Page 13 of The Husband's Secret
“Thank you.” Brenda drew in a deep breath for the first time since hearing the sound of her child whimpering.
While she waited, she checked the living room and kitchen and under the table in the dining nook. Maybe she’d been half asleep and tripped and fell. Maybe the whole thing had been a nightmare and… The back door stood open. She stiffened. Not a nightmare. Not her imagination. It was real then. There had been someone in the house. Several emotions swam through her veins. Fear…anger…affirmation.
“Are you armed, Ms. Devers?”
The voice startled her no matter that Brenda still had the phone pressed to her ear. “No,” she said, clearing her head of the thoughts tugging her in a dozen directions.
“Is there a firearm in the house?”
“No.” Brenda turned around and around in the center of her kitchen.Someone had been in her house. And she was unarmed. Her husband had been the one with the handgun. He’d taken it with him when he moved out—after his last round of cheating. After ripping apart the final tatters of their relationship.
He is alive.
The realization rattled her. The explosion…three dead…DNA…an attorney for the Jenners. The horrors flooded in like a lake spilling over a dam.
“Looks like the, ah…” She swallowed in hopes of dampening her dry throat. “The intruder came in and then left through the back door.” She forced the other worries away. Had to focus. “It’s standing open.” Maybe the thud she heard had been him running into something.
“Stay inside,” the call taker warned. “The officers are approaching your home now.”
The news set her in motion. Brenda hurried back to her daughter’s room and opened the closet door. She reached in andpulled a shivering Janey into her arms. “It’s okay, baby. We’re safe now.”
But were they?
No way. Something was going on with Scott and whatever trouble his firm had gotten involved with. She and Janey might never be safe again.
A couple of sharp raps against the front door were followed by, “Huntsville Police!”
Practically running, Brenda rushed to the door and opened it. The sight of the two uniformed officers made her weep. The tears hit her so hard and fast…so unexpectedly that she couldn’t remain standing. She collapsed to the floor, Janey hugged against her chest.
One officer moved past and headed into the house, turning on lights as he went. The other crouched down and surveyed her. “Are you all right, ma’am? Do you need medical attention?”
“No.” She swiped at her eyes. “I’m fine. I’m sorry. I just…” She shook her head. Couldn’t explain the sudden eruption of emotions.
“It’s all right.” He stood, held out a hand. “Let’s get you and your daughter over to the couch, and then I’ll have a look around outside.”
She took his hand, her relief so profound she couldn’t hold back another surge of tears. She felt so foolish. She never broke down like this.
When he’d ushered her onto the sofa, he walked back outside. She watched beyond the window as his flashlight moved over the yard…over the shrubs that had bloomed so beautifully last year and were showing signs of the same this year. This was her and Janey’s home. Their private space…their safe place. Emotion clogged her throat once more and she fought it back. She couldn’t keep falling apart like this. Janey needed her tobe strong. She was watching, taking her cues from her mother. Brenda had to keep it together better than this.
Shouting outside had her hunkering lower on the sofa. Janey whimpered. “Shh, shh. It’s okay.” Brenda surely hoped it was okay.
The officer who had helped her to the sofa appeared at the front door once more. “Ma’am, there’s a Ben Clark out here. He says he’s your neighbor.”
The officer who’d gone deeper into her home came from the direction of the bedrooms. “All clear,” he said to his partner.
Brenda nodded to the officer at her door. “Yes. Ben Clark is my neighbor.”
“He wants to see you, but it’s best if no one else comes into the house until we’re finished.”
Brenda somehow managed to get to her feet. “Is it okay if my daughter and I go next door and stay until you need us?”
“Yes, ma’am. My partner will be over to take your statement once we’ve completed the assessment of the situation here.”
Brenda nodded and headed out the door. Ben waited on the sidewalk.
“Are you two okay?”
Brenda managed another deep breath. “Yes. We’re…fine.”
