Page 33 of Silent Menace
Peter placed a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her back into her seat. “I’ve got this. It’ll only take me a few minutes.” He grabbed their empty plates before she had a chance to object.
True to his word, he had the few dishes washed, dried, and nearly all put away by the time a knock sounded at the door. Even though he knew it was the detective, old habits died hard. He signaled Hailey to wait. He wanted to double-check it truly was Eric before opening the door. He circled the island and crossed the open space to the front door. A peek around the curtain revealed it was indeed the detective. As he’d anticipated.
He swung the door open and stepped back to allow the man inside. Had he overstepped by taking charge? Turning back toward the kitchen, he half expected to find an annoyed or amused expression on Hailey’s face, but he found nothing of the sort. Instead, she stood with a still-clingy Jenna in her arms, gaze fixed on the two of them.
“You ready to go?” Eric asked.
Hailey nodded. “I just need to grab the spare car seat and some dog food from the garage on our way out.”
Before she overloaded herself, Peter collected her other bags from the island. “I’ve got these.” He locked and bolted the front door, then followed the others to the attached garage, where he’d left his car. While Peter placed the luggage and the bag of dog food in the trunk, Eric switched out the old car seat for the spare Hailey had mentioned. It had done its job keeping Jennasafe during the wreck, and they’d transferred it to Peter’s car to get her home—after the detective had checked it for evidence, of course. But it was no longer considered safe for continued use, despite its intact appearance.
Eric extracted himself from the back seat. “It’s ready.”
Hailey moved to get Jenna buckled in, but as soon as the toddler realized what was going on, she immediately burst into tears and started flailing in protest. She’d done the same when they loaded up for the ride home. Somehow, Hailey managed to get her buckled in, then she climbed in next to her daughter and took hold of her hand.
Peter and Eric exchanged a silent look filled with understanding, sympathy, and outrage at the men who’d so heartlessly traumatized the girl. He didn’t blame Jenna one bit for the outburst. He only hoped she wouldn’t carry the aftereffects of her ordeal long into the future.
Maggie nosed at the car door and let out a whine. She turned to look at Peter as if she understood this was his car and he was the one with the authority to let her in. “No worries, girl. We’re not leaving you behind.” He circled to the other side of the car and opened the back door. In an instant, Maggie was inside, her nose pressed into Jenna’s free hand.
Peter moved her tail out of the way and closed the door. He turned to Eric. “Anything I need to know before we head out?”
“You know about as much as I do at this point. Keep to the main roads as much as possible. I’ll be close behind.”
Peter nodded and climbed in. After the detective opened the garage door and moved out of his way, he backed outside into the circular driveway and waited. Eric lowered the door and headed for his own car. A moment later, he flashed his headlights. Time to go.
18
Hailey awoke Tuesday morningto little hands patting her cheeks. She opened her eyes just as Jenna’s fingers came in contact with yesterday’s bruise. Ow. She sat up, careful not to knock Jenna off-balance, and gave her little girl a smile.Good morning.
Jenna pointed at Hailey’s face, then tapped her index fingers together in a sign forouch.
Hailey fought the frown that tried to form. She didn’t want to worry her daughter—yesterday had been enough trauma to last them both for years. Instead, she kept her lips turned up and signed,I’m okay.
Apparently satisfied, Jenna grinned and wiggled back off the bed. A moment later, she was back, waving a clean Pull-Up and a rumpled dress that she’d dug out of the diaper bag. That was not an outfit Hailey had packed last night, and she couldn’t remember how long it had been since she’d placed it there. But it passed the sniff test and looked like it should still fit, so she decided to go with it. As soon as the dress was on, Jenna marched to the door and pointed. She was clearly ready to start their day. Maggie stood next to her as if seconding her demand.
Hailey yawned. She wasn’t feeling the rush, but she swung her legs over the side of the bed and reached for her phone. Shefrowned when her fingers met only the smooth surface of the empty nightstand. She’d forgotten she didn’t currently have a phone. Getting a replacement would be high on her to-do list. Her frown deepened. Since she wasn’t working today, she guessed that was the only thing on her list—besides caring for Jenna, of course.
Grabbing the light robe she’d had the presence of mind to pack last night, she stepped around Jenna’s trundle bed and joined her little girl at the door. Hand in hand, they made their way down the hall, Maggie close behind. Breakfasty scents already hung in the air—coffee, ham, and something sweet. Apparently, Mom was going all out.
When they entered the kitchen, Mom was in the middle of pouring perfect rounds of pancake batter onto a cast-iron griddle. Without looking up, she called, “Good morning. How’d you sleep?”
“Well enough.” Hailey glanced at the digital readout above the stove. Despite yesterday’s ordeal, Jenna had only slept thirty minutes later than usual. Figured.
Jenna tugged her hand free and ran to wrap her arms around her grandma’s leg. Mom laughed. “There’s my girl.” She set the batter bowl aside and wiped her hands on her apron before picking her up and giving her a big hug. With Jenna propped on her hip, she turned toward Hailey. Her smile faltered.
“Do I look that bad?”
“You wouldn’t ask that if you’d looked in the mirror.”
Hailey managed a wry grin. “Jenna was in a hurry to get in here. I haven’t made it to the bathroom yet.”
Mom turned back to the stove and began flipping the pancakes. “Go. I’ll take care of this one until you get back.”
She seemed to have things under control, so Hailey took her up on the offer. She almost gasped when she saw her reflection. No wonder Mom had reacted as she did. Hailey had known her eye was still pretty tender and swollen, but she hadn’t quite beenprepared for how much worse it looked than it had last night. Good thing she didn’t have to go into the office today.
Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she didn’t have time to stare at her shiner all morning. As quickly as possible, she took care of her most pressing needs, then splashed some cold water on her face before returning to the kitchen.
Looked like breakfast was almost ready, so Hailey added a scoop of dog food to Maggie’s dish, then set the table. The front door slammed, and her dad appeared a moment later. His eyes darkened when he saw Hailey’s face, but he didn’t comment. He’d already said all there was to say last night. If they’d had any idea who those men were, Hailey was certain he’d have gone after them himself.
