Week 5, Day 1 - Plan B

Grace Garcia-Davis

Todd was restless. He kept pacing back and forth, James trying to calm him.

“IM GOING TO KILL HIM JIMMY,” Todd screamed.

My daughter Maria looked scared and shrunk away. “Todd, relax you are scaring Maria.”

“Relax? Some fucker is in there fucking my wife! He fucked her right in front of me. He fucked my daughters right in front of me. How did I let that happen.”

Todd had explained it. When he first arrived at the Cathedral we took him in, but he seemed, unusual. He was extremely suggestible and naïve in a way. When James and I were in lovemaking at night, he walked in and talked to James like nothing had happened. It was like sex was a black hole in his mind. He didn’t even consider it. Now Todd, the past few days, has done nothing but complain and rage about like a wild animal. Like he remembered events for the first time, he had blotted out.

Adam Smith was the perpetrator and focus of his furor. Adam had apparently hypnotized or persuaded Todd somehow to let him do whatever he wanted to his daughters and wife, and his daughters and wife in turn obliged. Adam from what I recall at my time at the university was an extremely gifted science student. I had met James there at the university where I teach. Although James was a bit of a jock, he was an extremely tender soul and wasn’t scared off by my daughter, Maria. Though to be fair, Maria was already mature by the time James and I had first started dating.

“Todd, when Adam first welcomed you into this vault, what did he say, I want to remember it word for word,” I asked Todd, with James now trying to calm the huge fellow down.

Todd huffed and said, “I don’t know. I was pointing a gun at him at the time, and he told me I needed to put it down or something or other.”

“And what after that?” I probed. “I want you to tell me his actions and every line.”

“I think he went to go get us some water? We were watching TV after that.”

“And after that?”

“Well he made us dinner, it was salty as hell. All his food is really salty, well at first. His cooking got a lot better later.”

“And what did you drink at dinner?”

“Water,” Todd replied.

“Just plain old water?” I asked.

“Yes,” Todd said.

“Did you ever drink anything other than plain old water? Did Adam ever have any juice or beer on hand?”

“No…” Todd said, and then a light bulb lit his head, “That fucker… he was in chemistry or some shit at the university. He made his money some other way or how but I know he took science and shit.”

I nodded. It must have been the water. Adam was gifted. But it still seemed far-fetched and science fiction. Todd recounted the story over and over, the water seemed to play an important role. He always recalled Adam always prefilling his water.

“We’re close to my home,” Todd said with gritted teeth. “I’m going to go up there, act all friendly like and hope he lets me in. Then I’ll put a hole in his chest.”

“Adam is a smart boy, that probably won’t work Todd. He’ll know you are off the water.”

“Well, I still got to try. For my family sake. That fucker. I need to talk to him too.” Todd said angrily.

“Okay, but we’ll need a backup plan in case that doesn’t work,” I said.

“Gracey, can you really get us in there?” James asked.

“Perhaps… let’s call it Plan B.” I said.

They nodded, and I told them my plans.