Page 77 of Never Fall Again

“She said I would have a place to stay and a job. Once that was sorted, the staff at the rehab facility knew people who ran a nearby women’s shelter, and they came, took statements and affidavits, and laid the groundwork for what would happen after I left. I went home to pack.”

A shudder rippled through her. “I thought he’d be at work all day, but he came home early.”

Cal didn’t know how much more of this he could take. “He caught you packing?”

“He walked in, looked around, realized what was happening, and lost it. He slapped me. Shoved me into a chair. Pulled my hair. Screamed at me. Eliza was asleep, but she woke up and started crying. He told me to make her hush. Then he locked me in the bedroom with her. He took my phone. Took the computer. Took everything.”

Cal had reached his limit. “Landry?”

“Yes?”

“Could I please hold your hand?”

He wanted to hold her hand? Landry didn’t sense any flirtatiousness or teasing. He was quite serious. “Of course. Are you okay?”

“Am I okay? No, I’m not okay. I know you survived.” He laced his fingers with hers. “I know you’re alive and Eliza’s alive, and I can see you and hear you. But touch grounds me. And I don’t want to call Maisy, because if I do, Eliza will come. And if you don’t tell me the end of this story and quickly, I will not be okay.”

Landry decided it was time to jump straight to the end. “I don’t know for sure what happened after that. Even in a rage, he was careful. He did hit me. He did hurt me. I’m sure his handprint on my cheek was there for a while, but by the time night fell, there was no evidence of an assault.”

“How long did he keep you locked in the room?”

“Three hours? Maybe four? Then he came in and yelled at me for a while. Most of it was incomprehensible. His breath reeked so I assumed he’d been drinking for a while. Then he said he was leaving and that I’d better not do anything stupid while he was gone.”

“Did he lock you in the room again?”

“No. I think he would have, but he was drunk. I should have told him not to drive, but I was so desperate for him to leave, all I could do was pray he wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

“Did you leave that night?”

“No.”

“No?” Cal’s shock and outrage filled the air around them. “Why didn’t you run?”

“I’m getting there.”

“Please get there a little faster. I’m dying over here.”

“Okay. As soon as he left, I started running around, trying to gather everything. He’d unpacked all my bags, thrown stuff around, the house was trashed. Then there was a knock at the door. BeforeI could scream, I heard Bronwyn calling my name. When I didn’t show up at the rehab center, she came to the house. But she’d had the good sense not to come in.”

Landry looked at Cal. “Her life, after she left here, wasn’t easy. She has street smarts. The kind you don’t get growing up in Gossamer Falls.”

“I believe that.” Cal acknowledged it with a grimace. “In some ways, she’s still our Beep. But in other ways? She’s a stranger.”

“Well, her skills came in handy that night. She’d snuck around our house, heard some of what was said, and called the women’s shelter for reinforcements.”

“Why not call the police?”

“Because Dylan’s best friend was on the force.”

“Of course he was.” Cal kicked at some leaves.

“Anyway, Bronwyn had been planning to try to get into the house, but when Dylan left, she didn’t mess around. She came to the door. Three other people came in who I’d never seen before and I never saw again. The plan was we’d pack everything, we’d split, and once we were safely away, we’d sort it all out.”

“What happened?”

“Before we got the first car packed, a police car pulled up in the driveway. I was convinced Dylan had somehow figured out a way to get me arrested or take Eliza away. Bronwyn went to the door while I hid in the back. She told the officers I couldn’t come out. Asked them if they had a warrant. All kinds of stuff. They’re supposed to notify the next of kin first, but Bronwyn was insistent. They finally told her they weren’t there for any reason but to tell me that my husband was dead.”

Landry closed her eyes, and she was back in that hallway, listening. The shock, the fear, the relief all battered against her.

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