Comments Warned Me Not to Go Home, Explosion Awaited

I was at the farmers' market picking out crab when a voice message came in from my husband, Russ, who was supposed to be at work.

Babe, hurry home. I left in such a rush this morning I don't think I shut off the gas!

Little Bo's still asleep at home. I'm scared something's going to happen. Please run back and check!

My chest went tight. I dropped the bag and was about to bolt when a line of warning cues flashed before my eyes.

Don't go back! Russ did this on purpose!

He never went to work this morning. He smothered Little Bo with his own hands, then turned on the gas.

Now he's waiting for you to open that door and take the fall, so he can sue for divorce on grounds that you killed your son through negligence and throw you out with nothing.

The words drained the blood out of me. The foot I'd already stepped forward froze and pulled back on its own.

I stood locked in place, the phone still showing Russ's messages urging me on.

I shut my eyes and pulled in a deep breath.

Run, girl. His mistress is already five months pregnant. They're just waiting to profit off your son's death.

My throat closed. Slowly, I set the car keys back down.

...

I'd barely cleared the market by two steps when a savage pain tore across my scalp.

"What are you running for! In a hurry to get yourself killed?!"

I stumbled, turned, and met my mother-in-law's face, twisted with rage.

"Half an hour just to buy groceries! Are you trying to starve me to death on purpose?"

My scalp throbbed, numb with pain, her cursing filling my ears.

I had no time for her.

I had to get back and see for myself that Little Bo was safe.

"Ma, let go! The gas at home isn't shut off, and Little Bo's still inside!"

I clawed at her fingers, and instead of letting go, she slapped the back of my hand.

"Don't hide behind the kid! You just don't want to go home and cook!"

"Gas isn't off? Did you leave the house without a brain in your head?"

Panic burned my eyes red, and I wrenched my arm free hard.

Her foot slipped, and she went straight down onto the ground with it, wailing at the top of her lungs.

"She's hitting me! My daughter-in-law is beating her mother-in-law!"

"I don't want to live anymore! All I did was say a few words to her, and she wants to kill me, an old woman!"

That one shriek, and a crowd closed into a ring around me, boxing me in tight.

Someone even pulled out a phone and started filming me.

I looked at the road, packed solid with people, and the tears just came.

"Move! Please, move! I have to get home and save my son!"

I tried to push past the woman holding up her phone in front of me, and she shoved me right back.

"Oh, would you look at this? A young person, and you're getting physical too?"

"Right? Beat your mother-in-law like that and you still think you're going to run off?"

Hearing that, my mother-in-law wailed even louder.

"You people don't know, she abuses my grandson at home all the time!"

The accusations came flooding at me all at once.

"Looks so meek, but her heart's black as coal."

"Somebody call the police and grab her, don't let her get away."

Right then the phone in my pocket buzzed like mad. Russ.

Hands shaking, I hit answer and put it on speaker.

Russ's voice came through the speaker, frantic and thick with tears.

"Babe, where are you? Please, hurry!"

"I just called the building office. They said the stairwell reeks of gas!"

"Little Bo's in there all alone. I'm begging you, run back and open the door!"

The looks around me turned to pure contempt.

"You hear that? Look how frantic her husband is, and she's here beating his mother."

I gripped the phone hard, staring at Russ's name on the screen.

The warning cues drifted past my eyes again.

Your mother-in-law is stalling you here on purpose.

Russ has timed the gas leak. Once the concentration is high enough, the moment you open that door it'll set off a chain of explosions.

Cold sweat broke over me at those lines, my breath stopping short.

I couldn't lose my head. Little Bo was still waiting for me.

I had to call the police.

Ignoring the abuse around me, I cut off Russ's call, switched to the dialer, and pressed 911.

My mother-in-law shot up off the ground, snatched the phone out of my hand, and smashed it hard against the pavement.

The screen shattered instantly.

"Call the police for what! Don't air dirty laundry, haven't you shamed us enough?!"

I stared blankly at the broken phone on the ground. My only lifeline was gone.

A deep, helpless despair took hold of me, and my whole body was shaking.

Just as I was about to throw myself at the crowd no matter what, a furious shout came from the edge of it.

"What's going on here! Blocking the entrance so nobody can do business?!"

The market manager shoved his way in, a big bullhorn in his hand.

He glanced at my mother-in-law, still throwing her fit.

"That's enough, ma'am. Keep this up and I'll report you for disorderly conduct!"

My mother-in-law froze, and I didn't waste a second.

I shoved the person in front of me aside and ran like I'd lost my mind, straight toward the apartment complex.

The wind screamed past my ears, cutting at my face like knives.

Only one thought filled my head.

Faster. Faster.

I tore down the street until the intersection finally came into view.

Once I got past it, two more blocks and I'd be at my complex.

But of course, at that exact moment, the crosswalk light blinked twice and flipped to a harsh, glaring red.

I stamped in place, frantic.

"Beep beep."

A red sedan pulled up smoothly in front of me, the passenger window sliding down.

It was Debbie Finch.

