Page 46 of Twin Jeopardy

By the time she got to her feet, whoever had assaulted her was running away, feet pounding hard on the pavement. Tammy stood, staggering a little as a wave of dizziness rocked her. The front door creaked open. “Tammy? Is that you?” her mother’s voice asked.

The words forced her into action. She hurried to the door and gently urged her mother back inside. “Let’s go in, Mom.” She followed her mom into the front hall and locked the door behind them.

Mrs. Patterson stared at her daughter. “You’re bleeding!” she said. “What happened?”

Tammy turned to the mirror by the door. Blood trickled from her swollen lip, and her hair was sticky with clotting blood. One eye was starting to swell, and her shirt was torn. “Someone attacked me right in our driveway,” she said.

“We need to call the sheriff.” Her mother looked around, as if searching for a phone.

“Yes. You’d better do that.”

While her mother dialed 911 and talked to the operator, Tammy went to one of the front windows and peered out. Hers was the only vehicle visible near the house, and she could see no sign of her attacker, though the darkness past the circle of light from the porch was so intense she could scarcely make out anything.

“They’re sending a deputy right away.” Her mother came to stand beside her. “Let me clean up that cut,” she said.

“No, thanks. I’ll be okay until after the deputy gets here. They may want to take pictures or something.” Was that only in cases of rape? Had that been the attacker’s intent? This felt like violence for the sake of violence. Someone wanted to hurt her.

Deputy Declan Owen knocked on the door approximately ten minutes later. The handsome dark-haired deputy was relatively new to the Rayford County Sheriff’s Department, but he had impressed Tammy as smart and professional. He studied her battered face for a moment when she opened the door, then said, “Why don’t we sit down somewhere, and you can tell me what happened.”

She led him to the living room, where they sat on either end of the sofa. Her mother took the armchair nearest Tammy and perched on the edge of the seat, hands knotted together. “I drove home from the planning-commission meeting, parked my car and started up the walkway,” Tammy said. “Then someone attacked me. I hit the ground hard, my attacker on top of me, pummeling me. We wrestled for a few minutes, then I managed to fight them off and they ran away.”

“Did you see your attacker?” Declan asked. “Can you describe them?”

She shook her head. “It was dark, and I think they were wearing dark clothing. I think they even had something covering their face, like a balaclava.”

“How big a person? Did they say anything? Could you tell if it was a man or a woman?”

“Not much bigger than me,” she said. “I think that’s why I was able to shove them off. And I think... I don’t think it was a man. They felt—softer. Like a woman. And...and I kicked them hard between the legs, and while they didn’t like it, it didn’t exactly disable them.”

Declan made more notes on the pad in his hand. “Did they say anything?”

“Not a word.”

“Do you have any idea who this was?”

“No. I don’t know why anyone would attack me. Especially another woman.”

“Anyone who might be upset by an article you’ve written lately?”

“No. I haven’t written anything controversial lately. And when people get upset by an article, they write angry letters to the editor. Or they tell me to my face what I did wrong. This person just started hitting me without saying anything.”

“Could it be a jealous girlfriend or wife who thinks you’re involved with their husband or boyfriend?”

“No. I haven’t been dating anyone.” She blushed. “Well, I’m sort of seeing Vince Shepherd. But he doesn’t have a girlfriend, or a wife.” Not that she knew of, anyway.

Declan turned to Tammy’s mom. “Did you see anything unusual this evening before Tammy came home?” he asked. “A strange car in the neighborhood, maybe someone who stopped by the house, looking for her?”

“No. I didn’t know anything was going on until I heard a scream. I went to the door to see if Tammy had fallen in the dark or something.”

“Did you get a glimpse of her attacker?” Declan asked.

“I’m sorry, no.” Her mother frowned at Tammy. “I didn’t know you were dating anyone.”

“Vince and I are taking things slow,” she said. She turned to Declan. “Have there been any other attacks like this?”

“No,” Declan said. “Is there anything else you can tell us about the person who attacked you? Did they have long or short hair, or anything that stood out to you?”

“I think they had their hair covered, perhaps by the balaclava. I didn’t feel any hair. Whoever it was, they were strong—and angry.” She touched her swollen lip. “I need to clean up and get some ice on my face.”

---