She said almost nothing on the walk, saving her strength, only pointing the way now and then, though they knew the route well enough themselves. The abandoned mill grounds greeted them with silence and decay. The broken windows of the old buildings gaped black in the night like empty eye sockets.
Inside the huge warehouse it was dark, damp, and cold. Brute lit an old kerosene lamp sitting on a rusted drum, and its weak glow picked out piles of scrap metal, dust-covered machinery, and a filthy mattress in the corner. Helen set her heavy bag on the same drum and took out the bottle of liquor and three disposable cups she had brought from home.
“You drinking too, Mrs. Carter?” Crow asked with a crooked smile, eyeing the bottle. “I’ve had all I need out of life,” Helen said flatly. She turned her back to them as if reaching into the bag for something to snack on—a piece of bread and a couple of pickles.
In that brief moment, shielded by her own body, she emptied the white powder from the paper packet into the three plastic cups. Her fingers moved quickly and precisely. Helen poured the liquor to the brim, making sure the powder dissolved, and handed the drinks to the waiting men.
“Well then,” Crow said cheerfully, “here’s to a pleasant evening.” Without clinking cups, the three men tossed back the drinks in one swallow. Helen watched their throats work as they swallowed the drugged liquor.
The first part was done. Now all she had to do was wait. She moved off to the side, sat down on an old wooden crate, and watched in silence. At first the men perked up from the alcohol, trading dirty jokes and bragging about old crimes.
But within ten minutes their speech began to slur badly. The first to go was Birdie. He tried to stand, but his legs gave out and he crashed onto the concrete floor.
Brute stared stupidly at his fallen friend, then turned his cloudy eyes toward Helen. “What’d you put in his drink, you old—” he rasped, but he never finished. His eyes rolled back and his heavy body toppled sideways as he lost consciousness…
