Tina’s cozy, tree-lined street looked like a Norman Rockwell setting made for raising happy, well-adjusted children. I wondered what secrets lived in the other houses.
A new red sports car sat in the driveway of Tina’s home, its sticker still on the window. I glanced at the price as I walked past and flinched. He might be having trouble at work, but obviously he made a good income. Too bad Tom Whatley hadn’t been at Hamblin’s to make the sale. There had to have been a very nice commission on this one.
As I stood on the front step, I could hear raised voices inside, first deep and masculine, then shrill and feminine. Then I distinctly heard a slap and a cry of pain.
Suddenly getting a good bite for my story seemed unimportant, even selfish. A woman’s very life might well be at stake, and journalism faded to insignificance. I put my shaking finger firmly on the bell.
All noise within ceased. Then the woman inside this house began to cry.
I rang again.
The door opened and a floridly handsome man glowered at me from the other side of the storm door. He wore a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows, revealing strong arms and wrists. Did he develop those muscles with exercises other than beating on Tina?
“Hi.” I smiled brightly, ignoring the turmoil in my stomach. Not only did I have the long tradition of Nellie Bly and Brenda Starr to uphold; I had right on my side.
“We don’t want any,” he snarled. “I gave at the office. Go away.”
I grabbed the storm door and pulled, praying it wasn’t locked. It wasn’t. The door opened wide. He blinked in surprise at my audacity.
“You must be Tina’s husband. I’m Merry.” I held out my hand and stepped into the house. He was forced to either collide with me or step back. He stepped back. He did not shake my hand.
“Hey, Tina, I’m here,” I called gaily.
She appeared behind her husband, a red handprint clearly visible on her cheek. Her eyes were full of fear, her face wet with tears, but her chin was held at a determined angle.
“Ready to go?” I asked.
“Go?” He sputtered like an outboard motor misfiring. “Go where?” He glared at Tina, then at me.
Tina and I ignored him. She turned and disappeared.
I’d lost her! “Tina?”
She reappeared with two small children, a boy about six and a girl about four, each carrying a little backpack. They looked more frightened than children should ever have to look. The girl had obviously been crying, her face mottled, her nose running.
Tina’s husband turned to her with a roar and grabbed her by the upper arm. She winced, and I knew she’d find a bruise there in a short time.
“Go,” she whispered to the kids. “Out to the car.”
“Mommy?” The girl looked at Tina with huge eyes dripping tears.
“Aren’t you coming, Mom?” the boy asked, trying not to cry.
“I’m coming,” Tina said. With her free hand she shooed the children. “Go.”
“Don’t you dare!” At their father’s voice, both children froze halfway down the steps.
I turned to them and smiled, hoping my lips weren’t quivering too much for my smile to be reassuring. “Why don’t you two climb in the backseat and buckle yourselves in?” I suggested quietly. “Your mom and I will be right there.”
The boy looked at his father, at his mother, at me. Then he grabbed his sister’s hand. “Come on, Lacey.”
Together they ran to the car. He pulled the rear door open, and I almost smiled as he helped her in and tried to buckle the seat belt around her.
“You can leave if you want,” Tina’s husband told her in a steely voice, “but I’ll find you, you know. You’re mine. You can’t escape. Ever.”
Could she possibly stand up to such focused intensity from someone who absolutely vibrated with the necessity to bend her to his will?
For a long minute she said nothing, just stared at him like a trapped rabbit.
“Tina,” I said. “Look at me. Look at me!”
“You stay out of this,” he hissed, his eyes never leaving Tina. “This is between my wife and me.”
“Tina!”
She pulled her gaze from her husband’s.
“It’s your choice.” I tried to remember what Stephanie had said. “Remember—the power of choice.”
When she responded, her voice was only a whisper and she talked to the floor, but she’d made her choice. “Let go of me, Bill. I’m going with Merry.”
He was startled at her unprecedented audacity, and taking advantage of his shock she wrenched her arm from his grasp.
He grabbed for her. “That’s what you think.”
I stepped quickly out the door onto the porch, though I kept the storm door open. I looked at the empty yard next door and called, “Hi, how are you doing today?” I even gave a little wave.
The idea that there was someone watching what was happening caused Tina’s husband to check for a minute. She saw her chance and darted past him, ducking as he slapped at her. She and I hurried toward the car.
I stopped halfway down the walk and turned back to the house. He stood on the front steps, his face red with fury, his hands clenched in fists.
“There’s something you should know before you lay a hand on your wife again.” I was so angry my voice shook. “I write for the News, and I’d be delighted to write about you by name. I’m sure they’d like to know at work just what kind of a man you are.”
He stared, clearly surprised. Then he shouted, “You wouldn’t dare! I’d sue you for all you’re worth! You have no proof.” He looked at his wife who was climbing into my car. “And who in their right mind would ever believe her?” The contempt in his voice gave me the chills.
“How about me? I believe her.” And I turned my back.
When we arrived at Tina’s parents’, they welcomed her and the children with obvious relief.
“Finally,” her father said with tears in his eyes. “And this time you’re staying.”
Tina burrowed into his arms as he patted her awkwardly on the shoulder.
“Come on, Lacey, Jess.” Tina’s mother took a small hand in each of hers. “I bet I can find some ice cream in the freezer.”
“Don’t let them eat all mine,” their grandfather said in an attempt to lighten the moment.
“It’s okay, Grandpop.” Lacey stopped in the doorway, trying to swallow her disappointment. “We don’t have to have any.”
With a sad smile, Grandpop said, “Honey, I was teasing. You eat as much as you want.”
Lacey looked at him hesitantly. “I mean it,” he said. “It’s all yours.”
“It’s okay, Lacey,” Jess said. “Isn’t it, Mommy? It’s okay here.”
“It’s okay here,” Tina repeated and began to weep.
Tonight’s black-tie reception was important for my career as I’d be meeting my new superboss for the first time, and I wanted to impress him. I was going to wear one of those rare, it’s-exactly-right dresses that made me feel like a million dollars but which I bought for thirty bucks in a secondhand clothes store. It had a fitted sapphire blue silk top covered with so many sequins that I shimmered like the Caribbean Sea awash in sun jewels. Its soft silk skirt fell