Don't Look Back (27 page)

Once Natalie was back in my arms, she settled down.

As we stood in the baby’s room I recounted the events of the evening, starting with Trevor knocking me unconscious and tying me up, ending with him strangling me and Greta saving my life. They took careful notes, then told me a detective was on his way.

We went downstairs to wait for the detective to arrive, but with Trevor’s body still on the living room floor, the officers suggested we wait in the kitchen. I quickly agreed.

The officers turned to Marcus. “What is your involvement in this?”

“Lily left a message on my cell phone earlier in the evening telling me that Trevor had taken the baby,” Marcus said.

“Is that message still on your phone?”

“Yes,” he answered as he pulled out his phone and played the message for them.

Marcus put it on speakerphone and it was obvious that I was near hysteria when I’d left the message. Hearing my voice, the emotions slammed into me and I held Natalie tighter.

“And when did you arrive here?” the officer asked Marcus.

“Right before she called you.”

“Where were you before that?”

“I was working late. There was a crisis at work and I’d been called into an emergency meeting.” He turned to me. “That’s why I didn’t answer my phone when you called.”

The officers seemed satisfied with his answers.

A short time later a pair of detectives arrived with a crime scene investigation team. The officers told us to stay in the kitchen, then they went into the living room to speak to the detectives. I held on to Marcus’ hand like it was a lifeline, but didn’t speak.

The detectives came into the kitchen to talk to us while the crime scene investigators took pictures and gathered other evidence in the living room.

“Ma’am, we’d like you to tell us exactly what happened tonight,” Detective Towers said, pulling out a notepad and pen.

I told them how Trevor had come over to play with Natalie like he had been doing for the last few weeks, and at first everything was fine, but then he suddenly announced he was going to keep the baby. Then after making me put the dog out, he punched me in the head, which knocked me out. When I’d woken up my hands and feet were tied, but I was able to get the ropes off.

“Why didn’t you call the police once you were free?”

“Maybe I should have, but I had an idea of how to get him to bring Natalie back.” I paused, reliving the despair I’d felt when I’d realized Trevor had taken Natalie.

“Go on,”

Pulling myself back to the present, I told them about finding the SD card and digging up the money and how I’d thought if I told Trevor about the money, he would be willing to give me Natalie back.

“Then what happened?” Detective Towers asked.

I told them how Trevor had agreed to trade the baby for the money and told me to meet him at the park, and what had happened there.

“Why did you come back to the house?”

“I don’t know. I was in a panic and I didn’t realize I’d left the keys to my car at the park.”

“What happened when you got to the house?”

I recounted what had happened. When I got to the part where Trevor was strangling me, I felt Marcus’ hand tighten on mine. “I knew I was going to die,” I said, tears filling my eyes. “But then Greta came running through the front door and saved me.”

“Is that Greta that I hear barking?” Detective Towers asked.

“Yes, I put her in my room so she wouldn’t get in the way.”

“What kind of dog is she?”

“A German Shepherd.”

“And where is the money that you mentioned?” Towers asked.

“I don’t know. I guess in my car.”

“Let’s go take a look,” Towers said.

They followed me out to my car. Trevor had left the keys in the ignition. Detective Towers took them out and opened the trunk where we found the gym bag.

“And you don’t know where the money originally came from?”

I shook my head. “It was buried where Trevor had put it.”

Towers took the bag out of the trunk. “We’ll need to do some investigating, but if it legitimately belonged to your husband, we’ll give it back to you.

I almost told them I didn’t want to have anything to do with it, but decided to keep my thoughts to myself.

We went back into the house and more people arrived. One of them was the coroner and he took Trevor’s body away. Then a tow truck came and took Trevor’s car. A third vehicle came. It was animal control.

“Why is animal control here?” I asked Detective Towers, feeling panicked about what they would do to Greta.

“It’s just routine to test her for rabies. After the investigation you should get her back.”

I wasn’t sure if I believed him. I’d heard of cases where a dog was put down after attacking a person. “How can you be sure?”

