that?”
“Maybe she was just being opportunistic. She got into a fight with her fiancé, things got physical, and Lelani killed him by accident. Then she ate him because he was there, and she was hungry, and he was already dead.”
Trevor could see Dr. Ebersol considering it. It was obvious this scenario hadn’t entered his mind before and he wanted to believe it. Trevor wanted to believe it too.
“Maybe all we have to do is meet with my other clients and tell them they are going to have to eat a lot more than normal, and that’s the end of it. Maybe prescribe some type of high-calorie protein shake or something to eat between meals?”
“I suppose. We’ll see soon if Lelani was just an isolated incident.”
Below them, water gave way to land. San Diego, California came into view, a vast expanse of lights. They would be landing in LA soon. Trevor would be taking a car to the home of Alexis Mourning, and Dr. Ebersol would be continuing on to Austin, Texas.
Neither had a clue how bad the day would end. They had no idea what they were getting into. Not the slightest idea.
10
“I brought you some food, dear. Oh my God!”
The tray of cold cuts, crackers, and pâté spilled from Alexis Mourning’s hands, and a scream tore from her throat. Her daughter was sitting on the edge of the bed, cannibalizing her own hand. Her three middle fingers had been completely removed. The naked phalanges stuck out of Star’s mouth as she gnawed at them, probing them for the last morsels of flesh before moving on to her thumb.
“Stop!” Alexis shouted.
Star let out a wounded cry and then scampered over to the pile of spilled food smeared onto the polished mahogany floor. Star scooped up the pâté and shoved the entire quarter-pound slice into her mouth, chewing quickly and swallowing. She grabbed a fistful of crackers in one hand, cold cuts in the hand she’d almost chewed off, sat on the floor-clearly oblivious to her mother’s presence-and devoured all of it. She continued to moan like a wounded dog while shoveling food into her mouth. A torrent of tears streamed from her crimson-rimmed eyes.
“What’s wrong, Star? You’re scaring me.”
“I’m so hungry. I feel like I’m dying. I need more food,” her daughter cried between bites.
Alexis remembered what the doctor told her about giving her daughter as much to eat as she wanted, but everything she’d ever learned about being a woman rebelled against the idea of letting her daughter glut herself.
“That-that’s not enough food? You don’t want to get fat again, do you?”
It was a ridiculous question. In the last four hours, Star Mourning had lost another twenty pounds. She now had the body her mother had always dreamt of. The jiggle was gone from her belly. It was now totally flat and even a bit concave. Her hips were almost completely gone; just enough remained now to give her a slight curve and emphasize the slenderness of her waist. The dimpled cellulose that had been clustered around her ass and thighs had melted away, leaving stretch-marked skin that hung loosely from her atrophied muscles. A few weeks in the gym was all her daughter would need to tighten up those muscles, and any of the skilled surgeons at the Aphrodite Clinic could easily correct the loose skin and stretch marks, Alexis thought. She smiled appreciatively at her daughter, admiring her increasingly emaciated appearance, heedless of the gleam of insanity sparkling in the young girl’s eyes, and forgetting the fact that she’d walked in on the child feasting on her own fingers. All that mattered to Alexis was that her daughter was finally skinny.
“I’m starving!”
Star scrambled to her feet and rushed past her mother, heading for the kitchen and the locked refrigerator. She leapt up onto a chair in the parlor and snatched the heavy drapes down from the window. She pulled the curtain rod free from the thick satin drapes while still running toward the kitchen
“Maybe she was just being opportunistic. She got into a fight with her fiancé, things got physical, and Lelani killed him by accident. Then she ate him because he was there, and she was hungry, and he was already dead.”
Trevor could see Dr. Ebersol considering it. It was obvious this scenario hadn’t entered his mind before and he wanted to believe it. Trevor wanted to believe it too.
“Maybe all we have to do is meet with my other clients and tell them they are going to have to eat a lot more than normal, and that’s the end of it. Maybe prescribe some type of high-calorie protein shake or something to eat between meals?”
“I suppose. We’ll see soon if Lelani was just an isolated incident.”
Below them, water gave way to land. San Diego, California came into view, a vast expanse of lights. They would be landing in LA soon. Trevor would be taking a car to the home of Alexis Mourning, and Dr. Ebersol would be continuing on to Austin, Texas.
Neither had a clue how bad the day would end. They had no idea what they were getting into. Not the slightest idea.
10
“I brought you some food, dear. Oh my God!”
The tray of cold cuts, crackers, and pâté spilled from Alexis Mourning’s hands, and a scream tore from her throat. Her daughter was sitting on the edge of the bed, cannibalizing her own hand. Her three middle fingers had been completely removed. The naked phalanges stuck out of Star’s mouth as she gnawed at them, probing them for the last morsels of flesh before moving on to her thumb.
“Stop!” Alexis shouted.
Star let out a wounded cry and then scampered over to the pile of spilled food smeared onto the polished mahogany floor. Star scooped up the pâté and shoved the entire quarter-pound slice into her mouth, chewing quickly and swallowing. She grabbed a fistful of crackers in one hand, cold cuts in the hand she’d almost chewed off, sat on the floor-clearly oblivious to her mother’s presence-and devoured all of it. She continued to moan like a wounded dog while shoveling food into her mouth. A torrent of tears streamed from her crimson-rimmed eyes.
“What’s wrong, Star? You’re scaring me.”
“I’m so hungry. I feel like I’m dying. I need more food,” her daughter cried between bites.
Alexis remembered what the doctor told her about giving her daughter as much to eat as she wanted, but everything she’d ever learned about being a woman rebelled against the idea of letting her daughter glut herself.
“That-that’s not enough food? You don’t want to get fat again, do you?”
It was a ridiculous question. In the last four hours, Star Mourning had lost another twenty pounds. She now had the body her mother had always dreamt of. The jiggle was gone from her belly. It was now totally flat and even a bit concave. Her hips were almost completely gone; just enough remained now to give her a slight curve and emphasize the slenderness of her waist. The dimpled cellulose that had been clustered around her ass and thighs had melted away, leaving stretch-marked skin that hung loosely from her atrophied muscles. A few weeks in the gym was all her daughter would need to tighten up those muscles, and any of the skilled surgeons at the Aphrodite Clinic could easily correct the loose skin and stretch marks, Alexis thought. She smiled appreciatively at her daughter, admiring her increasingly emaciated appearance, heedless of the gleam of insanity sparkling in the young girl’s eyes, and forgetting the fact that she’d walked in on the child feasting on her own fingers. All that mattered to Alexis was that her daughter was finally skinny.
“I’m starving!”
Star scrambled to her feet and rushed past her mother, heading for the kitchen and the locked refrigerator. She leapt up onto a chair in the parlor and snatched the heavy drapes down from the window. She pulled the curtain rod free from the thick satin drapes while still running toward the kitchen
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