Peals of childish laughter echoed through the apartment. Ace laughed, too, as he carried his grandson around on his back. But horsey was just about on his last knees, so he slowly turned and sat, placing Will across from him on the living room rug. The boy put his finger on Ace's nose. It wiggled! The child erupted in delighted giggles. He touched it again, and this totally wonderful occurrence continued, happily, until Ace looked up.

Staring down at him was Mabel Anne. Happiness dissolved in a millisecond. The joy-killing power of dislike. His daughter-in-law, brow furrowed in disapproval, glowered at him. "Come to mommy, 'Willums,'" she said, snatching the boy up. "Grandpa's raising a ruckus! The neighbors will be calling any minute, complaining."

Ace sighed and waved to his grandson, who smiled at him over his mother's shoulder. Joints creaking, the old man struggled up off the floor and went to his room, his only refuge. His life was becoming unbearable. It wasn't supposed to be this way, was it? His wife, Ruthie, bless her soul, had been a sweet, understanding, funny gal who would have had the time of her life with that baby boy. His Ruthie was gone, though, and he was an unwanted outsider in his son's place. He refused to call it a home. That child was his heart, his reason for living, and he wanted, by God, to enjoy him.

Why did some people enjoy making the lives of others miserable? Mabel Ann seemed to thrive on it. "Ace, put him down before you drop him!" or "Ace, stop tickling him or he'll wet the diaper I just changed!" Like that would be the end of the world. Or, "For heaven sake, don't give him a cookie! He doesn't need all that sugar." Don't do this and don't do that. It was driving him crazy. Something had to change.

When he first moved in with his son and his wife, he had been very grateful, and tried his best to get along with Mabel Anne, but she hadn't like him from the git-go. He had endured the past few years, without an ounce of support from his son. Day in and day out. His own son, who hadn't the fortitude of a gnat, stayed in his minuscule office, avoiding his wife as long as he could. Even his pleasure in this precious boy child was diminished by her ill temper. No backbone. That was his problem. What a disappointment he'd turned out to be.

Reading books helped keep Ace sane, as well as occupied. When the boy was napping or Mabel Anne had him somewhere with her, he'd walk down to the library and spend hours reading and picking out books to bring home. He found himself reading more whodunits, lately. Subconsciously, he began to plot.

As the months of sadness and frustration took their toll, they gave birth to an idea that would have once been inconceivable to Ace. He made a decision. He couldn't take it anymore. He was going to kill her. He didn't even care if he got caught. It would be worth it to have her out of his life. No, take that back. Why should he endure any more punishment? He didn't want to go to jail. He wanted to be around for his grandson. He'd use what money he had left and hire a nanny. He'd need to find an untraceable poison. A new challenge. And he was up to it!

Now, on his trips to the library, his time was spent researching different poisons and their effects on humans. If he was going to do this thing, he needed to work on the logistics--form a plan. He decided on an untraceable poison that would be effective and also feasible for him to use. It also had to be fast-acting and undetectable. He finally narrowed his search down to the top seven untraceable poisons in humans. They are listed beginning with number 7.
Tetrodoxin -- found in puffer fish.
Cyanide -- need large dose for immediate death
Arsenic -- deadly if ingested on a regular basis
Ricin -- small dose -- if inhaled
Abrin -- takes hours before death
Aconite -- wolf's bane or monk's hood -- queen of poisons, large quantity needed to be deadly
Succinylcholine -- a drug used in medicine, used as part of general anesthesia

He decided on the one he knew where to find without it being traced to him, and because it had quick results if enough was ingested.

One day, walking back from the library, he passed a second-hand shop window full of odds and ends. His eyes skipped over the objects until they settled on a simple egg cup. It looked old and made of wood, hopefully a bit dried out and porous. Mabel Anne's birthday was in a few days, and like it or not, he was expected to give her a gift. Well, he most certainly would. He would soft boil an egg and have it waiting for her, the morning of her birthday. What a prince!

Early birthday morning, wearing rubber gloves, Ace brought out the poisonous liquid he'd extracted from the mashed monkshood plant root he'd hidden in his closet. He filled a syringe and set it aside. It would bring on an agonizing death. He rubbed the poison all over the egg cup, inside and out, and all over the spoon. Then he prepared the soft-boiled egg, runny, the way she liked it, injected it with the poison and put it in the egg cup. Finally, with the air of anticipated freedom, and the cocky flair of a chef, he set it on the breakfast table. With a birthday card. Then he went for a walk.

Ace was nervous, yet excited. The thought of waking up every day without being nagged about something outweighed any guilt feelings he should have had. He actually whistled as he walked along, but then he thought, what if she didn't want an egg for breakfast? What if, after all his work, she had cereal instead. The thought of peace and pleasantness in the apartment wasn't really a sure thing. You never knew what Mabel Anne would do from one day to the next. What if she... Ace stopped dead in his tracks. Oh my God! Scared out of his mind, Ace ran back as fast as his old legs would let him.

Coming into the kitchen, Mabel Anne, with Will perched on her hip, was surprised to see a pretty, wooden egg cup with a soft-boiled egg prepared for her on the table. And a birthday card! She couldn't believe either her husband or her father-in-law remembered it was her birthday. Well, since they had, where were they? She sat Will in his highchair, and gave him some Cheerios to keep him busy until she had time to fix his breakfast. Maybe she'd have just a bite first. Without waiting for either of them, she cracked the top of the egg with the spoon and was about to take a bite when the phone rang. She laughed and thanked the caller for birthday wishes, then sat back down.

Will reached out for the spoon. "Oh, you want some, too?" Mabel Anne said, smiling.

Ace opened the door as she was putting a spoonful of egg in Will's mouth.