Lillian Duncan - Until Death Do Us Part (8 page)

CHAPTER 21

With shaky hands and wobbly knees, Reggie opened her motel door and went inside without a backward glance at Frank. She felt rather than saw the man staring at her. She put a finger to her mouth to quiet Misty.

Moments later, the knock on the door didn’t come as a surprise.

Her pulse raced.

She pointed to the bathroom door and waited while Misty closed it. Taking a deep breath, she forced her voice to sound calm. “Who is it?”

“You know who it is, lady.”

“What do you want?”

“I want to know why you’re so worried about what’s going on out here.”

“I’m not worried. Just wanted my book and for you to keep the noise down. I’m at the motel to rest not to listen to your problems.” Good comeback.

“Yeah, sure. You know where my wife and kids are, dontcha? Let me in, I want to check your room.”

“If I did, I wouldn’t tell you. The way you’re acting your kids are probably scared to death of you. Now go away and let me read in peace.”

“You open that door or I’m going to break it down.”

The man truly was a bully.

“You have no right to threaten me.” She said in her best lawyer voice as she glanced behind her. The bathroom door was shut. She slid the chain lock on the door and opened it an inch. “But to get rid of you, I’ll let you have a peek. Don’t even think about trying to bust in the room unless you want to see yourself in jail.”

His eyes looked past her, checking out the empty room.

“I wanted to make sure you weren’t hiding them in there.”

“Satisfied?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.” She shut the door. Her knees shook and she leaned against the door waiting for her heart rate to normalize. How was she going
to get them away from this horrible man?

As she peeked out the window, a police cruiser pulled into the parking lot. No way to make a run for it now. They’d have to stay put and hope the police didn’t search every room in the motel.

If they tried to search her room, she’d refuse. After all, being a lawyer, she knew her rights. An expectation of privacy whether it was in her home or in a motel room was a right the courts hadn’t taken away—yet.

After letting the curtain drop, she hurried to the restroom and opened the door. Her voice soft, she said, “The police are here. Hopefully, this will all be over in a few minutes.”

Reggie touched Suzie’s cheek. “Gotta keep quiet, Suzie Q.”

The little girl nodded, her eyes wide with fright. She glanced over at Noah. Sadness and worry filled the young boy’s brown eyes, but he seemed calm—most likely it wasn’t the first time he’d hidden from his father.

Reggie closed the door behind her and went back to the window. Two uniformed police officers stood talking with the manager and the husband. Frank, stood in the middle of the group with a worried expression and pointing at the door. A complete change of demeanor.

She inched the door open so she could hear.

“I’m sorry I acted like a crazy person before, but you don’t know my wife. She’s unstable. I need to make sure she and the kids are okay.” His voice cracked. “Especially the kids. They’re my life. I don’t know what I’d do without…” His voice broke and he put his hands up to his face.

The manager handed the policeman the key card.

How could they be so naïve as to fall for this guy’s act? Especially the manager, he’d seen Frank screaming and carrying on.

The group disappeared from sight as they moved into the motel room.

Moments later, the yelling started again. Not a happy camper. Frank wanted his punching bags back. And that wasn’t going to happen if she had anything to say about it.

Reggie unlocked her adjoining door and opened it, hoping to hear what was happening. Putting her ear to the other door, she could just make out what was being said.

“You need to calm down. She’s not here. Nothing we can do about it.” The policeman sounded exasperated. “It’s a free country and—”

Frank’s next words showed his true colors.

“I told you once to calm down, and I’m not going to tell you again.” Good, the police man wasn’t as naïve as she’d first thought. “This is a domestic dispute and not our business. She’s not here. Her things are gone, meaning she left.”

“Then, why’s the car still here?”

“Maybe, she decided she’d had enough of you. She left the car so you couldn’t follow her. I have no idea but the point is we’re done.”

Reggie smiled.

The manager’s voice was shaky. “And you didn’t pay for the room so you have no right to stay here.” Much braver with the police by his side.

“It’s my car. I proved that. I showed you the registration.”

“Yes, sir it is. And you have every right to take it.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“Don’t know. Not my problem.”

Good, it didn’t sound as if the policemen were buying his loving husband and doting father act. The tone in their voices said it all. They had no plans to help the creep.

“Fine, I’ll go pick up my brother to drive it back home.”

“Sounds like a good idea.”

“You got a problem with that, Mr. Manager?”

“Nope.”

“Don’t you touch that car. And if you see that wife of mine, you tell her she better hightail it home if she knows what’s good for her.”

“I’ll be sure to give her the message.” Sarcasm dripped from t
he manager’s mouth.

The door slammed and she assumed the group had left. She walked back to the window and saw the policeman heading to their cruiser. Frank walked over to the VW and locked the car with his own keys. Moments later he drove away.
             

Reggie let out a sigh of relief and dropped the curtain back in place. Then walked over to the bathroom and tapped on the door. “It’s
okay. He’s gone.”

Misty stood up. Suzie continued to cling to her mommy but Noah walked out of the room, seemingly unaffected by all that had transpired. “Can I go outside for awhile?”

Misty locked eyes with Reggie for a moment then looked at her son. “Let’s wait a few minutes before we do that.”

“Aw, come on, Mom. You said I could go swimming.”

“That was before your dad found us.”

“That’s not my fault.”

Misty bit her lip and tears welled up in her eyes. “I know that, honey. None of this is your fault.”

Noah glared at his mother for a moment before grabbing the remote. He threw himself on the bed and within seconds was engrossed in the TV show. Misty put Suzie on the bed. She crawled up beside her big brother and started giggling at the onscreen antics.

Reggie walked away from the kids and motioned Misty to follow. “Frank said he was going to go pick up his brother and then come back for the car. Where do you guys live?”