A coworker from my old company, and once my closest friend.

"Aggie? Why are you standing here drenched in sweat?"

Debbie looked me over, taking in the state of me.

"What happened? Get in, I'll drive you!"

I yanked the door open and climbed in.

"Hurry, my complex, as fast as you can!"

Debbie made a sound of agreement, but the car only crawled forward.

"Oh no, looks like there's some traffic up ahead."

She turned the wheel with one hand and glanced over at me.

"Aggie, what's going on? You look scared out of your mind."

"Where's Russ? Isn't he off today, home with Little Bo?"

My head snapped toward her. Russ had told me he'd gone to the office to work overtime.

I forced down my hammering heart. "He forgot to turn off the gas. I need to go check."

"Oh, is that all."

"Honestly, that's not like Russ. He's usually so careful. How would he slip up on something like that?"

"But don't panic too much. Maybe he already went back and shut it off."

The car stayed at thirty. I was going out of my mind, and I reached for the wheel.

"Can you please go faster! My son is in there!"

Debbie slammed on the brake, and the momentum threw me forward.

"Aggie, what are you doing! That's dangerous!"

She clutched her chest.

"I'm doing you a favor here. Are you saying my driving isn't good enough for you?"

"If you think I'm too slow, then get out and run yourself."

I was about to lose it when the warning cues drifted past my eyes.

Don't turn on her.

She's five months pregnant with Russ's child.

She came here today to block you on purpose, to keep watch on you.

Every drop of blood in me froze in that instant.

Debbie. The woman who plastered her feed with "single by choice" and "independent woman."

She was the mistress Russ had been keeping on the side.

I pulled in a deep breath, covered my face, and broke into sobs.

"Deb, I'm sorry, I'm just losing my mind here."

"If anything happens to Little Bo, I won't want to live either. Please, please, can you go a little faster?"

I cried, and through the gaps between my fingers I watched her.

Debbie looked at me weeping, and the corners of her mouth curved up on their own.

"Oh, don't cry. I'll go as fast as I can."

She turned the car straight into a very narrow alley in the old part of town.

"Ugh, they're doing roadwork on the main road up ahead. I'll cut through this back way."

The car slowed to a crawl, and my despair hit its peak.

I watched the minutes tick away on the dashboard clock.

The image kept flashing through my mind of Little Bo's little face turning purple from lack of air.

The tears wouldn't stop.

Finally, after that endless torment, the car dragged itself to the gate of my complex.

Before it had even fully stopped, I threw the door open and ran through the gate without looking back.

The moment I ran through the complex gate, the fire alarm split my ears.

My heart dropped straight to the bottom, and my legs turned to lead.

Building 12.

A long yellow line had already been strung up at the foot of our building.

Thick black smoke rolled out of our window.

"What a disaster! The whole building's going to pay for this!"

I hadn't even gotten close when my neighbor, Victoria Lambert, spotted me.

She rushed over and jabbed a finger at my face, cursing.

"Agatha Fox! What kind of mother are you!"

"Can't even shut off the gas before you leave. Fine, you want to kill yourself, but you're going to take the whole building down with you!"

"Don't you know my old man's still up there in bed!"

My vision went black and I dropped to the ground, a scream tearing out of me.

"Little Bo!"

The crowd was shoved roughly aside, and Russ pushed his way out.

His face was smeared with black soot, his hair a mess.

He charged up to me, eyes bloodshot.

"Crack!"

A slap landed hard across my face and snapped my head sideways.

"Agatha! Why were you gone so long!"

Russ grabbed me by the collar, hauled me up off the ground, and shook me like a madman.

"When I texted you, you said you were almost home!"

"You did this on purpose, didn't you? You wanted Little Bo dead! You poison of a woman!"

He was sobbing, tears running down his face.

I held my swelling cheek, staring at him, shaking all over.

The warning cues drifted slowly above Russ's head.

He came running down ten minutes ago and stood at the foot of the building watching the show.

The soot on his face he rubbed on himself just now, from the dirt in the flower bed, while everyone was distracted.

He never set foot in the fire.

The crowd started turning on me, all one way.

"What a cold-hearted mother, gone over an hour just to buy groceries."

"Poor father, he was so frantic he almost threw himself into the fire, the firefighters had to hold him back."

"A woman like that doesn't deserve to be a mother!"

Russ let go of me, covered his face, and crouched on the ground, moaning in agony.

Just then his mother arrived too.

She plopped down on the ground and started wailing.

"My poor grandson! What a terrible way to die!"

"I always said this woman was bad luck. She's looked down on us for being poor all along, and now she's actually done something this vicious!"

Sobbing, she crawled over and dug her fingers into my thigh.

"Murderer! You pay for my grandson's life! You poison of a woman!"

Then came a burst of hurried footsteps from the stairwell.

Two firefighters in full gear came running down from above.

Faces grave, they walked straight to the officer in charge and said something in a low voice.

My heart plunged into ice.

The officer turned around, his gaze locking precisely onto me where I sat slumped on the ground.

He started forward, walking toward me.