“It seems pretty clear that she was defending you from an attempted murder. I think in this case you’ll be able to keep her,” he said.

Feeling somewhat assured, I went upstairs, first putting a sleeping Natalie in her crib, then getting Greta from my room and bringing her downstairs.

The man from animal control took her out to his truck and I watched as he put her in the back and drove away. Tears pushed their way into my eyes and I swallowed hard to keep myself from crying.

Eventually the crime investigation team finished gathering the evidence and left. Detective Towers and his partner walked out to their car.

 “We’ll be in touch,” he said as he and his partner got into their car and drove away.

Marcus walked with me back into the house. I was exhausted, but still in shock about what had happened. He sat with me on the couch.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Marcus asked. “Or do you want to go to sleep?”

“I just can’t believe he’s dead,” I said. Though Trevor had taken my baby and tried to kill me, I was saddened by his death. He had been my husband and there had been a time when I loved him.

“I’m really sorry this happened,” Marcus said, taking my hand.

The warmth from his hand warmed me. I felt so cold. “Did you know he was going to give my baby to his girlfriend?”

“I heard you saying something about that to the detectives, but I didn’t understand what that was all about.”

“There was this girl named Amanda that he was always flirting with before we started dating and I guess when I left they got together. Apparently she can’t have children of her own so he promised her he would get Natalie and give her to her.” I stopped as my voice broke. Marcus put his arms around me and I leaned against him.

“It’s okay. Everything’s okay now,” he murmured in my ear.

We sat that way for several minutes and I felt myself drifting to sleep.

“I’ll carry you upstairs, Lily,” Marcus whispered.

I nodded as he lifted me in his arms and carried me up the stairs. He set me on my bed and helped me take off my shoes before tucking me in.

Suddenly my eyes flew open. “What about the door?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll stay in the living room while you sleep and as soon as the hardware store opens, I’ll put in a new door.”

“Oh, Marcus,” I said, as exhaustion overtook me. “You’re wonderful.”

Late the next morning I woke up feeling somewhat rested. The first time Natalie had cried after I’d gone to bed, I’d brought her into bed with me and she slept next to me now. Stroking her head, I smiled at my beautiful baby, then felt my heart clench as I thought about how close I had come to losing her to Trevor.

I was having trouble accepting the fact the Trevor was dead. It was ironic actually. Everyone had believed I was a widow and now I actually was. As I remembered the happy moments Trevor and I had spent, sadness washed over me and I shed tears for the man he could have been. Though I was glad he wouldn’t be able to threaten me or Natalie anymore, I was deeply saddened that his life had to end when he was so young.

In my mind, I recounted all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. Even though it ended in tragedy, I felt proud that I had been able to defend myself as well as I had. And Greta was my hero. But how had she gotten out of the backyard?

I climbed out of bed and went into the bathroom. As I looked in the mirror I saw a ring of bruises beginning to form on my neck. After showering I put on a turtleneck, then changed Natalie and fed her. Carrying her in my arms, I went downstairs.

The front door was still broken, but mostly closed, keeping out the majority of the cold air. Marcus was asleep on the couch, a blanket pulled up to his chin. I smiled, grateful to have him in my life. Though we’d had a few rocky moments, he’d been there at the most important times and he was becoming a good friend. I left him to sleep, then set Natalie in her baby seat while I made breakfast.

As I waited for the first batch to cook, I had a thought. Pulling open the silverware drawer, I lifted the tray and looked underneath. The paper where I’d written the alarm security code was gone. Trevor must have taken it when I was unconscious, I realized. Again, I wondered what he had planned on doing. He would have already taken the baby at that point, so why did he need to disable the alarm? Was he planning on coming back and getting rid of me? The idea filled me with horror. Although his death was terrible, I was grateful I had survived.

Closing the drawer, I pushed the thoughts aside, not wanting to speculate on what might have happened. What actually happened was awful enough.

