Trial Junkies

— 63 -

The tabloids had a field day. Called her Looney Lola, the doting grandmother who wielded a deadly knife in the dark of night.

Or something along those lines.

In the aftermath of it all, Hutch didn't care what the vultures had to say. His only concern was Ronnie, who, for the second time in her life, had walked into a room to find that someone she loved had taken-as Ronnie herself put it-the express route to heaven.

Or maybe hell in this case.

Dysfunction Junction.

When she and Andy first stepped into Lola's house, Ronnie had been nervous, their confrontation still weighing on her mind. She hadn't meant to hurt her mother. Lola had stumbled as Ronnie wrenched Christopher away from her and had hit her head on a low-hanging lamp. The last time Ronnie had seen her, she was sitting on the sofa holding her forehead with her hand.

So Ronnie had no idea what she was walking into. She had seen a light in the kitchen, and thinking Lola must be awake, had handed Christopher over to Andy. Then she took a deep breath and crossed through the living room, surprised her mother hadn't heard them come in.

As she called out, however, she got no response, hearing only an odd thrashing sound, as if someone were tossing and turning in bed.

"Mom?" she called again, but still got no answer.

She stopped when she stepped through the doorway. Found Lola hanging by a short rope from the light fixture, her face blue, her eyes bulging, her body still swinging.

Ronnie screamed, shot forward, grabbed a kitchen knife and cut her mother down, shouting for Andy to keep Christopher out of there!

Keep him out!

But it was too late for Lola. She was beyond help. Had died right there on the floor. Died in her daughter's arms.

And the note they found on the kitchen table read:

You left me no choice