Chapter 2 - THE MAN MY HUSBAND KNEWCaleb arrived twenty-three minutes later.
He parked badly.
Half on the curb.
He got out without closing the driver’s door.
His eyes found Maya first.
Good.
That mattered.
He ran to the patrol car.
“Maya.”
She stayed against me.
Not because she feared him.
Because she was exhausted.
Caleb dropped to one knee.
“Sweetheart.”
“I told Grandma.”
“I know.”
“She said I lied.”
“I know.”
Maya looked at him.
“Do you know Trent?”
Caleb’s face collapsed.
He glanced toward Diane.
“Yes.”
That was the first honest answer.
Not the last one we needed.
Officer Mara asked:
“What is your relationship with Trent Vale?”
Caleb hesitated.
“My half-brother.”
I stared at him.
“Your what?”
Maya looked from him to me.
Diane said:
“This is not the place.”
I laughed once.
A terrible sound.
“The police are here because you locked my child outside in a snowstorm. This is exactly the place.”
Officer Mara separated us before the argument could grow.
Correct.
Maya was transported to the emergency department for evaluation of cold exposure.
I rode with her.
Caleb followed.
Diane stayed behind with officers.
Police did not immediately drag her away in handcuffs.
They had questions.
A child had been put outside.
An unknown adult had reportedly been inside.
They needed facts.
The man, Trent, was no longer visible.
A check of the obvious rooms did not immediately locate him under the authority available at that moment.
Neighbors reported hearing a gate slam near the rear alley.
May you like
Snow complicated everything.
It also preserved footprints.
Related Stories
