Tonight You're Mine (24 page)

“What the hell is this?” he said through clenched teeth. “Two men are murdered in my home and I have to hear it on the news?”

“This isn't your home anymore,” Nicole said lamely.

“Oh, that makes a big difference. In God's name, why didn't you call me and tell me what happened? I must have called here a hundred times last night.”

“You're right, Roger, that was an awful oversight. It just all happened so fast.” Nicole was genuinely contrite that he'd been worried, but she knew last night would have been even worse if he'd known. “I apologize.”

“Where were you?”

“A motel.”

“Oh,
great
,” Roger said scathingly, making a motel sound as bad as a brothel. “Is Shelley all right?”

“Of course. She wasn't even here when the murders happened.”

“Oh, well, what was I even
worried
about?” He glared at her. “I want her.”

He began striding toward the front door, but Nicole stepped in front of him. “You aren't taking her anywhere.”

Roger put his hands on her shoulders and shoved her aside when the patrolman jumped out of the car and strode toward them. “Take your hands off her.”

Roger whirled on him. “And who are you?”

“Who does it look like?” the young man replied harshly. “I'm a policeman.”

Nicole could smell the liquor on Roger's breath and see people creeping out of their houses to watch. “Don't tell me what to do. I'm Roger Chandler. This is
my
house and
my
wife.”

“Sir, I'm not going to tell you again.”

Roger shoved Nicole out of his way before he took a step forward. Immediately the patrolman's hand clapped on Roger's shoulder. “Stop!”

“Aren't you supposed to say ‘freeze'?”

The patrolman's lips pressed together. “This isn't a game. I said for you to stop and I meant it.”

Roger spun, swung at the officer, who deftly darted out of his way, and continued the spin until his fist connected with Nicole's jaw. She staggered and heard Shelley scream from inside.

Roger looked horrified. “Nicole, I'm
sorry—
”

“That does it,” the patrolman said harshly. In a moment Roger's hands were trapped behind his back in handcuffs.

“Ma'am, are you okay?” the officer asked.

Nicole's hand went to her jaw. It had been a glancing blow, surprising more than hurting her, but she backed away from Roger. Shelley ran from the house. “Daddy, how
could
you?” she cried. “You
hit
Mommy!”

“I didn't mean to,” Roger said in a shaky voice. “I only came to get you.”

Shelley grabbed Nicole's hand. “I'll never go anywhere with you again!”

“Shelley,” Roger continued raggedly. “Don't be afraid.”

“I
am
. I want to be with Mommy, not you.”

“Dammit, Shelley, don't
look
at me that way!” Roger blasted.

Shelley's grip on Nicole's hand grew so tight it hurt, but Nicole said nothing. The child was terrified.

“Shut up,” the patrolman said. “Roger Chandler, you are under arrest—”

Roger looked flabbergasted. “Arrest? For what?”

“For resisting a police officer, for one. For two, assault and battery on your wife.”

“Assault and battery?” Roger echoed.

“Yeah. That's what it's called when you violently attack someone.” He looked at Nicole. “You will press charges, won't you?”

“Assault and battery?” Roger croaked again. “That's absurd!”

The cop looked into his eyes. “There are about five witnesses in this neighborhood who don't think it's absurd, and one of them is a cop. Me.”

“Are you really going to charge him with assault and battery on his wife?” Nicole asked.

The patrolman looked astounded. “You don't want me to?”

“
Nicole
?” Roger pleaded.

She stared at him for a few moments, the bloodshot eyes, the hands opening and closing into fists. “Yes,” she said firmly. “I want to press charges.”

“Roger Chandler,” the policeman began again, “you are under arrest…” The patrolman finished reading Roger his Miranda rights and left with the eminent professor in handcuffs. Nicole sagged into the house and flopped down on the couch. Shelley cuddled against her.

“Mommy, does it hurt?” Shelley asked, looking at her jaw.

“Not much.”

Shelley was quiet for a few moments, men she ventured, “What's wrong with Daddy? Does he act this way because of Lisa?”

