CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 6
The knock at the door was calm.
That made it worse for them.
Ryan turned toward the sound, suddenly looking less like a furious husband and more like a man who had never imagined consequences could enter through his own front door.
Richard moved first.
Old habits.
Old authority.
He straightened his shoulders and walked into the foyer with the cold confidence of a man who had spent years being believed.
But the officers were not there for his performance.
They asked for Emily.
Not Ryan.
Not Richard.
Emily stepped forward with the recorder in her hand and her cardigan clutched closed.
The female officer looked at her face, then at her trembling fingers, and her expression softened without becoming weak.
“Ma’am,” she said, “you’re safe to come with us.”
Patricia made a sharp sound.
“This is a private family matter.”
The officer looked past her into the living room.
At the broken glass.
At the sofa shoved out of place.
At Emily’s bare feet on the carpet.
“No,” the officer said. “It isn’t.”
Richard tried to speak in the voice he used with court clerks and bank managers.
“You have no idea who I am.”
Emily looked at him then.
For the first time, she almost smiled.
The officer did not blink.
“Sir,” she said, “tonight, that may be part of the problem.”
Ryan whispered Emily’s name.
Not with love.
May you like
With panic.
Emily did not turn around.
