Chapter 3: What Eight Months Had Been Hiding
Officer Tran walked me to a bench outside the building entrance and waited until the door closed behind us.
"The call came in on a Tuesday night," he said.
"March fourteenth.
The caller identified herself as Lauren Callahan, said there was a domestic disturbance at your address, and then hung up before a unit arrived."
"Lauren Callahan is my name."
"I know." He looked at me steadily.
"Which is why I'm telling you now instead of later."
I sat down.
My legs weren't unsteady exactly — they just stopped feeling like mine.
"Who would have known my full name and that address eight months ago?"
"That's what I'd like you to think about."
I already knew the answer.
I just didn't want to say it yet.
Eight months ago, Ryan and I had been in the middle of what he called a rough patch.
He'd been cold, distant, coming home late with no explanation.
I'd chalked it up to work pressure.
I'd made excuses for him the way I'd made excuses for everything in that house.
"Could the call have been made from inside the house?" I asked.
Officer Tran didn't answer immediately.
"The number was a prepaid phone.
Unregistered."
"But the voice — was there a recording?"
"There was." He paused.
"We don't have the resources to run a voice analysis on an eight-month-old non-incident.
But the file is still open."
I looked back through the glass doors.
Ryan was on his feet now, pacing.
Diane had not moved.
She was watching him with an expression I recognized — the same one she used when she was managing him.
Steering him.
Keeping him pointed in the right direction she'd already chosen.
"She made that call," I said.
"Mrs.
Callahan—"
"I'm not asking you to confirm it.
I'm just telling you what I know." I stood up.
"What happens now?"
"Your husband and his mother will both be formally cautioned.
Given the footage, the assault charge against Mrs.
Diane Callahan is solid.
Your husband's involvement is more complicated — he didn't hjt you, but he physically restrained you during an active @ssault.
That's a problem for him."
"Good."
Officer Tran looked at me for a moment.
"Is there somewhere safe you can stay tonight?
I'd recommend not returning to the house."
"I'll figure it out."
He handed me a card.
"Call that number if anything else surfaces.
And Mrs.
Callahan — think about who else knew your name and that address eight months ago.
Sometimes these things are connected to something bigger."
I took the card.
Inside, Ryan had stopped pacing.
He was on his phone now, typing fast.
Diane was still watching me through the glass.
She wasn't smiling anymore.
That bothered me more than the smile had.
I called my sister Carol from the parking lot.
She picked up on the second ring.
"I need somewhere to stay tonight," I said.
A short silence.
"How bad?"
"Diane hjt me with a broom handle.
Ryan watched.
There's a camera.
The police have the footage."
Another silence, longer this time.
"I'll put the kettle on," Carol said.
"Come now."
I was already walking to my car when my phone buzzed.
A text from Ryan.
*You need to drop this before it goes further.
My mother is 61 years old.
Do you understand what you're doing to this family?*
May you like
I read it twice.
Then I screenshotted it and forwarded it to Officer Tran.
