"No sudden moves." The lady growled, tears having disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. Mary swallowed with difficulty, her mouth suddenly dry as cotton. "Stand up." Mary stood. "Go sit down in front of that mirror." Mary turned and for the first time got a good look at herself in the mirror. The "billie goat" horns had returned with a vengeance, coupled with the strand of hair she had pulled on the button in the rounder. Her hair, endowed with copious amounts of gel, mousse and hairspray, only served to cause the strand to firmly maintain it's position. It stood proudly, as a unicorn horn, a full ten inches from scalp to stern. Behind her, Heather brandished a fierce looking Glock. It quivered ever so slightly.
Heather nudged Mary with the butt of the gun. Bad hair forgotten, Mary walked to the mirror, turned, faced her captor and slid down the wall to a seated position. "I'm gonna get out of here, and you're my ticket. I've got nothing to lose and a lot of money to gain." She sneered as she gestured toward the backpack full of jewels on her back. "You really don't want to do this." Mary said, voice reedy and faint. She swallowed and continued. "I have children, three of them. My twin girls Hannah and Natalie are fifteen. Hannah's real particular about her appearance, real prissy. And then, there's Natalie." Mary laughed softly. "Oh, she's a mess. The life of the party, never meets a stranger, you know the type. And then there's Ethan, my son, he's twelve. He and I are really close, there's a unique bond there." Mary envisioned Ethan that morning, his mouth full of cereal and his "mohawk." Her throat thickened and her eyes burned as tears filled them. She went on. "And then of course there's my husband. He's the most wonderful man in the world! We've been married almost twenty years, high school sweethearts, never dated anyone else." Her voice trailed off. "We have a cat." Heather just looked at Mary, devoid of emotion. "He's just an old alley cat, sort of orangish in color, he loves to sleep in the..........laundrey basket." For some reason the cat did it. The dam broke and Mary burst into tears.
Heather slid off of the bench and came towards Mary. Mary cowered against the mirror hands in front of her face. "I'm not gonna hurt ya." Heather said as she plopped down cross legged next to Mary. Heather sighed as though she bore the very weight of the world on her thin shoulders. "I used to have all that. At least I did before they took my kids and my husband walked out on me." "What happened?" Mary sniffed and pinched the tip of her nose. "Here, let me get you a tissue." Heather reached into her back pocket and pulled out a couple of Subway napkins. It was then, as she handed the napkins to her that Mary noticed the green ring around Heather's left hand ring finger. Mary blew her nose. "Can I get something out of my purse?" Mary asked warily keeping an eye on the gun which now lay limply in Heather's lap. Heather regarded Mary closely. After what seemed an eternity, she said. "Yeah, I guess, just no funny business." Mary rose awkwardly and walked over to her purse lying on the bench. She searched for a few seconds until she finally found what she was searching for. Hurrying back to her place on the floor in front of the mirror, she too sat cross legged facing Heather. "Is this yours?" She asked as she held the tightly wadded ball of lines paper out to Heather. "And this?" Mary opened her other hand to reveal the thing gold wedding band. All color faded from Heather's face. She nodded yes. "Why don't you tell me about it?" Mary whispered.
The crackle of a police radio shattered the silence. "Johnston, what is your position?" A voice erupted from a walkie talkie. "I'm here with a white female, approximately sixty years of age. It appears as though she has been struck in the head with a blunt object, probably by our perp." Johnston responded slightly breathless. "What is your position and do you have an ID on the victim?" asked the static voice of a police Sergeant. "I'm in the ladies department, upper level. The victim appears to be the clerk in this area, her name tag reads Bonnie." "Roger that." Replied the Sergeant. "The department store has been cleared, all employees have gathered in the customer service area and are accounted for. However, there are reports of a customer still inside." The police officer attending Bonnie glanced around and asked, "do you have a description of the customer sir?" "She has been described as a white female, approximately forty years of age. She's wearing a skirt, button up shirt and walking shoes. Dark hair, looks like she just rolled out of bed and threw it up into a bun, strange looking horn thingys at each temple. She was last seen crawling on all fours, a Coach bag dangling from her teeth. The perp is possibly armed and dangerous, it is imperative that we locate that customer, her life could be at risk." "Yes sir, we will begin a search as soon as Bonnie has received medical attention, the EMT's have just arrived." The police officer responded to his superior.
From the dressing room Mary could hear the arrival of others. Must be the EMT's she thought. She heard the metallic clank of a gurney being positioned and a low moan as Bonnie was loaded onto it. Mary said a silent prayer for her new found friend, when, out of the blue, Heather's arm encircled Mary's neck and drew Mary hard against her chest. Heather's other arm positioned the gun against Mary's temple. "Don't make a sound." Heather growled.
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