Princess Perched in her Electric Chair Ch. 01

Landon nearly choked on his next puff.

Not only did the car look eerily like his wife's, but so did the floral designed overnight travel bag the dentist pulled from the front seat. Before Landon could focus his eyes to get a closer look, Ned disappeared out of view.

"Easiest thing in the world to do...just get out and go check," the sane voice of reason chimed inside Landon's head. Unfortunately, the concept of reason was bringing up the rear in the complex marathon of emotions dizzying his senses.

Grabbing his cellphone and staring a hole through the screen, Landon contemplated giving his wife a call, after all she too was scheduled to be on her lunch break as well. Considering that his tongue currently felt like a balled up sock in his mouth, Landon didn't think any sort of conversation, no matter how brief, was in his best interest at the moment.

Instead, he simply opened the driver's side door, stepped out and started walking towards the rear of the motel where the car in question was parked. Before he could take 10 steps, the damage was done.

Seeing the all too familiar dent in the rear bumper, where Lisa had backed into a pole two months ago, nailed Landon square in the gut. Already staggered by the body blow, by the time the familiar lettering on the rear license plate came into view, he may as well have been KO'd by a right cross to the chin.

It was a good thing Landon wasn't in the mood to use his phone considering how many pieces the thing dissolved into when he shattered it violently against the concrete retaining wall to his right.

__________________________________

Bringing the .22 he normally kept hidden in the nightstand by the bed probably wasn't the best idea.

While there was certainly parts of Landon Ashby that wanted to kill Dr. Ned Cameron right there on the front stoop of his luxurious home, Landon had convinced himself the main reason he'd brought the gun was for self defense. Tucked neatly (and fully loaded) in the left interior pocket of his jean jacket, Landon patted the thing every so often on the drive over, each time sending a jolt of re-assurance and clarity through his otherwise clouded system.

Landon had spent the better part of the previous eight hours in a veritable fog. He'd left a message with the receptionist at work that he'd have to take the rest of the afternoon off for a family emergency, but Landon only returned home long enough to gather the gun and the six pack of beer that had been sitting in his fridge since the previous weekend.

He killed the time until dark basically nursing his psychological wounds in a couple of out of the way, mall parking lots, drinking the beers and figuring out his next move. Knowing he wasn't nearly a good enough actor, Landon didn't want to be home when Lisa returned from work (or wherever she'd been). One of the clear decisions he'd made was dealing with the dentist first before the inevitable confrontation with his wife.

Externally, he was numb. A falling meteor could have landed on top of Landon and he wouldn't so much as flinched. Internally, it was another story. Every memory he had with Lisa, big or small, during their years together raked across each nerve in the disheveled man's tortured psyche.

Knowing the upscale subdivision where Dr. Cameron lived with his second wife, Landon finished off the last beer and made his way over a little after seven that evening to find the exact address.

In a neighborhood that seemingly had a BMW in each driveway, Landon somehow found the one belonging to Ned Cameron. Double checking the name on the mailbox just to be sure, Landon pulled into the lot and surveyed the darkened yard.

A little voice told him it might be best if he left the gun in the glove compartment perhaps, but given the fact that he'd brought it, he knew he'd felt really dumb if for whatever reason he needed it and didn't have it. Patting the weighty bulge resting against the left side of his chest, a refreshing wave of calm washed through Landon as he departed his vehicle and strolled past a "For Sale" sign, then up the walk.

Most of the lights in the house were on and the sound of the TV was audible all the way out in the front yard.

"Alex Trebek," he noted. It was the last coherent thought he'd have for awhile.

There was still time to turn back, but Landon sensed he was at the ultimate fork in life. Wasting no time once he'd bounded up the stairs onto the porch, Landon rung the doorbell.

Given the volume of the television, he thought he might have to ring again, but before he could press the button a second time, the door swung open...

Part 2 to come...