“
Bowling Green. He teaches at the university there. But his brother lives in Norwalk. About an hour from here.”

“He’s a college professor?”
Boy, had she pegged him wrong. She was still working on not stereotyping people.

Misty nodded.

“That means an hour there and an hour back.” Reggie moved to the small table in the room and sat in one of the chairs. Misty did the same. “What’s your plan?”

“I don’t have one, not really.” Misty rubbed her hand against her forehead. “After he hit Noah, I waited until he left for work and we left. I didn’t really have a plan, just
figured I’d drive to my parents.”

“But that’s probably the first place he’ll look for you. It doesn’t sound like he’s going to give up easy.” Reggie didn’t add that the most dangerous time for an abused woman was after she left her abuser.

Misty blinked back tears. “I don’t want to put them in danger. I don’t have much money, just a couple of hundred dollars I managed to save. He won’t let me have the checkbook or ATM card. I guess I’ll just drive south and when I run out of gas, that’s where we’ll stay. Hopefully, I can get a job waitressing somewhere to pay for food and a place to stay.”

Reggie felt that tug on her heart again.

God was telling her something.

She’d come to the
motel to figure out what God wanted her to do. She hadn’t expected him to be quite so clear. Dylan and his family had taught her a lot in the past year and a half, but the biggest thing she’d learned is it always pleases God when you helped others in need.

And Misty certainly qualified in that respect.

It was time for her to step up. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea. First of all, I think you should leave the car here.”

“I have to have my car. I can’t just leave it.”

“He can report it stolen since it’s registered in his name, and then it will only be a matter of time before he finds you.”

Misty’s blue eyes filled with tears. “I know
, but I can’t go back there. It was bad enough when he hit me, but I won’t let him hit my children.”

She reached out and touched Misty’s arm. “I agree
, but I have an idea. Why don’t you leave the car here and you can stay with me for awhile?”

Misty’s mouth fell open. “Why would you want to do that? You don’t know me.”

A thousand different reasons came to mind. If Dylan hadn’t been willing to help her she’d probably be dead, but for sure she’d still be lost and struggling to find a little happiness.

God had put her in this motel room beside them for a reason. And she knew the reason. She didn’t have to ask if Dylan would help them, she knew her husband would even if he didn’t want to be married to her any longer.

She shrugged. “Because it’s what Jesus would do.”

CHAPTER 22

Misty’s confused look reminded Reggie of her own reaction when Dylan had said the same words to her when they met. She’d thought he was crazy when he’d risked his own life to save her, a woman he barely knew.

Now she understood. Christianity wasn’t just a religion to Dylan, it was a way of life. He believed in helping others even when it put himself in danger.
And she was willing to do the same.

Wow! She hadn’t realized how muc
h she’d changed.

“I know it’s hard to understand, Misty. But Jesus commanded we love others and He didn’t mean a pretend love. He meant help others when they need it and it looks to me as if you need some help now. So, let me help.”

Misty cast her gaze downward as if she didn’t deserve such help. “But—”

“No buts. Let’s get out of here and we can figure out your next move later. It’s up to you, of course, but I really think you should leave the car.”

Misty bit her lip. “I hate to do it, but you’re right. That must have been how he figured out where I was.”

Thinking back to her own harrowing ordeal when she was the target of a hit man, she said, “He might have some kind of GPS tracker on it.”

Misty’s jaw dropped open. “You’re right, he might. He’s insanely jealous. For a smart man, he sure acts stupid.”

Reggie didn’t say anything. The man hadn’t looked all that smart to her. She sighed. But looks can be deceiving. She’d thought Dylan was just a simple farmer when she’d met him and look how wrong she’d been.

After the packing was done, Reggie looked at Misty. “I’ll take the stuff out to my car and you can tell the kids. By the way, do you have a cell phone?”

Misty nodded.

“Leave it in the car. That’s another way he can track you.” She grabbed her suitcase and things and walked out to the car.

“How do you know so much about all this cloak and dagger stuff?”

“I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you.”

Misty’s eyes grew wide.

“Sorry, I’m just kidding. It’s an old joke my husband and one of his Marine buddies say all the time. Actually, I had a little trouble last year and learned more than I ever wanted about such things.” An understatement if she’d ever heard one but no reason to terrify Misty any more than she already was.

“Oh.” Misty looked relieved.

After going to the office and paying her bill, she walked back in the hotel room. Noah stared hard at her. “Why are you being so nice to us?”

“Because that’s what God wants us to do, Noah. Be nice to each other. Help each other.”

“Are you an angel?” Suzie asked.

Noah laughed along with Reggie and his mother. The laughter felt good and broke the tension. “Everyone grab something and then we can get out of here. I don’t have a swimming pool, Noah, but we’ve got a pond.”

“Can I go swimming there?”

“Not tonight, but maybe tomorrow. We’ll see.”

Suzie grabbed her teddy bear while Misty and Reggie grabbed suitcases. Noah grabbed two bags of their toys. “The trunk’s open. Put everything in there and we’ll stop later if you want a toy or a book or something out of the trunk.”

Reggie didn’t want to waste time getting them settled in. They could do that later. At the moment, her only concern was to get as far away from this motel before Misty’s husband came back with his brother.

She’d seen Frank and his temper. No way did she want to tangle with him and his brother. His brother was probably more of the same.

Misty walked directly to her car and unlatched the child safety seat Suzie needed and tossed her phone on the front seat. She hurried back to Reggie’s car and began the process of buckling in the child safety seat.

Reggie slammed the trunk shut and went to help Noah into his seat.

“Yeah, exactly what I thought. You old busybody. I knew you were involved.”

She straightened up in time to see Misty’s husband running toward her.