Read Online The Lullaby Sky by Carolyn Brown - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Carolyn Brown
Ads: Link
gold.
“You are thinking of the past again.”
“What makes you say that?” Hannah asked.
“It’s the sadness in your eyes. I wish I had a mental ‘Dead End’ sign to put in your mind so that every time that happened, it would make you turn around and forget that there was even a man named Marty in the world,” he said.
“That is so sweet, Travis.” She smiled. “So you agree I should paint the whole house that pretty shade of blue? I could pick up the paint while Darcy and I are shopping for new furniture today.”
“I think it would be beautiful.”
“What if I don’t like it in a week?”
He chuckled. “Then repaint it. This is your house. You can paint the rooms a different color every week if that makes you happy. Darcy never got a chance to tell me what was really horrible last night, you know.”
“Bugs and spider eyes.”
“Want to elaborate just a little?” Travis asked.
“It all started when you let Sophie bounce on the bed. We found nanny cams in three different vents where Marty had been recording and watching us. And listening devices on the phones,” she answered.
Travis squeezed the coffee mug every bit as tight as his chest felt. He’d always known Marty was an egotistical son of a bitch with OCD and a god complex, but this strayed into the area right before a true sociopath came out of the closet. Hannah would be a long time getting over his mental abuse, but hopefully she’d been saved from suffering something worse.
“Did you check your cell phone?” he asked.
Hannah shook her head. “There’s not room for a bug in that phone, is there?” She picked up her phone from the nightstand beside the bed. She removed the cover and then the back and handed it to Travis. “Can you take that thing apart and tell me if there’s a device of any kind in the back?”
“No, I can’t, but we can take it to the phone place tomorrow when we go shopping for new furniture,” he said.
“Take it outside and leave it on the back porch until we can get it seen about.”
Travis handed the phone back to her. “I don’t know how he could have gotten anything into the telephone. It takes a tech person to get inside one of those smartphones. But your car, now that’s a different story. He’s probably got some kind of tracker on it, and we will check it out tomorrow.”
“I bet you are right. That makes more sense, anyway. When Sophie was two, I packed a suitcase, crammed a tote bag full of her favorite toys, and we left. We’d gotten about fifty miles down the road heading east. We were going to Virginia to live with my mother and grandmother until I could find a job and get on my feet.”
“And?” Travis asked.
“And Marty called, told me that I would turn around and go back home, or else.”
“Else?”
“He had lots of money behind him, Travis. I figured someone in town had seen us loading the suitcases and tattled on me. I always blamed Wyatt, because he was the only person in Crossing that Marty even talked to. I waited six months. That time I didn’t take a thing from the house. For anyone looking on, I was going out to do my Thursday evening grocery shopping. I drove straight to the shelter in Gainesville and . . .” She paused.
“And he called you, right?” Travis said.
“He did. He said it was the last chance he would ever give me. That I belonged to him and Sophie belonged to him, but it could be arranged that I wouldn’t be in the picture anymore. If I wanted to raise my daughter, I’d better go home and stay there.”
“Did he come home that weekend?”
Hannah nodded. “Oh, yes, and he brought Sophie a Barbie dollhouse and played with her all weekend. It was probably the most attention he’d ever paid the child, and she wasn’t quite sure how to take it all in. But I knew it was a message to me so I didn’t run again. That along with the threats and the bruises that he put on me. My car”—she paused—“was why I couldn’t leave. If only
“You are thinking of the past again.”
“What makes you say that?” Hannah asked.
“It’s the sadness in your eyes. I wish I had a mental ‘Dead End’ sign to put in your mind so that every time that happened, it would make you turn around and forget that there was even a man named Marty in the world,” he said.
“That is so sweet, Travis.” She smiled. “So you agree I should paint the whole house that pretty shade of blue? I could pick up the paint while Darcy and I are shopping for new furniture today.”
“I think it would be beautiful.”
“What if I don’t like it in a week?”
He chuckled. “Then repaint it. This is your house. You can paint the rooms a different color every week if that makes you happy. Darcy never got a chance to tell me what was really horrible last night, you know.”
“Bugs and spider eyes.”
“Want to elaborate just a little?” Travis asked.
“It all started when you let Sophie bounce on the bed. We found nanny cams in three different vents where Marty had been recording and watching us. And listening devices on the phones,” she answered.
Travis squeezed the coffee mug every bit as tight as his chest felt. He’d always known Marty was an egotistical son of a bitch with OCD and a god complex, but this strayed into the area right before a true sociopath came out of the closet. Hannah would be a long time getting over his mental abuse, but hopefully she’d been saved from suffering something worse.
“Did you check your cell phone?” he asked.
Hannah shook her head. “There’s not room for a bug in that phone, is there?” She picked up her phone from the nightstand beside the bed. She removed the cover and then the back and handed it to Travis. “Can you take that thing apart and tell me if there’s a device of any kind in the back?”
“No, I can’t, but we can take it to the phone place tomorrow when we go shopping for new furniture,” he said.
“Take it outside and leave it on the back porch until we can get it seen about.”
Travis handed the phone back to her. “I don’t know how he could have gotten anything into the telephone. It takes a tech person to get inside one of those smartphones. But your car, now that’s a different story. He’s probably got some kind of tracker on it, and we will check it out tomorrow.”
“I bet you are right. That makes more sense, anyway. When Sophie was two, I packed a suitcase, crammed a tote bag full of her favorite toys, and we left. We’d gotten about fifty miles down the road heading east. We were going to Virginia to live with my mother and grandmother until I could find a job and get on my feet.”
“And?” Travis asked.
“And Marty called, told me that I would turn around and go back home, or else.”
“Else?”
“He had lots of money behind him, Travis. I figured someone in town had seen us loading the suitcases and tattled on me. I always blamed Wyatt, because he was the only person in Crossing that Marty even talked to. I waited six months. That time I didn’t take a thing from the house. For anyone looking on, I was going out to do my Thursday evening grocery shopping. I drove straight to the shelter in Gainesville and . . .” She paused.
“And he called you, right?” Travis said.
“He did. He said it was the last chance he would ever give me. That I belonged to him and Sophie belonged to him, but it could be arranged that I wouldn’t be in the picture anymore. If I wanted to raise my daughter, I’d better go home and stay there.”
“Did he come home that weekend?”
Hannah nodded. “Oh, yes, and he brought Sophie a Barbie dollhouse and played with her all weekend. It was probably the most attention he’d ever paid the child, and she wasn’t quite sure how to take it all in. But I knew it was a message to me so I didn’t run again. That along with the threats and the bruises that he put on me. My car”—she paused—“was why I couldn’t leave. If only
Similar Books
