Page 15 of Saving Salem
“She had blood on her hands. Jack found the knife in her lap. Somebody put a knife in my baby’s crib.” She watched Remy and Max closely. She wasn’t sure how much of what was going on with her life they knew. All she’d told them when she’d asked for some time off was she was headed for Texas. Had Samuel filled them in while she’d been at the Boudreau ranch, talking with Chance and Ivy, trying to figure out how to get the Amirs out of her life?
“You didn’t notice the knife when you put Chloe in the crib?” Remy’s voice was low and calm, barely reflecting any emotion.
She shook her head. “No, I didn’t see it. I moved her blanket out of the way, laid her in her bed and covered her. It had to be behind her stuffed hippo. She loves that toy, always wants to sleep with it, so I keep it in the bed with her. All I can think was it was hidden behind it.”
“Did you touch it? Handle it in any way.”
“She didn’t. Chloe’s the only one who touched the knife. I lifted it with the edge of the blanket to avoid contaminating it with prints or DNA. You’ll note the blood on the blanket and the blade; they’re both from Chloe.” Jack’s voice had a hard edge, tinged with anger. “There is no evidence of a break-in. I checked all the windows and they’re secured. No tampering with the lock on the front door that I noted. It’s hard to tell with deadbolts on rentals because they can get scratched up from use.”
Samuel leaned forward in his chair and shifted the blanket covering the blade, exposing it completely, and Salem gave a loud gasp when she finally got a good look at the blade. It was probably a coincidence, but it looked exactly like the one Tarik had swung at her when he’d been angry. Her hand automatically went to the scar on her cheek, covering it.
“Salem? What’s wrong?” Gabi started to stand, and Remy’s hand on her arm held her in place on the couch.
“I…it looks like the knife…it can’t be the same one. But it looks like the knife Tarik liked to carry. He wore it in a leather sheath on his belt. Loved to take it out and wave it around when he was talking, to emphasize his authority.”
“It’s more than that. You had an almost visceral reaction to seeing the knife.” Max watched her closely, and she finally nodded. They’d find out anyway, might as well admit it now.
She slowly reached forward, using the blanket to ever so slowly pull the blade closer. Waves of fear rolled through her, and she felt acid rise in the back of her throat. Simply thinking about Tarik and his volatile anger, his fits of rage, made her cringe.
“Oh, crap! Salem, honey, is that the same knife Tarik cut you with?” Gabi’s words sent a shiver down Salem’s spine. Her friend knew her too well; she hadn’t been able to hide anything from her ever. What made her think she could keep this a secret?
She simply nodded, her fingertips pressed against her lips. Jack’s hand on her shoulder anchored her in place, which was good, because she honestly wanted to bolt from the room.
“It looks like the same one. I can’t be sure, not without holding it, but—”
Remy reached into his pocket and pulled out an evidence bag. Using the edge of the blanket, picked up the knife and dropped it inside. He then sealed the bag, pulled out a pen and wrote something on it that Salem couldn’t see.
“It would be awfully bold of the Amirs to plant Tarik’s knife in your apartment. My guess is it’s probably a replica or a fairly common knife, readily available in the U.A.E.” Samuel nodded toward the baby blanket. “I doubt you’re going to find any DNA on it except Chloe’s, Jack’s, and Salem’s. This is too clean, definitely not an amateur. I doubt it was anybody local. My guess? A hired merc who scoped out the place, knew you weren’t home.”
“But why break in? It’s not like I have anything to steal. I didn’t take anything with me when I ran away from Tarik. Pretty much left with the clothes on my back and the little bit of money I’d squirreled away. Money I had from before I met him.”
“Would Tarik’s family think you have something? Maybe something he gave you that belonged to them?”
“Everything Tarik gave me, the jewelry, the clothes, I left it all behind when I ran. I even left the engagement ring he gave me. He said it was a family heirloom.”
“Seems like this was more an attempt to scare her. Intimidate her before having to go to court about Chloe’s custody.”
“Well, it’s working,” Salem huffed.
“I’m going to have a CSI unit come over. Jack’s thorough, but I’ll have them double check, take prints. This is a crime scene, a break-in where the owner, or tenant in your case, wasn’t home. A child was injured. We’ll have to start an official investigation.”
“I bet this will thrill the Amirs. Sayifa loved to get a rise out of me any time she could. I don’t think she’d deliberately hurt Chloe, especially since she’s fighting for custody, but if she thought it would scare me? It would make her happy.”
“Would you feel safer staying in a hotel tonight? I can make arrangements for a place with excellent security.” Samuel made the offer, and Jack looked at her, willing to let her make the choice.
“Thank you, but no. I’m not going to let anybody chase me from my home. I wasn’t looking forward to dealing with them in a custody battle, but if Sayifa and Abdullah want a fight, they’ve got one.”
“And there’s the Salem we all know and love.” Gabi stood, coming over to give Salem a hug. “I’m going to clear out, allow the good old NOLA police to do their job. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, ’kay? We’ve got a lot to talk about.” She winked at Jack before heading to the door.
“Unless you need anything, we’re going to head out too. Salem, you know you can always call me or Theresa, and we’ll be here ASAP. And take however long off work, until you’re ready to come back.”
“Thank you, Max. I appreciate your understanding. I’m not sure how crazy it’s going to get, but I will be back to work soon.”
It took a couple of hours for the cops to gather what evidence they could, and by the end Salem was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open. Chloe had managed to sleep through most of it fortunately, and Salem got her changed and into her pajamas without incident. She debated whether to put her into her crib to sleep or bring her into her bedroom. Common sense told her to put her to bed in her own room, in her own crib, but her heart told her she needed her baby close. How could she protect her if she was in another room? Finally, she decided to put her in the crib. She’d have the baby monitor on and could listen to every sound. And with Jack there, she knew they’d be safe.
“I’m going to bunk down on the sofa for tonight. Do you have extra pillows and blankets?”
“Let me get them.” She felt foolish; she hadn’t even considered where he’d be sleeping with everything that happened. Her brain was a big pile of mush at the moment, but the least she could do was make up the sofa. Luckily, it was a comfortable one. She’d splurged on its purchase when she’d moved into the apartment, so hopefully he’d be able to get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow they’d figure out more permanent sleeping arrangements.
