Read Online A Dead Husband (Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery) by Anna Burke - Free Book Online
Authors: Anna Burke
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anything else they asked that caused you concern?”
“ Besides all of it, you mean? They asked so many other questions. Like I said, I can’t remember who asked what question or in what order. Did I see anyone near the house before I left? It doesn’t look like anybody broke in so was Roger expecting someone? A lot of “big ticket” items were still in the house, like the TV and Roger’s laptop, could I tell if anything of value was missing? Did anything look out of place or like it had been disturbed? Jessica, I find my husband lying on the floor in a pool of blood and they’re wondering if I noticed anything out of place. I wanted to scream but all I said was no, no, no to their endless questions.” Her face took on a scarily unnatural pallor.
“Laura, just take a couple deep breaths . It’s going to be okay.” That was a lie, Jessica thought. It wasn’t going to be okay, not ever. At least not okay in the same way it was for Laura a week ago or a day ago. Scary how life can change forever in an instant, but some things can be undone and some can’t. A dead husband is forever.
Sara came around the corner of the island in the kitchen with a glass of water for Laura and held it out . “Good idea, thanks” Jessica said holding onto the glass as she guided into Laura’s hands. Laura took a couple sips with very shaky hands.
“Trust me Laura you’ll have a chance to set the story straight . It’s not unusual to jumble the facts under the circumstances,” Jessica said again reassuringly.
“Sara, what time did you get to the hospital ?”
“Laura cal led me around 8:00 this morning. She sounded awful. She told me Roger was dead and that somebody had killed him. She needed clean clothes since the police took the ones she had on when she got to the hospital. And she needed a ride and a place to go when they released her from the hospital. Dave was at home so he stayed with the kids. I got to the emergency room at Desert Regional as fast as I could. I brought her a pair of my sweat pants and a tee shirt since she didn’t think we could get anything from her house. It seemed like an eternity, but as soon as they said she could go I brought her home and told her she could stay with us as long as she needs. When we got home she called you.”
“I’ll get hold of the investigating officer on this . I’ll make arrangements to go down to the police station and give them your statement, as requested. The mistake will get corrected in your official statement to the police. That much I can do. I’m still convinced you’d be better off with someone else as your lawyer, if it turns out you actually need one.”
“No, no , I want it to be you. I trust you. I have some money, Jessica. I can pay you, something.”
“ Laura, you know this is not about money for me. I don’t need the money. Just let me get some help to figure this out though, okay? I need to consult with somebody with more experience in handling, uh, these sorts of, uh, cases.” Jessica stumbled trying to avoid using words like criminal or murder or homicide.
“T hank you,” Laura said in a nearly inaudible voice, grabbing hold of Jessica again. Jessica hugged her friend.
“ We’ll figure this out. I’m going to get to work, right away, okay? Laura acknowledged what Jessica was saying with a nod and by releasing her grip.
With that Jessica got up to leave . The other thing she could do was help Laura with the morass of tasks women face when they lose their husbands, to divorce or death. Jessica offered to go to the house and retrieve whatever she could find related to Roger’s business dealings or their personal finances. That way they could start to sort things out as soon as Laura was able to do so. Laura was so grateful and relieved that she did not have to go back to the house. Most of what they needed would be in Roger’s home office, including his laptop and a file
“ Besides all of it, you mean? They asked so many other questions. Like I said, I can’t remember who asked what question or in what order. Did I see anyone near the house before I left? It doesn’t look like anybody broke in so was Roger expecting someone? A lot of “big ticket” items were still in the house, like the TV and Roger’s laptop, could I tell if anything of value was missing? Did anything look out of place or like it had been disturbed? Jessica, I find my husband lying on the floor in a pool of blood and they’re wondering if I noticed anything out of place. I wanted to scream but all I said was no, no, no to their endless questions.” Her face took on a scarily unnatural pallor.
“Laura, just take a couple deep breaths . It’s going to be okay.” That was a lie, Jessica thought. It wasn’t going to be okay, not ever. At least not okay in the same way it was for Laura a week ago or a day ago. Scary how life can change forever in an instant, but some things can be undone and some can’t. A dead husband is forever.
Sara came around the corner of the island in the kitchen with a glass of water for Laura and held it out . “Good idea, thanks” Jessica said holding onto the glass as she guided into Laura’s hands. Laura took a couple sips with very shaky hands.
“Trust me Laura you’ll have a chance to set the story straight . It’s not unusual to jumble the facts under the circumstances,” Jessica said again reassuringly.
“Sara, what time did you get to the hospital ?”
“Laura cal led me around 8:00 this morning. She sounded awful. She told me Roger was dead and that somebody had killed him. She needed clean clothes since the police took the ones she had on when she got to the hospital. And she needed a ride and a place to go when they released her from the hospital. Dave was at home so he stayed with the kids. I got to the emergency room at Desert Regional as fast as I could. I brought her a pair of my sweat pants and a tee shirt since she didn’t think we could get anything from her house. It seemed like an eternity, but as soon as they said she could go I brought her home and told her she could stay with us as long as she needs. When we got home she called you.”
“I’ll get hold of the investigating officer on this . I’ll make arrangements to go down to the police station and give them your statement, as requested. The mistake will get corrected in your official statement to the police. That much I can do. I’m still convinced you’d be better off with someone else as your lawyer, if it turns out you actually need one.”
“No, no , I want it to be you. I trust you. I have some money, Jessica. I can pay you, something.”
“ Laura, you know this is not about money for me. I don’t need the money. Just let me get some help to figure this out though, okay? I need to consult with somebody with more experience in handling, uh, these sorts of, uh, cases.” Jessica stumbled trying to avoid using words like criminal or murder or homicide.
“T hank you,” Laura said in a nearly inaudible voice, grabbing hold of Jessica again. Jessica hugged her friend.
“ We’ll figure this out. I’m going to get to work, right away, okay? Laura acknowledged what Jessica was saying with a nod and by releasing her grip.
With that Jessica got up to leave . The other thing she could do was help Laura with the morass of tasks women face when they lose their husbands, to divorce or death. Jessica offered to go to the house and retrieve whatever she could find related to Roger’s business dealings or their personal finances. That way they could start to sort things out as soon as Laura was able to do so. Laura was so grateful and relieved that she did not have to go back to the house. Most of what they needed would be in Roger’s home office, including his laptop and a file
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