“But, Mommy, what about Daddy? And the policeman?”
“I’ll tell you all about it in a little while. First, I have to talk to these nice policemen. Then you and I will have some ice cream.”
Jackson wasn’t sure how to react to any of this, but he listened as Officer Davis squatted down to talk to him. “It’s going to be OK, son. Do as your mom asks, then ice cream. You got any questions for me?”
Jackson was immediately distracted by the interest the police officer had shown. “Did you ever shoot anybody?”
Davis chuckled. “Do you know how many times people ask me that question?”
Jackson smiled. “A bazillion?”
“Yep. And, no, thankfully I never had to shoot anyone.” He tousled Jackson’s hair.
“So what’s going to happen to my dad? Is he going to jail?” Jackson sat down on his bed, trying to hold back tears.
“That’s going to depend on your mom. Like I said, we have to clear up a few things. Now, go do what your mom said. We’ll be right down the hall.”
“OK.” Jackson seemed to be a bit more relieved. And safe.
Colleen’s eyes swept across the kitchen. It looked as if someone had thrown a hand grenade. “Do you mind if I pour myself a drink?” She began to shake. It’s common knowledge that during times of extreme stress, our fight-or-flight instincts take over. She had fought back, and now what had just happened began to sink in.
“Let me get that for you,” Pedone offered. Colleen pointed to the liquor cabinet above the refrigerator. “Scotch, please.” She rarely drank any hard liquor, but it seemed like a good idea at the moment. He looked around for something to pour it in.
“There are glasses in the dining-room cabinet,” Colleen said.
A few minutes later, Pedone returned with her drink. Her hands were trembling so badly she needed to use both of them to hold the glass.
“Can you tell me what happened this evening?” Pedone pulled out his notebook and began to write as Colleen recalled the events of the evening. It took about a half hour for her to explain everything, starting with Mitchel’s behavior that morning.
“Do you want to press charges?” Pedone asked.
Colleen gave it some thought. She knew it was going to be a nightmare going forward, but she also knew that the marriage was over, and she could be putting herself and Jackson in further jeopardy by pretending it hadn’t happened. Besides, she just didn’t care anymore. Not about Mitchel. Not about the marriage. The only thing she cared about was raising her son in a loving environment. And this certainly wasn’t it.
“Yes. What do I have to do?”
“You’ll have to come down to the station to file a formal complaint. Is there anyone who can look after your son?”
“I’ll call my mother. She lives about fifteen minutes away.”
She dialed her mother’s phone number, knowing the woman would panic at her phone ringing in the middle of the night.
“Yes! Colleen! Is everything OK?” She could barely catch her breath.
“I’m OK. Jackson is OK.” Colleen took in a big inhale. “We have a situation here, and I need you to come by and sit with Jackson for the rest of the night.”
“What on earth is going on?” Judith Griffin demanded.
“Mom, I’ll explain everything later. Can you come over now? Please?” Colleen knew her mother had never approved of Mitchel, and she wasn’t in any sort of mood to be lectured.
“Yes. Of course. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She sounded a bit exasperated rather than inconvenienced.
Colleen thought to herself, If she hadn’t been so controlling, maybe I wouldn’t have rebelled and married that creep.
“Thank you. And don’t freak out when you see the police car.” Colleen cringed, waiting for the interrogation.
“What police car? What are you talking about?” Judith was incredulous.
“Mother, please. Just come over. I will tell you everything later. Please!”
Chapter Three
Ellie felt terrible that she couldn’t befriend Colleen. She knew that things were bad at the Haywood house. She thought back to the incident that had taken place two weeks before. The entire block couldn’t help but notice the commotion coming from the house that night. Ellie had headed to the second-floor loft, with Buddy hot on her heels. She pulled out a pair of binoculars to see if she could figure out what the ruckus was all about. She crouched down and pointed the lens at the Haywoods’. From her angle, she could see someone in the back seat of a police car. His face was obscured by the door frame, but it looked like it could be Mitchel. She wouldn’t be surprised if it was. After his rude display that morning, no one would have been shocked. Screaming at his kid while he was in his underwear. She felt sorry for both Jackson and Colleen. She knew very well what it was like to be terrified.
The police car had been sitting in front for almost an hour when she noticed the BMW that Colleen’s mother drove turn into their driveway. She saw Colleen’s mother exit her car and peer into the police car. Judith Griffin gave the man in the back seat a disgusted look and went into the house. A few minutes later, Colleen and two police officers exited. Colleen got in her own car and followed the police. Ellie assumed they were on their way to the police station and that Mrs. Griffin was looking after Jackson. That poor kid, she thought to herself. Ellie liked Jackson, even though they had never interacted, but she could tell a lot about his character by the way he played with Buddy.
* * *
Over the next two weeks, there had been no mention of the incident in the local Patch, but maybe they were trying to keep it quiet for Colleen and Jackson’s sakes. Kids could be horribly cruel.
Ellie imagined that Jackson and Colleen were going through
