Page 1 of Sins of a Husband

Prologue

I layon the kitchen floor, my body lifeless as crimson blood pours from my wounds. I try to breathe, but it hurts most unimaginably. The only thing I focus on for now is the refrigerator before me. I’m in shock, to say the least. My eye catches the pink Post-it note with the words,Pick up Brian’s dry cleaning.

My husband—Brian.

My head turns to the side as I see the silhouette of Brian’s body in the living room, lying on his back, his arms spread to the side, and a pool of blood beneath him. I whisper his name. It was all I could manage. He didn’t move as tears streamed down my face.

All I could think about was I had to get to him. I start to get up. My feet slip on the crimson-red liquid, returning me to the black and white checkered tile. My head hits the floor hard. Everything goes blurry.

In and out of consciousness, I hear footsteps—multiple footsteps. Did the person responsible for this come back to make sure we were both dead?

“There’s a body in the kitchen!” I hear a man’s voice.

Turning my head, I see a man in a uniform—dark blue kneeling beside me. It’s Sheriff Strange.

“Katherine, help is on the way. Stay with me.” He places his hands on my wounds to control the bleeding. “Can you tell me who did this to you and your husband?”

I try to shake my head, but one attempt to move felt like a billion tiny needles bludgeoning my body. I moan.

“Katherine, I won’t let you die. You have to fight,” he says.

“It looks like a break-in,” I heard another officer say.

“My husband,” I manage a low whisper.

Sheriff Strange stares at me with sympathy in his eyes. It was at that moment I knew my husband was dead. Everything went black.

Chapter One

I standin the living room, an empty box sitting at my feet, staring at the half-finished mantle on the fireplace—the only thing Brian had left to do was paint it.

“Kat, are you okay?” my friend and co-worker, Cindy, asks.

She pulls me from my thoughts, and I turn and look at her.

“I’m fine,” I lie, grabbing an empty box and taking it to the bookcase.

It has been two weeks since the break-in and my husband’s murder. Cindy and her husband, Mark, took me back to their house after my week-long hospital stay. They wouldn’t allow me to stay here. Frankly, I didn’t want to. I never wanted to step foot in the home Brian and I loved so much again.

I was only here to pack up everything because the house was going on the market soon. Georgette, my realtor, expressed concerns because she would have to disclose that a murder happened inside the home, and she was afraid shewouldn’t be able to get enough to pay off the mortgage or sell it at all.

A knock at the door rattled me. Cindy walks over and invites Sheriff Strange in.

“How are you holding up, Kat?” he asks.

“Doing my best, Lucas. Please tell me you have a lead in the case?”

“Unfortunately, we don’t. Whoever did this was meticulous. They made sure to leave nothing behind. You can’t remember anything about that night?”

I tried hard to remember for the past two weeks, but my mind was like a black screen. “No. The only thing I remember was waking up on the kitchen floor.”

Which is the truth. I have no recollection of anyone being in the house that night or the horrific events that took place.

“Okay.” He sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. “Are you still staying with Cindy and Mark?”

“Yes, she is,” Cindy chimes in. “She will be staying with us for as long as she wants.”

“Okay.” He nods. “If we find anything, I’ll let you know.”

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