Page 9 of Operation: Unify

The officer raised a brow. Melinda took a deep breath. “I asked her to come. He’s been angry with me lately and I was frightened. He doesn’t let me leave the house without him, which is why I’m still in yesterday’s clothes and I’m wearing her boots.” She pointed her thumb at Lacy.

Lacy laid a hand on Melinda’s arm. “Show him your cheek.”

Melinda brushed her hair back behind her ear. “He also grabbed my wrists.” She pushed each of her sleeves up, one at a time, showing red marks above her hands.

“Let me get a form and a camara so we can document this.” Officer Bakersfield stood and headed out of the room.

“Have they ever documented this kind of thing before?” Lacy watched the door, wanting to keep her questions between her and Melinda.

“No. Only his. The wounds he gave himself but said I did.”

The officer returned and took photos of her bruises and wrote down her statement. “Do you have anywhere you can stay while we look into this?” He tapped the paper with his finger.

“My aunt lives twenty minutes from here. I don’t have her number though.” Melinda again ducked her head.

Lacy gave him her cell number and promised to get her to her aunt’s house. As soon as they were outside, Lacy took a deep breath. “Let’s go find some clothes and shoes for you, plus a coat. Then, you can tell me how to get to your aunt’s.”

Melinda gave a curt nod. “Okay. I don’t have any money though.”

Lacy hadn’t expected her to pay anyway. “I didn’t figure you did. Is there a thrift store around here? Those are usually my favorite places to shop.”

“I haven’t shopped in a long time. I think there’s one on First Avenue, as you head out of town.”

“Great. Then we don’t have to go out of our way.” She clicked the fob to unlock her car and both of them got inside.

Forty minutes later, Melinda had two outfits, plus necessities, and boots with a coat. She seemed to have relaxed slightly, and Lacy was ready to get her somewhere she could sleep for a bit. As soon as they got in the car, Melinda directed her to the nearest highway. Before long, they were in another tiny town in rural New Mexico.

“Auntie Joy moved here to be close to me, but I was never allowed to have her over and I couldn’t go see her.”

“Oh! I remember Joy. She moved about a year after you did.” Lacy hadn’t realized Joy had followed Melinda south.

“Yeah, I just hope she’s home. I kept her address in my memory, not written down. So, hopefully, he never knew exactly where to find her. If he did, he’d try to con her out of money or threaten her. He never had any money. Up until he got the job at the car repair place, he couldn’t keep a job.”

Lacy looked up and down the street where each house had plenty of room between them. There were bird baths and flower beds that were now brown with the cooler temperatures. She followed Melinda to the front door and waited as she knocked.

Down the street, an engine started. Out of habit, and because Connor had taught her to always be situationally aware, Lacy looked for the vehicle but couldn’t find it. No one came to the door and Melinda knocked again.

The more seconds passed without a response from Joy, tension coiled in Lacy’s neck. From down the street, the car that had started slowly turned onto the street and headed toward them.

“No. No, no, no.” Melinda pounded on the door. “That’s his car.”

“Let’s go around back.” Lacy tugged on Melinda’s arm and they both took off before the car could get close.

Melinda cupped her hands together and looked in a window that seemed to be a sitting room or sunroom. There was no sign of Joy inside.

“Melinda, you’re sure she still lives here?”

She nodded quickly. “She came to my house one evening and talked to me. I had to explain to her that she couldn’t come, even when Tod was gone. She told me she would be here for me if I ever needed her. I was too afraid to have her come and face Tod when I realized what he was doing. She’s old. Frail. He wouldn’t think twice about hurting her.”

“Look.” Lacy pointed to a sliding door. “If that’s open, we can duck inside.”

“Good idea. If she’s asleep, she won’t mind.” Melinda ran over, jiggled the pull and the door slid open.

“Aunt Joy?” Melinda called.

Lacy wanted to check the bedroom before Melinda could. If Aunt Joy had fallen asleep last night and simply not woken up, this would turn from a bad day to a lot worse for Melinda. She could at least save her from that discovery.

The soft sound of water running met her ears as she approached the bathroom. Maybe Aunt Joy was in the shower and hadn’t heard the knocking. She went further down the hall to find the bathroom door open.

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