Chương 4
Words were useful things.
You could hide an entire marriage inside them.
“Mom,” Emma said.
“Police are here.”
My entire body went cold.
“Can you see them?”
“From the window.”
“Stay upstairs.”
Dad moved beside me.
“Tell her not to open the door unless they identify themselves and ask for her.”
I repeated it.
Downstairs, something slammed.
A man shouted.
Not David.
Another voice followed, firm and controlled.
Emma gasped.
“They’re in the house.”
“Stay where you are.”
“Dad’s yelling.”
I heard him through the phone now.
His words were indistinct, but his tone was unmistakable.
Outrage.
Insult.
Disbelief that rules could possibly apply to him.
Emma began crying.
Not loudly.
She tried to hide it.
“Sweetheart, I’m here.”
“They’re taking him outside.”
“Stay with me.”
“What if he gets arrested?”
The question broke something open inside me.
Part of me wanted to say good.
Another part wanted to protect her from ever seeing handcuffs on her father.
Both feelings existed at the same time, ugly and honest.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“Did you call them?”
“Yes.”
She stopped crying for a second.
“Oh.”
That small sound was worse than anger.
“You did the right thing,” Dad said quietly.
I glared at him.
“Not helping.”
He backed away.
A knock sounded through Emma’s phone.
All four girls screamed.
“Who is it?” Emma called.
A woman answered from the hallway.
“Fairfax County Police, sweetheart.”
Emma looked to me through the phone as if I could somehow see her.
“What do I do?”
“Ask her name.”
“What’s your name?”
“Officer Ramirez.”
Dad nodded.
“Have her ask to see identification under the door.”
I relayed it.
A moment later Emma said, “She showed me.”
“Open the door.”
The lock clicked.
A woman’s voice became clearer.
“Hi, girls.”
Nobody answered.
“I’m Officer Elena Ramirez.”
A pause.
“Your mom asked us to check on you.”
Sophie spoke first.
“Is my dad going to jail?”
Officer Ramirez did not give her an easy lie.
“Right now, your dad is talking to another officer outside.”
“Did he hurt Mom?”
The room around me seemed to shrink.
The officer waited.
“I think that’s something your mom should talk with you about.”
That answer told me she understood children.
Emma picked up the phone.
“Can she talk to you?”
“Yes.”
A moment later the officer came on.
“Mrs. Mercer?”
“Hale.”
I corrected myself automatically.
Then stopped.
My married name had been Mercer for thirteen years.
I had no idea why my maiden name came out.
Officer Ramirez did not comment.
“Ms. Hale, your daughters are safe.”
“Thank you.”
“Your husband is outside with my partner.”
“Is he arrested?”
“Not at this moment.”
My shoulders loosened slightly.
Then she added, “I understand the hospital documented an assault.”
“They’re documenting it now.”
“Do you want to make a report?”
I stared at the wall.
This was the point where my life separated into before and after.
David had apologized before for shouting.
For breaking things.
For saying cruel things he claimed he did not mean.
He had never hit me.
There had always been a line.
Today he crossed it.
“Yes.”
The word left my mouth quietly.
Dad looked at me.
“I want to make a report.”
Officer Ramirez’s tone stayed professional.
“All right.”
“We can arrange for an officer to meet with you there.”
“Okay.”
“Do you want your husband allowed back into the residence tonight?”
I thought about Emma’s shaking voice.
“No.”
The answer came faster this time.
“Does he have somewhere else he can stay?”
“He has a brother in Arlington.”
“Good.”
A muffled male voice spoke near Ramirez.
She replied to someone, then returned.
“Your husband says he intends to remove the children from the home.”
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“He can’t.”
“I’m not making a custody determination.”
Her voice was careful.
“But given what happened today, I strongly suggest you speak with a family-law attorney as soon as possible.”
Dad’s earlier call suddenly made sense.
“He threatened to take them in the hospital.”
“Did anyone hear that?”
“My father.”
“Anyone else?”
“Possibly a nurse.”
Marisol raised her hand.
“I heard part of it.”
“I have a nurse here who heard him.”
“Good.”
Then she corrected herself.
“I mean, useful.”
“I understood.”
The officer continued.
“For tonight, your daughters can remain at the residence if you have a safe adult who can stay with them.”
Dad stepped closer.
I looked at him.
“You’ve been awake since five.”
“So?”
“You drove three hours.”
“I’ve survived more dangerous things than suburban bedtime.”
Despite myself, I smiled.
Officer Ramirez heard him.
“Who is that?”
“My father.”
“What’s his name?”
Dad answered loudly enough for the phone.
“Robert Hale.”
There was a pause.
Then another.
Officer Ramirez’s voice changed by perhaps five percent.
“Lieutenant General Robert Hale?”
Dad closed his eyes.
I almost laughed again.
“Yes.”
Emma shouted from the background.
“What?”
Dad pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Wonderful.”
Officer Ramirez cleared her throat.
“Sir, I just need to verify identification when you arrive.”
“Of course.”
“No special procedures.”
“I wouldn’t ask for any.”
“Good.”
Another pause.
Then the officer, sounding almost amused, said, “My father served under you at Fort Bragg.”
Dad looked like he wanted the floor to open.
“Small world.”
“He said you were terrifying.”
“Your father exaggerates.”
“He definitely does not.”
Even Marisol laughed at that.
The sound loosened something in my chest.
Then David’s voice exploded faintly from outside Emma’s house.
“I am their father!”
Every muscle in my body tightened again.
Officer Ramirez moved away from the phone.
“Stay inside, girls.”
The line became muffled.
Dad reached for his jacket.
“I’m going.”
I caught his sleeve.
“Don’t confront him.”
His expression hardened.
“I won’t.”
“Dad.”
“I said I won’t.”
“That isn’t the same promise normal people make.”
He stared at me for a second.
Then he placed his hand over mine.
“Or touch him.”
“Claire.”
“Say it.”
He sighed.
May you like
“Or use anyone you know to ruin his life.”
“That one needs clarification.”
