Chương 8
“I saw her through the front window.”
“With the papers?”
“What papers?”
“Never mind.”
Carol exhaled.
“Mrs. Patel is making tea.”
Audrey almost smiled.
“That sounds like Mrs. Patel.”
“She’s judging my slippers.”
“That also sounds like Mrs. Patel.”
Carol laughed.
The brief normality nearly undid Audrey.
“Call me if anything changes.”
After they hung up, Thomas said, “You handled that well.”
Audrey stared at him.
“Please don’t grade me.”
He looked wounded.
“I wasn’t.”
“I know.”
She sat down again.
The pain medication had not started working.
Neither had the part of her brain that kept waiting for Julian to call and apologize.
The expectation disgusted her.
She wanted him to say he was horrified by what he had done.
She wanted him to admit that everything after the first slap had been some impossible break in reality.
She wanted the man who made terrible omelets on Sundays and left wet towels on the bed and texted her pictures of dogs he wanted but refused to adopt.
That man existed.
So did this one.
Audrey did not know which truth was worse.
Mara sat across from her.
“You don’t have to make sense of him today.”
Audrey looked up.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“I’m trying to understand what he wants.”
“That’s different.”
“No, it isn’t.”
Mara considered that.
“Fair.”
Thomas remained by the window.
After a minute, he said, “He wants access.”
“To the trust?”
“To you.”
Audrey’s shoulders tightened.
Thomas turned.
“I don’t mean romantically.”
“I know what you meant.”
“He wants to control the conditions around every decision.”
Audrey looked at the floor.
“That sounds familiar.”
Thomas’s jaw moved.
“Yes.”
The old accusation stayed between them.
This time neither of them stepped over it.
Mara’s phone buzzed.
She read the message.
“Police are at the house.”
Audrey stood too quickly.
Pain flashed along her side.
Mara caught her elbow.
“What did they say?”
“Nothing yet.”
Thomas looked at the clock.
10:42.
Audrey walked to the window.
From this height, cars looked harmless.
People crossed at the intersection with coffee cups and backpacks.
A delivery cyclist argued with a bus driver.
Nobody knew that somewhere twelve minutes away, Eleanor was sitting beside paperwork in Audrey’s dining room while police walked through the front door.
Her phone rang.
Unknown number.
Mara nodded.
“Answer.”
Audrey did.
“Ms. Mercer?”
“Yes.”
“This is Officer Daniel Ruiz with the Brookside Police Department.”
Thomas stepped closer.
Audrey put the call on speaker.
Officer Ruiz continued.
“We’re at your residence.”
“Yes.”
“Mr. Hale says you left voluntarily this morning after a marital argument.”
Audrey’s stomach tightened.
“He hit me.”
There was a pause.
“I understand you’re reporting an assault.”
“I was examined by a doctor this morning.”
“Okay.”
The officer’s tone changed slightly.
“Are you in a safe location?”
“Yes.”
“Is Mr. Hale aware of where you are?”
“No.”
“Do you want him to know?”
“No.”
“Understood.”
Audrey gripped the edge of the desk.
“My neighbor called me because he entered her house.”
“We’ve spoken with Mrs. Brennan.”
“Is she okay?”
“She is.”
Audrey breathed out.
Officer Ruiz continued.
“Mr. Hale says she invited him inside.”
Audrey closed her eyes.
Carol had said he asked to use her phone.
That probably counted as being invited.
“He followed her outside.”
“We’re getting separate statements.”
Mara leaned toward the phone.
“Officer, this is Mara Bell, counsel for Ms. Mercer.”
The officer’s response became more formal.
Mara identified herself and explained that Audrey had medical documentation and preserved digital evidence.
She did not mention the financial records.
Audrey noticed that.
Thomas noticed too.
Neither interrupted.
Officer Ruiz said they would need Audrey’s statement.
Mara arranged for an officer to meet them somewhere other than the apartment.
Then Audrey asked the question that had been waiting in her throat.
“Is Eleanor still inside?”
“Yes.”
“What is she doing?”
The officer hesitated.
“She says she is waiting for you.”
“With a real estate contract?”
Another pause.
“There are documents on the dining table.”
“I need them preserved.”
Mara touched Audrey’s arm.
Audrey stopped.
Officer Ruiz said, “Those documents are inside your residence?”
“Yes.”
“And you are the homeowner?”
“Yes.”
“Mr. Hale says it is the marital residence.”
“It is.”
“That affects some immediate access questions.”
Mara said, “We understand.”
Audrey hated how many things could be true at once.
It was her house.
It was also Julian’s home.
He had assaulted her.
He had also slept there for four years.
The law did not reorganize itself according to her fear.
Officer Ruiz said, “There’s something else.”
Audrey’s fingers tightened around the phone.
“What?”
“Mr. Hale is claiming you took financial records belonging to him.”
Thomas looked at Mara.
Mara’s expression did not change.
“What records?” Audrey asked.
“He says business records and personal banking information.”
“They were in my house.”
“That does not necessarily determine ownership.”
Mara said, “She will not discuss disputed documents without counsel.”
Officer Ruiz acknowledged that.
Then he added, “Mr. Hale also says you have been secretly recording him.”
Audrey looked at the second phone on the table.
The cloud audio.
The bedroom recordings.
The conversations she had preserved.
Mara’s eyes narrowed.
“Officer, we’ll address evidence handling in person.”
“Understood.”
Audrey felt a new pressure building behind her ribs.
Not pain.
Something worse.
Julian knew.
Maybe not exactly what she had.
But he knew enough to start shaping a story before she ever reached the police station.
Officer Ruiz said, “Ms. Mercer, there’s one final thing you should be aware of.”
Audrey waited.
“When we arrived, Mr. Hale was holding a signed document.”
Her mouth went dry.
“What document?”
“He says it transfers an ownership interest in the residence.”
Audrey stared at Mara.
Mara went completely still.
“That’s impossible,” Audrey said.
Officer Ruiz did not answer.
Audrey’s voice sharpened.
“I never signed anything like that.”
The officer said, “Then you should bring identification and any property records you have when you give your statement.”
May you like
Audrey looked at the fire-resistant pouch beside her suitcase.
Inside it was the deed.