Nicole shook her head. “No, baby, I don't think so. I did at first, but not anymore, and it's not fair to blame her. I think he's sick.”

“You mean he's crazy?”

“
No
,” Nicole said emphatically. “I think he just got a little mixed-up from so many pressures over the years. His parents pushed him so hard to succeed. Then he worked extra hard in school and got his Ph.D. with honors. Finally he married me and we had you. He took
such
good care of us, Shelley, only I'm afraid I was a little too much for him.”

Shelley's face puckered. “What do you mean?”

“I had problems because of things that happened to me when I was a teenager.”

“What kind of problems?”

“Things I'll tell you about when you're older.”

“I'd understand.”

“I'm sure you would,” Nicole said gravely, “but I'm just too tired to go into all of that now. Anyway, my point is that I don't want you to blame Daddy for what's going on. He's not himself.”

“Who is he? Freddie Krueger?”

Nicole laughed in spite of the situation. “You're not supposed to watch the
Nightmare on Elm Street
movies.”

“I've seen 'em all.”

“I have no doubt,” Nicole said hopelessly. “But Daddy isn't anything like Freddie Krueger.”

“Will Daddy go to prison?”

“No. He'll probably be out on bond tonight.”

“That's when you pay money to go free, right?”

“Yes,” she said vacantly, thinking of Paul. His bond was a million dollars. It had been so easy for his mother, Alicia, to come up with a hundred thousand dollars. He hadn't been considered a flight risk because he was so attached to his ailing mother. But as soon as he was freed on bail, he was gone.

“Will Daddy have a trial?”

“Maybe we can work out something else. I can drop the charges and we can have counseling or something…”

“Are you sure?”

“I'm not a lawyer. I'm not sure of anything. But I'll try to keep Daddy out of jail.”

 

I'll try to keep Daddy out of jail
. The words rang in Nicole's head when later she looked in the bathroom mirror at her bruising jaw. She remembered Ray telling her the police suspected Roger of paying Izzy Dooley to break into her house, maybe even to kill her. The thought gave her chills and definitely dampened both her guilt and her sympathy. Perhaps jail, maybe even a long prison sentence, is exactly what Roger Chandler not only needed, but deserved, because after all, she had no idea what the man was capable of anymore.

4

Nicole, Shelley, and Jesse cuddled on the ugly couch together, watching television. The carpet was still slightly damp from a professional cleaning, but for the first time Nicole found the smell pleasant. It was certainly better than the smell of fear and death that had filled her nostrils when she left here yesterday.

“I'm glad it's Friday night and we don't have school tomorrow,” Shelley said.

“Me, too,” Nicole agreed. “I think I'd scream if I had to teach tomorrow.”

“Mommy, do you think Daddy's in jail now?”

“No. I think he's probably already out”

“What if he comes back here and tries to take me away?”

Nicole hugged her. “The policeman is still outside. He won't let Daddy in.” He won't let Roger
near
, Nicole thought. Not with a restraining order. Lisa had come for his car earlier.

“Could we have some popcorn?” Shelley asked.

“Sure, kiddo.”

She had just placed a bag of popcorn in the microwave when the phone rang. Nicole picked it up to hear her mother blurting, “Nicole Marie Sloan, murders happened in your
house
and you didn't tell me!”

“I didn't want to upset you, Mom. There was nothing you could do.”

“I could have been there for moral support. But this
person
, this Iggy Dooley, what was he doing in your house?”

“Izzy Dooley,” Nicole said, setting the microwave for two minutes. “I didn't invite him here, Mom, he was robbing the place.” At the very least, she thought.

“Well, who killed him?”

“I don't know.”

“So there were
two
people in your house, one robbing it, one killing the robber, and you didn't hear anything?”

She wasn't about to tell her mother about the drinking, the mugging, the Seconal. Phyllis would be even more appalled. “I know it sounds incredible.”

“And a young police officer was also killed?”

“Yes. That was very sad.”

“It's awful. It's also awful that you didn't tell me.”

