster and faster. “Yes…yes…oh, my God!…don’t stop…” And her body began to jerk spasmodically, and she shuddered and then lay still in his arms.
She turned to him anxiously. “Did you…?”
“Of course,” Mallory lied. He was much too tense. “How about a drink?”
“No. I shouldn’t. The baby…”
“But this is a celebration, honey. One little drink isn’t going to hurt.”
Kat hesitated. “All right. A small one.” Kat started to get up.
Mallory stopped her. “No, no. You stay in bed, Mama. You have to get used to being pampered.”
Kat watched Mallory as he walked into the living room and she thought, I’m the luckiest woman in the world!
Mallory walked over to the little bar and poured scotch into two glasses. He glanced toward the bedroom to make sure he could not be seen, then went over to the couch, where he had placed his jacket. He took a small bottle from his pocket and poured the contents into Kat’s drink. He returned to the bar and stirred Kat’s drink and smelled it. There was no odor. He took the two glasses back to the bedroom, and handed Kat her drink.
“Let’s drink a toast to our baby,” Kat said.
“Right. To our baby.”
Ken watched as Kat took a swallow of her drink.
“We’ll find a nice apartment somewhere,” Kat said dreamily. “I’ll fix up a nursery. We’re going to spoil our child rotten, aren’t we?” She took another sip.
Mallory nodded. “Absolutely.” He was watching her closely. “How do you feel?”
“Wonderful. I’ve been so worried about us, darling, but I’m not, not anymore.”
“That’s good,” Mallory said. “You have nothing to worry about.”
Kat’s eyes were getting heavy. “No,” she said. “There’s nothing to worry about.” Her words were beginning to slur. “Ken, I feel funny.” She was beginning to sway.
“You should never have gotten pregnant.”
She was staring up at him stupidly. “What?”
“You spoiled everything, Kat.”
“Spoiled…?” She was having trouble concentrating.
“You got in my way.”
“Wha’?”
“No one gets in my way.”
“Ken, I feel dizzy.”
He stood there, watching her.
“Ken…help me, Ken…” Her head fell back onto the pillow.
Mallory looked at his watch again. There was plenty of time.
Chapter Thirty-four
It was Honey who arrived at the apartment first and stumbled across Kat’s mutilated body, lying in a pool of blood on the floor of the bathroom, obscenely sprawled against the cold white tiles. A bloodstained curette lay beside her. She had hemorrhaged from her womb.
Honey stood there in shock. “Oh, my God!” Her voice was a strangled whisper. She knelt beside the body and placed a trembling finger against the carotid artery. There was no pulse. Honey hurried back into the living room, picked up the telephone, and dialed 911.
A male voice said, “Nine-one-one Emergency.”
Honey stood there paralyzed, unable to speak.
“Nine-one-one Emergency…Hello…?”
“H…help! I…There’s…” She was choking over her words. “Sh…she’s dead.”
“Who is dead, miss?”
“Kat.”
“Your cat is dead?”
“No!” Honey screamed. “Kat’s dead. Get someone over here right away.”