Page 118 of Every Silent Lie
“Thanks,” one says, as the other officer follows, splitting her attention between her pad and the numbers on the doors. She stops at mine. Knocks.
“Can I help you?” I ask, prompting them both to look my way.
“We’re looking for Ms. Moore.”
“That’s me.” Feeling uneasy, I release the door I’m holding open with my back and join them outside my apartment. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m PC Jones, this is PC Hyde. We’re here about a reported assault.”
“On whom?”
“You.”
I recoil, noting her eyes falling to my cheek. “But I haven’t filed a report.”
“No.” She goes back to her notepad. “Mr. Ellis did.”
Another recoil, this time sharper, and I’m suddenly very aware of Dominic hovering behind me. “It was nothing.”
“Assaulted?” Dominic blurts. “When? Where?” The officer looks at Dominic in question. “Husband,” he announces, joining my side. “Dominic Moore.”
“So who’s Mr. Ellis?”
Dominic turns his eyes on to me. “The guy I saw you with in the restaurant?”
I’m not derailed enough to appreciate what this must look like to the officers. “Dominic and I separated years ago. Divorce pending,” I explain. “Dec Ellis is the guy I’m seeing.”
“Dec Ellis?” Dominic blurts, his voice high-pitched.
“Are you just going to repeat everything being said?” I ask, irritated, unlocking my door. “Please, come in.” I open the way for the police officers, stepping in Dominic’s way when he tries to follow them inside. He doesn’t take the hint, swerving my static form and putting himself in the thick of things. “This really isn’t necessary,” I say.
“An unprovoked assault isn’t nothing.” PC Jones says, lowering to the couch while Hyde remains standing. “Would you mind walking us through what happened?” she asks. I sigh, not seeing the bloody point, but I lower to the chair anyway, eyeballing Dominic, who has perched himself on the arm next to me.
I start from the beginning, clarifying the date and time as Hyde makes notes, and walk them all through step by step. “I didn’t think anything of it because there were no other footprints behind me. Well, not until I looked closer.”
“What do you mean?”
“He was stepping in my prints.”
She nods slowly, thoughtfully. “And the woman who came down, she was at the window of her flat?”
“Smoking. She yelled before she came down.”
“Do you know which flat?”
“No, sorry.”
Looks of disapproval come at me from Dominic constantly.
“Okay, I think we have everything we need.” Hyde stands, and my head cranes back to look up at her as she hands me a card with her details. “If you think of anything else.”
“Thank you,” I murmur.
“Thanks,” Dominic says.
“We’ll be in touch. We’ll see ourselves out.”
They leave, and I drop the card on the coffee table, standing and getting out of my coat.
