Shared Guilt- A Knives Out Story

Chapter 2

Sleep didn't come easy to Marta Cabrera since her former employer and friend Harlan Thrombey had died a week ago. She was tossing and turning at night,her mind flooded with guilt. She had given him the wrong dosage of his medication and he came up with a plan to cover it up. It was a horrifying mistake she had made and Harlan had still wanted to protect her,but he also knew that Marta couldn't lie.

Lying made her puke and she had never been so afraid in her life than yesterday when the detective Benoit Blanc questioned her about the night Harlan died. Her insides had been roaring the entire time, so when they were done she ran to the nearest bathroom and emptied her stomach into the toilet.

When she emerged from the bathroom she bumped into Ransom and fell to the floor.

"Wow,wow slow it down,princess. You're gonna get somebody else hurt." Ransom said to Marta as he helped her up.

"Wha..? What are you talking about, Hugh?" Marta asked him, startled and a slight trace of panic in her tone.

"You can call me Ransom, I mean after you killed my grandfather, you moved one up in the food chain, don't you think?" Ransom said, while blocking her way, forcing her to stand with her back up against the wall.

"Hugh...I mean Ransom, I have no idea what you're talking about." Marta tried to convince him, but already felt another bile rise up in her stomach.

"Don't you dare puke on me. I know that you were there when my grandfather died and you're gonna tell me exactly what happened or I'll sell you out to detective Leghorn,got it princess?" Ransom moved a bit away from her and Marta relaxed immediately at that.

Marta looked down on her dirty white sneakers, crestfallen and aware of the fact that disavowing her involvement was impossible now.

"I'll tell you, but not here." Marta not more than whispered and looked at him with big brown eyes.

"Come with me." Ransom led the way to his car and gladly everybody was too distracted by Detective Blanc and Trooper Wagner, to notice the unlikely pair taking off in Ransom's Beamer.

Well everybody except Nana Wanetta.

The drive was quiet, you could practically hear a needle drop. Marta was staring out the car window, desperately trying to come up with a good explanation and Ransom had a pleased grin on his face, because his plan seemed to work perfectly.

When they arrived at Ransom's glass house in the woods, Marta felt like she could throw up before she had even attempted to lie to him. There was something about him, something sinister yet captivating. He was someone that seemed reposing but at the same time had something savage in his appearance. It was strangely attractive to Marta.

Ransom waited for Marta at his front door and held the door open for her, ever the gentleman even when it was the possible murderer of his grandfather. Marta had mastered the art of always looking like a kicked puppy, so scared and timid, with her big brown eyes, one would think she was nothing more than a cute and innocent young woman. It somehow made Ransom's chest fill with warmth, an instinct that wanted to protect her innocence.

When Marta sat down on the armchair he gestured her to,she felt a bad taste in her mouth.

"Can I have a glass of water,please?" she asked Ransom and he disappeared into the kitchen without another word to her. Marta distracted herself with his interior design choices. She had never paid much thought to how Ransom's house would look, since she only ever saw him at the Thrombey mansion when he was there to visit Harlan and Nana.

She had to admit his choice of furniture and design wasn't terrible. It was all warm,creamy colored with black accents. It was fitting for Ransom.

When she had first met the grandson over her employer, she had heard a lot about him already and not much of that had been positive. "Entitled prick, spoiled trust-fund brat." had been expressions used by his own parents to describe him, so Marta's expectations had been low.

He was a playboy,everything had always been handed to him, so he naturally took the luxuries in his life for granted. But there was this fire in his eyes, that drive. He was incredibly smart and witty and that just drew Marta in. She had lost many GO matches to him, he was a much tougher opponent than Harlan. She wouldn't admit it, but Ransom fascinated her from their very first encounter.

And all this made it much harder for Marta to lie to him, or rather talk around the whole truth without throwing up on his designer carpet.

He came back and handed Marta the glass of water and then sat down across from her, legs astride and leaning back into the couch.

"So, now spill the beans, what the hell happened that night with my grandfather?"

Marta was still fighting an inner battle between being honest with him or try to lie.

"I.. I gave him his usual nightly medication, but I switched up the bottles by accident. I took them from the bag but they're positions were different. I gave Harlan too much of the opium. I don't know how this could have happened... and then I wanted to give him a naloxone shot as an antidote, but the emergency kit wasn't in my bag. Harlan said there was no time to call 911 and he told me he had a plan."

Marta couldn't hold her tears back when she thought of the fact that in his last act alive, Harlan had wanted to protect her. Ransom didn't show any emotions in his expression at that moment, he uttered for Marta to continue.

"What was his plan?"

"He practically pushed me out of the room and told me to leave and incidentally mention the time to Walt as I was leaving the house. He said I should come back and climb up the ranks and enter the attic through the secret window. He wanted me to walk down the stairs in his bathrobe and hat so Walt would notice he was still alive at that moment.I left through the window and drove home... And the next thing I know is Fran calling and saying that h...e, he slit hi...s his throat."

Marta buried her face in her hands, certain that all was over now and she would go to jail and Mama and Alice would be forced to leave the country.

It was silent for a bit, Ransom's mind was racing, the logical choice would be to sell her out. She didn't know anything about Meg switching the bottles. He could protect his cousin by ratting Marta out to the cops.But something inside him jsut wouldn't.

Marta had this thing about her, this effect that would urge you to want to keep her safe and he hated that he was even thinking about giving into this feeling.

But he did.

She hadn't done anything wrong either. If he was protecting Meg, he had to protect her even moreso. So he needed to rethink his plan, but first there was something he needed to ratify.

"Did you know Harlan is leaving everything to you?" Ransom asked and Marta looked up, shocked.

"What? What do you mean? " Marta stuttered.

"He cut us all off, he is giving everything to you, the money, the house, the company... all is gonna be yours, princess." Ransom grinned bitterly, but now he could be sure, Marta had no idea of her inheritance.

"No, I didn't know anything and quite literally I don't understand anything anymore." Marta let out a deep sigh and again continued to rub her red-rimmed eyes with her palms.

"See, I could help you, but you're gonna have to help me in return, deal?" Ransom asked.

"What other choice do I have." Mart mumbled.