Vivian fumed most of the night. She eventually cried herself to sleep as the sun rose.
“I will get a good lawyer and sue the living crap out of her,” Vivian said as she went to the kitchen later that morning. “I will have her arrested and charged with murder.” She sipped milk and nibbled on crumb cake.
On second thought, I doubt if I can contest anything, Twenty-four years ago, Rob is killed—nay, murdered. Two years after that, the monster kicks us out. Shortly thereafter, she disappears and is supposedly killed in a plane crash. Fifteen years later, I come back and now this. By all rights, it’s still her place. Not a pretty picture, is it? By the way, she has way too much money and too much power. She would have me and Christine squished like ants in no time and we would be laughed out of court. Therefore, I figure, let her knock herself out.
“She’ll get what’s coming to her,” Vivian said.
“I thought I heard someone mumbling,” Christine said as she sauntered into the kitchen. She went to the fridge and opened the freezer. “Other than mumbling to yourself, let’s see what else you do best. How about refraining from hauling her ass to court, I wonder?” She withdrew a half-gallon of vanilla-flavored frozen yogurt and laid it on the counter. She opened the fridge and took out a quart of soy milk, some fresh strawberries and blueberries and set them on the counter. “Declining to use those diaries as evidence against her, maybe?”
“It may not be admissible in court,” Vivian said. “Besides, it wouldn’t be a good idea. Going through her most personal stuff is considered an invasion of privacy, a violation of her civil rights in the eyes of the law. We could be in trouble for that. Also, since the old crone is too clever, she may tell the police that they’re merely notes for writing a book. With her affluence, she could bribe a judge. She could make it look any way she wanted it to and still get away with it. Even murder.”
“You give up too easily, Viv. Not a good sign.”
Christine pulled out a blender from one of the cabinets and plugged it in. She put the ingredients in the blender while Vivian spoke.
“I’m being practical,” Vivian said. “I have no other choice. There’s nothing else we can do. Let the law of reciprocity take care of everything, especially where she’s concerned. I’m just worried she may come after us and have our asses hauled in court for going through her personal stuff.”
Actually, I should be more concerned with the gun, Vivian thought, and with what Christine would do to Rose, should she elect to do something.
“Still, not good enough,” Christine said. She pushed the ON button. The blender whirred for several seconds. Christine poured the fruit smoothie into a glass and took a few sips.
“Well, you know what they say,” Vivian said, “the Lord works in mysterious ways. What goes around, comes around. Karma will kick her in the ass.”
Not if I get to her first, Christine thought. She drank the rest of her smoothie.