I am Baaack! Part 10

She turned back to Dainie, and spoke to her like a proud parent. "Dainie, honey, I am so proud of you! I'm so sorry I had to speak harshly to you earlier, but you do know that you deserved that, don't you?" Dainie nodded yes. "And don't you feel so much better, now?" Dainie shyly smiled, and nodded yes again. "Now, I want you to go down and wait for me in the car. Sukie misses you, and you can play with her till I come down. When we get home, you can change out of that horrid outfit - yes, I know you hate it, but it was necessary - and I'll do your hair for you in the twin ponytails you like so much."

Dainie was smiling, and almost jumping up and down with excitement. "You mean it? You really mean it, mumm.I mean, Mistress Rose." She stilled, and looked fearfully at Rose.

"That's all right, dear. I'm going to tell Mistress Joan - you may call her Dr. Joan, by the way - all about us, anyway. Now, run along." Rose made shooing motions with her hands, and Dainie turned to leave. "Oh, wait. Tell Miss Robbie she can go on home. To come in tomorrow, as usual." She turned to Joan. "Is that all right, Joan?"

Joan nodded. She was beyond trying to figure any of this out as it went along, and was simply filing things away to be sorted later. If Rose really meant to do her harm, she could have done it at any time during the last twenty minutes, when Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson were lying on top of the file cabinet, quite out of her reach. Rose made the shooing motions again, and Dainie left. 'My gawd, she's skipping!' Joan thought, as she watched.

"Sukie?"

Rose laughed. "Her doll. Look, Joan, why don't we relax. You pour us a couple of Jacks. I sure need one, maybe two, and I bet you do, too. If we were going to try to kill each other, it would be over by now. Let's sit, and I'll tell you all about the last couple of years of my life." She seated herself.

Joan nodded, and headed for the bottle of Jack. She was acutely aware of the fact that Rose had deliberately left the question of who would be left standing if they had tried to kill each other unanswered.