When the pancakes were ready, I gently shook Marcus and invited him to eat. He stretched, then sat up on the couch. “Is it time to get up already?” he asked.

I laughed. “Only if you want some of my delicious pancakes.”

“I definitely do.”

We sat together at the table and ate a leisurely breakfast. As we finished eating, I thought about Greta and hoped I would have her back soon. “One thing that’s been bothering me, Marcus,” I said as I carried my plate into the kitchen. “How did Greta get out of the backyard? She’s never gotten out before.”

“Let’s see if we can find out,” he said, pushing himself away from the table.

Taking Natalie out of her baby seat, I followed Marcus as he went into the backyard and walked to the gate. It hung open. We looked at the latch and saw it had been broken.

“I’ll bet Trevor broke that at some point last night,” I said. “He was probably in a big hurry and didn’t realize he’d broken it.” I paused. “I wonder why he was even back here.”

“Maybe he was looking for the breaker box to cut your power.”

“Yeah. Maybe he thought it would keep the alarm from working.” I controlled a shudder as I recalled the panic I’d felt when I’d realized the alarm wasn’t working. “But he disabled it anyway.”

“Well, I guess I’ll fix the gate latch when I fix the front door,” Marcus said.

I smiled. “What would I do without you to fix all these things?”

He grinned back. “I guess you’d be living in a broken down old house.”

Later that day Marcus had fixed both the front door and the gate. I had the alarm company come out and fix the alarm. They told me it looked like the wire had been cut, which would normally set off the alarm, but then Trevor had apparently punched in the code, which kept the alarm company from knowing there was a problem.

Ten days later the man from animal control brought Greta back, saying she’d passed the rabies quarantine. She leapt from the back of the truck and rushed up to me, her tail wagging.

“You’re such a good girl,” I said as I squatted next to her and wrapped my arms around her.

Over the next few weeks Marcus spent more and more time at my place. Though it had taken him a little while, eventually he became comfortable holding Natalie and began to really enjoy playing with her.

The detectives finished their investigation and concluded that I had rightfully used self-defense and that Greta was not a threat. They had also discovered that the two hundred thousand dollars Rob and Trevor had buried was money they had won gambling. They gave half of it to Rob and the other half to me, with the understanding that I would have to pay taxes on it. I really didn’t want to have anything to do with it, but I decided it should benefit Natalie, so I placed it in a trust for her to receive when she grew up.

When they’d asked Rob why they had buried it, he had said they’d been drinking and all he remembered was having the money and then it was gone and Trevor had claimed he’d lost it gambling.

As time went on, Marcus and I developed a strong bond, but neither one of us wanted to rush in to anything. We were both still trying to recover from past relationships and just wanted to enjoy spending time with each other without the pressure of expecting anything more.

One spring afternoon, when Natalie was four months old, she woke from a nap and I brought her down to the backyard. It was April and the California weather was perfect. I spread a blanket on the grass and lay her on her stomach in the middle of it as Greta picked up a ball and dropped it at my feet. Natalie lifted her head and watched as I threw the ball for Greta. A few minutes later Marcus came in through the back gate and joined in our play. I tossed him the ball and he threw it for Greta, then I sat on the blanket and put Natalie on my lap so she could see better.

As I watched Marcus throw the ball, he turned and smiled at me. My heart filled with warmth and I could see us being a family together. When I smiled back, he came over and sat next to me, wrapping his arms around me. Then he leaned close and nuzzled my neck.

“You smell good,” he murmured.

I turned my face to his and our lips met. We kissed each other eagerly. When we pulled apart and gazed into each other’s eyes, something new seemed to pass between us.

Maybe we’re ready to take it to the next level after all, I thought as my smile widened. He smiled back, his incredible green eyes sparkling, and I knew he felt it too.

Due to popular demand,
Book 3 of Lily’s story
will be published in the Spring of 2014.

In the meantime, enjoy the first five chapters of
Gone (Parallel Trilogy, Book 1)
by Christine Kersey. This book is available for FREE everywhere eBooks are sold.