The night was dark and cold. A cool breeze ran through the trees, the leaves rippling. Dottie followed the path to the cabin, the headlights of her car illuminating the road. When she reached the cabin, she looked up at the sky. It was covered in a thick layer of clouds. The only light was the crescent moon, peaking out from behind the clouds. She got out of the car and went to the trunk. She opened it and picked a black bag out of it. She went inside the cabin and plopped it down on a table in the middle of the kitchen. She opened it up, inspecting the contents inside. She laid them out on the table. She picked up a stethoscope and polished it off a bit. She pulled out a pair of forceps and some gauze. Dottie inspected them and made sure that they were all nice and clean. Once she was confident that they were all in order, she placed them back in the bag where they had been. She then went to a back room of the cabin. She went inside to inspect the bed. She made sure the sheets were nice and clean, the pillow soft. There was a window. She made sure to close it so the room didn't get too drafty. Once that was done, she went over to the nightstand and opened it. From out of the nightstand, she pulled out a few pairs of handcuffs and attached them to the posts of the bed. She made sure they were well bound to the posts. She didn't want anyone to escape from there.
Angie was still asleep. Peggy had made sure not to wake her. She gently tiptoed through their room, carrying her shoes with her. She put them on until she got to the door. As she was about to leave, Peggy leaned down to Angie and kissed her on the forehead. Angie mumbled in her sleep. Peggy took her hand and rubbed Angie's belly. It had been something of a ritual for Peggy. Ever since Angie had gotten pregnant, Peggy had been doing this as some sort of good luck charm.
Peggy remembered the time Angie had first told her. Peggy's face was turning red. "So what you're saying is that you're pregnant, you haven't told your parents, and the father isn't even willing to pay you a dime. And you're fine with this?"
"I didn't say I was fine with this," said Angie. "I said I don't really have that much of a choice."
"You could go to this man and make him do the honorable thing," said Peggy.
"I can't," said Angie. "His uncle is vicious. In the last month he killed three mob bosses."
So, with Angie unwilling to do anything, Peggy decided it was up to her to do something. She knew the man who had impregnated Angie, Mario Manfredi, had an uncle who was a gangster, Don Manfredi. Peggy learned that Don Manfredi had taken over Spider Raymond's old club after he had died. A local story had circulated about how Spider had been seeing Manfredi's mistress, a beautiful blonde. Manfredi had found out and decided to pay a visit to Spider's club and blow his brains out. These stories always amused Peggy.
When Peggy got into the club, it was the middle of the day and the club was empty. The only people there were workers, cleaning up after last night's party. They didn't pay much attention to Peggy. They probably figured she was one of Don Manfredi's mistresses. The Don himself was sitting at a table, surrounded by some of his associates, bodyguards, and his nephew. Don Manfredi was telling them all about one of his kills. "So Spider's looking me right in the face and he's shaking. He shaking so hard that he drops his cigar. And he's begging. He's begging for his life and he's telling me he'll do anything I ask. But I see he's reaching for his gun with his other hand and I know what's up. So I pull the trigger and put a bullet in that n-"
"Excuse me?" Peggy cleared her throat.
The men looked up at her. Don Manfredi raised an eyebrow as he stared at her. "Can we help you?"
"Yes," said Peggy. "I'm here to talk to Mario Manfredi."
"I see." Don Manfredi grinned. "Well it doesn't look like you're showing."
"What?" said Peggy.
"You want my nephew?" said Don Manfredi.
"Yes," said Peggy.
"And that's because he's gotten you pregnant, or your sister, or a friend," said Don Manfredi. "Am I wrong?"
"No," said Peggy. "It's my friend, Angela Martinelli."
Mario looked nervous. "There's probably lots of people with that name. How do you know that-"
Don Manfredi put his hand over Mario's. "Relax Mario. I'll take care of it like I did last time."
Mario smiled. "Thank you uncle."
"Don't mention it." Don Manfredi then preceded to slap Mario across the face. "Just don't let it happen again."
"I won't," said Mario as he rubbed his cheek.
Don Manfredi turned to Peggy. "Look let's get down to business. Whatever you were hoping to get out of this visit, forget it. You've still got your accent, so I assume you're new here. I'll forgive you for not knowing who you're dealing with."
Peggy didn't leave. "And what about my friend?"
Don Manfredi sighed. "Maybe when he grows up and needs a job he can come to me. I'll let him be a waiter."
"How noble," said Peggy.
"Leave now or I can make things worse for you," said Don Manfredi.
Peggy laughed. "And what if I don't? What will you do?"
"Alright." Don Manfredi looked to his bodyguards and snapped his fingers. "Shoot her. Now."
Angie sat at the kitchen table, drumming her fingers against the wood. Peggy hadn't been there when she had woken up. She asked Jarvis and Howard if they knew anything, but Peggy hadn't told them anything about what she was doing. Angie had rummaged through Peggy's things and found a notebook with a list of phone numbers. Angie had called them, but she got no leads. The only thing Angie could do was wait and hope the Peggy would come back soon. Angie prayed that Peggy hadn't gone to see Don Manfredi. Peggy rarely showed any fear. Angie had always admired that about her, but now it could easily get her killed. Angie clasped her hands together and practically begged God to protect Peggy. Angie had just promised that she would never miss a mass as long as she lived, when she heard the doorknob turn.
Angie shot up. "Oh god Peg. I was just about-"
However Peggy wasn't the one who had opened the door. No, it was Dottie, who was holding a gun that she pointed at Angie's belly. "Hey Angie. Long time no see."