Page 59 of Like You Love Me

“Caleb. They saw the video and know you threatened to kill him.”

As the limousine pulled onto their street, London looked at Bianca, who was shaking her head in disbelief. However, before he could respond, his eyes shifted to the two Sheraton Beach police cars parked in front of their house.

Chapter 14

Bianca jerked upright, and her eyelids opened in alarm as she realized she had dozed off on the sofa. Frantically, she searched beside her and in between the sofa cushions looking for her cell phone. The device had fallen on the floor, and Bianca quickly unlocked the screen, hoping to see a missed call, but there were none.

“London!”

Springing from the cushions, she hurried upstairs, hoping that London had returned while she was sleeping and decided not to disturb her.

“Baby, are you up here?”

Her heart palpitated, and with each step, she had to force herself to take slow, deep breaths, but relaxing was impossible. A quick sweep upstairs confirmed that she was still home alone. Feeling a wave of disappointment at the pit of her stomach, Bianca flopped down into an armchair.

After a lovely evening of dancing and laughing, they had returned home to find a detective waiting to take London down to the police station for questioning. Caleb was dead. She still couldn’t wrap her brain around him being found beside the train tracks. But what bothered her even more, was that the police suspected London. Bianca took another slow deep breath and tried not to get ahead of herself. Okay, maybe they didn’t suspect him. Perhaps they were just questioning him about his whereabouts the night before. But how dare them! How dare they think a man supportive in the community would know anything about what happened to Caleb. It just didn’t make any sense. London had gone willingly, stating he had nothing to hide. But Bianca contacted her father and then Jaden, who was able to get a few details from one of his friends on the force. According to him, a man had been out walking his dog near the railroad tracks when he found Caleb’s body. The police arrived on the scene and determined that Caleb had been struck by a large vehicle based on the proximity of his injuries.And my husband just happens to drive a black Hummer.London said he hadn’t been anywhere near that area, and she believed him. Unfortunately, everyone, including the police, had seen the video of London punching Caleb in Spanky’s and threatening to kill him. And as a result, he immediately became a person of interest. But Bianca had seen enoughLaw & Orderto know that phrase meant prime suspect. And what was worse was when London agreed to come down to the station and lifted the garage door to climb into his Hummer, they spotted the huge dent in the hood. London quickly explained that he had struck a deer along the road while driving. She didn’t miss the look of skepticism on the officers’ faces. Bianca groaned inwardly. Why hadn’t London mentioned that before? Bianca glanced down at her phone and saw it was almost 7:00 AM. London had been down at the station all night. If they only had a few questions, why was he still there? Why hadn’t he called her?? Why hadn’t anyone called her?? She quickly redialed London’s number, but it just rang.Baby, please let me know what’s going on, she said as if he could hear her heart through the phone.

“Stop it,” she reprimanded and tried to brush her fear away. Her father told her not to worry; he would contact their attorney and handle everything. She had even talked to Denise, who was just as shocked. The twins were at Mona Lisa’s house consoling her over the loss of her husband.

Bianca sent Debra a quick text to call her once she was up, then headed back downstairs into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. Her phone rang, almost startling her.

“Did you get any sleep?” Debra asked once she answered.

Bianca drew a sigh. Debra was always so thoughtful. “I doze off for a bit, and then I was freaking out again. Deb, I’m really starting to worry. London is still not home. And I haven’t received any calls from him. Why would he still be there if he wasn’t a suspect?”

“You know how the police are. They are probably trying to get all the facts and the details,” Debra said, trying to calm her nerves.

“I know, I know,” Bianca replied impatiently. “But why is it taking so long? London said he was nowhere near the train tracks. After he left Spanky’s, he went for a drive to calm down.”

“That’s good news. Did anybody see him?” Debra asked excitedly.

“No. That’s the problem.” Bianca poured hot water into the mug as she continued. “When London has a lot on his mind, he’ll hop in his vehicle and start driving without even thinking about where he’s going,” she said with a groan.

“Dang, I was hoping someone saw him,” Debra said with a sigh of despair.

“Me too,” she said, dipping a tea bag into the water. “I know how my husband gets when it comes to Caleb and Mona Lisa. London was pissed.” She told him how Mona had called London after Caleb struck her. “After hearing that, he stormed down to Spanky’s, and you saw what happened next in the video.” With a sigh, she carried the mug over to the island and took a seat. “My husband needed a moment to breathe and let off a little steam, but I can’t understand why he didn’t mention hitting a deer.”

“Yeah, that is odd,” Debra said with hesitation. “And I’m sure the police thought the same thing.”

“Yes, I could see it on their faces. Deb, I think if he hadn’t volunteered to go down to the station. They would have arrested him.”

“Don’t start worrying. It’s going to be okay. I can feel it in my heart. And I know your father is going to take care of everything. I’m sure he plays golf with too many of our local politicians for them not to owe him a favor or two.”

As she brought the mug to her lips, Bianca’s hand shook, but Debra was right.Thank goodness for Father.Roger had done a lot for the people in this community, and somebody probably did owe him a favor. “I want all this just to go away.”

“I know, sweetie and everything is gonna be okay. I feel confident about that. So don’t worry, it’s going to work itself out. How is your sister-in-law taking the news?”

“I don’t know,” she replied between sips. “I tried calling over there, but she was so distraught, Carmen said she wasn’t taking any phone calls.”

“Which is understandable. The way you talk about her and Caleb, she’s been going through quite a bit these last few years. I hate to say it, but something was bound to happen to him sooner or later. It’s just unfortunate that it ends up being something like this.”

“I know. Caleb wasn’t half bad when he was sober.” Bianca drew a breath. “And his poor daughter.”

“Oh yes, I forgot they have a daughter. Poor baby girl,” her voice was filled with sympathy.

“I want to go over there and see them, but first I have to find out what’s going on with my husband.”

“Everything is going to be okay. You’ll see. If he’s not there in the next hour, you let me know, and Tyrese and I will come over there and spend the afternoon with you.”

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