“Mom, I—”

“Didn't want to worry me. Kay's been saying the same thing. You were in on this together.”

“Mom, don't you get mad at Kay. She didn't know what happened—only that I didn't want you to read the newspaper yesterday evening.”

“I'm not going to get mad at her, especially knowing how persuasive
you
can be. She's as much of a pushover when it comes to you as your father was.”

The first kernel popped and Nicole jumped. “Mom, I'm sorry you feel betrayed, but I really was trying to protect you. Besides, Shelley wasn't even here—she was spending the night with Jill—and I wasn't hurt.”

“But you must have been shocked out of your mind. And I didn't even have a safe place for you to come because of that ridiculous carbon monoxide leak,” Phyllis snapped, as if she held the leak personally responsible for everything that had happened.

“Is the new furnace in?”

“Yes. I'm going home tomorrow. Then you and Shelley will move in with me.”

“We're settled back in our own house, Mom.”

Phyllis's voice became shrill. “You are
not
staying in a place where murderers lurk!”

“Murderers don't usually
lurk
here, Mom. Besides, the house has been completely cleaned and we have a patrolman outside.”

“That didn't help much the last time. That unfortunate young man.”

“I know. I feel terrible about it. I ordered flowers for his funeral, although I don't know how his wife will feel about that—he did die because of me.”

“He died doing his duty, Nicole,” Phyllis said firmly. “You have nothing to feel guilty about. And flowers are always appreciated.”

“Mom, I do have a piece of
good
news. Jesse was found.”

“Oh, thank goodness!” her mother exclaimed. “I was so worried about what losing him might do to Shelley. Who found him?”

“I'm not sure,” Nicole said vaguely. “He was taken to a veterinarian's, and they called me.”

“How did they know where to call?”

“His ID tag.” Nicole hated lying to her mother, but she certainly couldn't tell her the truth. “He had a bad scratch on his side, but otherwise he's fine.”

“I'm glad. And I'm sure Shelley is ecstatic.”

“She is.”

Her mother paused. “Well, if I can't talk you into moving in with me, will you at least come to the house tomorrow afternoon, just so I can assure myself you and Shelley are really all right?”

“Sure, Mom,” Nicole said, then remembered the bruise on her jaw. Tomorrow would call for heavier makeup than usual and staying out of bright light. “Will you be home around noon?”

“Yes. I'll fix a light lunch.” She paused. “And you may even bring that little ragamuffin dog, if you like.”

Her mother must really be worrying about them to issue an invitation for Jesse, too, Nicole thought. “I'm sure Shelley would love to bring him.”

The corn was now popping wildly and Shelley appeared in the kitchen. “Aunt Carmen's here.”

Nicole nodded. “Mom—”

“I heard. You have company. Have a nice evening and I'll see you tomorrow.”

Carmen had come armed with some late-edition fashion magazines “which I'm sure you haven't had time to read,” and their senior high school yearbook “for laughs.”

Nicole took up the popcorn, melted a whole stick of butter in the microwave (so much for calories and cholesterol, she thought), and drizzled it over the bowl. Then she fixed soft drinks and carried everything back to the living room.

Carmen really looked at her for the first time. “What happened to your face?”

Nicole was about to say she'd bumped it on the door when Shelley volunteered, “Daddy was here, shouting and stuff about the murders. He wanted to take me away, and when Mommy wouldn't let him, he tried to hit the policeman and then he
did
hit Mommy. The policeman put him in handcuffs, read him his rights, and took him to jail.”

Carmen's lips parted and she looked at Nicole. “Really?”

“I'm afraid so.”

“I can't believe it!” Carmen exclaimed. “Well, yes, I guess I can. He's out of control.”

Nicole sat down on the couch. “Oh, it wasn't such a big deal,” she said for Shelley's benefit. “He didn't mean to do it, and my jaw doesn't hurt at all.” Carmen looked as if she didn't want to let go of the subject, but Nicole's voice was firm. “Why didn't you bring Jill?”