Linda laughed nervously.
“Let’s see them throw a husband out of his own home.”
I walked to the hallway closet.
Pulled out the document folder where I kept my insurance paperwork.
Inside was a certified copy of my property deed.
I placed it on the table.
“This isn’t his home.”
Linda scoffed.
“You married him.”
“Three days ago.”
I wiped blood from my chin.
“And three days was enough.”
What neither of them remembered was that I had installed indoor security cameras after someone stole packages from my building the previous winter.
One camera faced the entryway.
Another covered most of the kitchen.
And both were recording.
PART 2 — THE FIRST THING THE POLICE SAW
The officers arrived eleven minutes later.
By then, Linda had changed strategies.
She was crying.
Evan was speaking quietly.
Controlled.
The version of himself he used around strangers.
Officer Ramirez entered first.
He looked at me.
Then at the red burn across my thigh.
Then at my swollen lip.
