Dinah was putting a wedge between Lauren and me. The bitch needed to die, but I didn't know how to do it without drawing attention to myself after all of the deaths surrounding me. My opportunity finally came when she was on vacation. Ally had a garden and pickled and canned her own fruits and vegetables. I went over to her house to pick up cans for myself, and she asked me to take Dinah's because her family would be on vacation when Dinah came back.
At home, I opened all of Dinah's cans of fruits and vegetables. I didn't need to leave them open long. I just needed them to collect a small amount of bacteria. I re-canned them without going through the sterilization process. My hope was that botulism would develop in her food. If she were to become seriously ill or die, all signs would point to Ally not properly canning her food.
A few days later, Dinah came back from vacation and Ally took off with her family. I drove to Dinah's house and told her Ally wanted me to give her canned fruits and vegetables from her garden. All I had to do then was wait. If things went as planned, Dinah would wait long enough to open some of the cans to allow for ample toxin buildup from the bacteria. There was a very high chance Dinah would survive, but I didn't have many options.
I patiently waited and waited and waited for something to happen as Lauren spent more and more and more time with Dinah. I should have known Dinah had a thing for Lauren with her talk about Lauren having "masculine swagger." Revealing that Lauren had a penis was probably the last thing she needed to finally act on her attraction. Camila was right. If Lauren was willing to cheat with me, then she'll be willing to cheat on me. Two months had passed, when I received a call from Ally. I could hear her crying over the phone.
"Ally? What's wrong? What happened?"
"The state health department came to my house. They said Dinah has been hospitalized for fatigue and vision and speech problems. They found botulism in her system and believe it came from the canned foods I gave her. Have you eaten any of yours yet?"
"No," I replied.
"Normani, you have to throw them out. Don't feed any of that stuff to anyone. No one in our household has gotten sick, but we've thrown out everything we have left at the advice of the health department. God, I feel so terrible," Ally sobbed.
"Are they really sure she's sick from your food?" I asked.
"She had some unopened cans that they tested. They had the botulism toxin in them. Oh, God! I feel so horrible."
"How is Dinah doing?" I inquired.
"I went to the hospital and ran into her family members. She's having trouble breathing, and they might have to put her on a ventilator," answered Ally.
"I'm driving down there now. I'll talk to you later, and please don't beat yourself up over this. Even big food companies have these types of incidents. I know you took as much care as possible when canning."
"Thank you. Let me know how she's doing," Ally requested.
"I will."
When I arrived at the hospital, the staff directed me to where the family was waiting. Dinah's mother told me that she had been put on a breathing machine and slipped into a coma. She said that Dinah waited too long to seek treatment thinking that she had come down with the flu. I had to force myself not to crack a smile. Everything was going just right for me. I asked if I could go in and see her, and she told me yes but to check with the nurses first.
With permission from the nursing staff, I entered the room to the sight of my unconscious friend hooked up to various machines. I walked up to the bed and hovered over the dying body. I felt compelled to say something to my friend even though I knew she couldn't hear me. "This is what happens when you try to take what's mine." Then, I left the room, gave my condolences to the family, and went home.
