Page 45 of I Know She Was There

Tim ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I’m not sure what to do. This is getting so serious, so fast.”

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s all going to work out.” Another familiar voice. She reached out and placed her hands on his upper arms. “We’re going to figure this out. Together.”

“Do you think we can?”

“I know we can,” she said softly, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. “It’s not impossible, you know. No problem is so big that it can’t be overcome.”

My stomach clenched, acid flowing up my windpipe. Standing in the dark with her arms around my husband was Tasha Turner, the only friend I had left in this town. She must be the woman Tim was seeing. I backed away, head pounding brutally, as I scurried behind cars until eventually reaching my own. I perched on the back bumper, hands on my knees, gulping air.

After a minute or two, a car engine started. I peered around my car as it passed, ensuring that it was, indeed, Tasha’s gray Audi. The same car parked in my driveway every Thursday afternoon. My eyes stung.

Was this why Tasha showed up at my house each week? To monitor me and report her findings to Tim? Was she helping him build the case against me that would give him sole custody of our daughter? Perhaps she was planning a new life with Tim, and a new-and-improved blended family. My throat went dry.

I lost track of time as I balanced on the Honda’s back bumper. Tears flowed unchecked down my cheeks and dripped onto my lap. How had everything managed to spiral out of control? I tried to swallow the sobs, wondering how I was going to navigate my life without a husband or friends. I had nothing left. No one.

That wasn’t true. I had Emmy.

I turned toward Tim’s building. I’d go inside and get her right now. I needed her, and she needed me.

Really, Caroline? And where will you bring her?My mother’s voice.

I wanted to scream at my mother to shut up, but what she said was true. I couldn’t take Emmy now. I was temporarily homeless. I got back in my car and sat in the dark, staring out the window at Tim’s big, ugly building, my mind numb. Suddenly I realized I didn’t care about Tim and his damned budget. I’d find a hotel. The pricier, the better. I shifted the car into drive.

I pulled in front of the Regency on Main and got out of the car, handing the valet my keys, ignoring his question about luggage. I casually drifted to the front desk as though I’d stayed in the luxurious hotel many times. In one smooth move I pulled out the credit card Tim had given me for emergencies and slapped it onto the marble counter.

Only after I was ensconced in the silk sheets and plush, feathery comforter of the king-sized bed did I allow myself to think about my predicament, but only for a second. Problems I had many of. Comfort and luxury were rare commodities. I pulled my prescription bottles from my purse, and popped an extra Xanax, wishing for nothing more than a deep, dreamless sleep.

CHAPTER25

MONDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 11

Iawoke thinking about Tasha and Tim. There was no way I could stay at Tim’s apartment now. I blinked away the moisture in my eyes. I would not cry over Tim. He wasn’t worth it. I felt more betrayed by Tasha, but I couldn’t think about her either. I needed a roof over my head. I could move back home if I had an alarm system. My brain was hazy from last night’s double dose of Xanax, but I managed to get my sluggish limbs to dislodge the plush blankets and climb out of the bed. I stumbled out of the hotel room and into the elevator. Wobbling my way into the lobby, I left my key card on the front desk without even pausing, just calling over my shoulder, “Checking out of room 221. Thanks.”

As the valet pulled my car in front of the hotel, I realized not only was I in the same clothes as the day before but I’d not even brushed my hair or teeth. Having no money for a tip, I smiled apologetically at the valet as he handed me my car keys.

Angling the Honda off Main Street and onto Route 22, I headed south toward the nearest strip mall with a Best Buy. I’d find the most effective, easiest-to-install surveillance system on the market. The hundreds of dollars I’d already charged on Tim’s “emergency” card had covered my emotional emergency. Now I had to keep myself physically protected. I thought of the commercials I’d seen on daytime television touting the simplicity and easy setup of today’s alarm systems. I wouldn’t need a locksmith for the job. I could install one myself. As soon as it was properly in place, I’d drive to Tim’s with the divorce papers. I’d hand them over only if he’d surrender Emmy.

I took a shaky breath. Things weren’t going to work out with Tim, but maybe I could have Emmy in her room as early as this evening.

* * *

The alarm-system components were spread out on the living room floor beside me as I read the assembly instructions. The doorbell buzzed, jolting the quiet room.Has to be Mary. I sighed. I was in no mood for a confrontation, but I knew she’d stand on the other side of that damn door all day if I didn’t get rid of her. I stood, stretching my kinked neck to the left, to the right, my ears nearly touching each shoulder.

My joints snapped uncomfortably back into place as I walked to the front door, my body protesting the sudden shift from the awkward sprawl on the floor to upright, forward motion. The doorknob rattled. Someone was trying to open my door.

Mary never did that.

I paused, picturing an unknown man in dark clothes standing on my stoop. Coming for me. My heart clanged at the possibility. I looked back at the alarm system, metal and plastic pieces of all shapes and sizes scattered across the floor. A sudden, intense pounding on the front door made me jump.

“Open up, Caroline. I know you’re in there.”

Expelling a shaky breath of relief, I pulled the knob toward me and peered through the crack made between the door and jamb, flinching at the furious expression on Tim’s face.

“What are you doing here?” I looked him up and down, noticing he wasn’t holding the baby in her car seat. “Where’s Emmy?”

“What have you done now, Caroline?” he thundered.

He must have discovered the latest charges on the emergency credit card.

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