“I want Mama.” Pulling back so she could see his face, Brandy placed her small hands on either side of my father’s head. “Grandpa, where’s my mama?”
Pain flooded my father’s eyes. “Your daddy will be home soon.”
Nauseated, I wrapped my arms around my stomach. Never in my life had I felt so cold, alone, and scared. None of this made sense.
“Does Eddie know?” my father asked, referring to Cheryl’s husband. “He’s out hunting on Coach Aveeno’s land. Someone needs to tell him.”
The sheriff nodded. “We sent a car out to get him. They’ll be back in a few hours.”
“Daddy’s not home,” Brandy said. “He went hunting. Did Mama go hunting?”
Earlier, Cheryl told me that her husband liked to go hunting by himself because it gave him time to think. He stayed at a friend’s trailer, which was on several acres about two hours away. Had he been home tonight, perhaps he could’ve stopped what happened.
My dad pushed out a slow breath. “Let’s look at your puzzles, okay? Can you find the alphabet one?”
“Okay.” Brandy wiggled to the ground and ran over to the bookshelf. Her little fingers sorted through a stack of puzzles until she found the one she wanted. Holding it high above her head in victory, she returned to the coffee table and dumped the puzzle upside down. I flinched at the abrasive sound of the pieces tumbling onto the tabletop.
“Grandpa, come help me.”
“Okay.” Kneeling on the ground, my father helped Brandy put the puzzle back together.
* * *
After finishing with the police,my father drove us home where I learned that my old bedroom had been taken over by Brandy. All my posters from high school of Elton John, Carole King, and Chicago were gone. Instead, there were new posters of puppies and kittens. The bed was new too, along with a pink dresser and a pink bookshelf filled with children’s books and toys.
Standing in the doorway, I watched my father tuck Brandy into bed. He was so sweet and gentle with her. He hadn’t been like that with Cheryl and me. He’d never been abusive. He’d just been so grouchy and distant all the time. Maybe battling cancer had changed his perspective on life.
Pulling up the blanket, my father kissed Brandy’s forehead. “Sleep tight, princess. Grandpa will see you in the morning.”
“I want Mama.”
“I know you do. Go to sleep, and we’ll talk about it when your daddy gets here.”
I expected Brandy to protest. Instead, she thrust her doll toward my father. “Kiss dolly good night, Grandpa.”
He obliged, causing Brandy to giggle. Then she stuck her thumb in her mouth, closed her eyes, and pretended to snore very loudly.
My father stood beside her bed for a minute, not moving and not speaking. Slowly, as though movement hurt his frail body, he turned and shuffled toward me.
In the hallway, he gestured to Cheryl’s old bedroom. “You can sleep in there. If I’m not back when Brandy wakes up in the morning, make her scrambled eggs with a little cheese. She drinks milk, not juice, but she’ll eat a few orange slices.”
“Wait.” Panic shot through me. “You’re leaving?”
“I am.”
“Where are you going?”
“Out. To find him. I can’t just stay here when my daughter—” My father hung his head. “I need to do something. At the very least, I need to talk to Eddie and see if he knows anything.”
“Knows anything about what?”
My father shrugged and headed down the hall. How could he go back into the night after this? How could he leave me alone?
I wanted to beg him to stay, but I held back, knowing he wouldn’t change his mind for me. Still, I didn’t want to be alone. What if the man came here? What if he broke into the house? What if—
Oblivious to my fear, my father opened the front door. “Lock the dead bolt after me and keep the porch light on.”
“Okay.”
Without another word, my father walked out the door, closing it behind him. My hand trembling, I turned the lock.
Speak and I’ll kill you, the man told me right before Brandy cried out for her mom.
I’d kept still and silent, afraid one move would prompt him to harm me or Brandy. Then, by what could only be described as a miracle, he left my sister’s house as Brandy screamed and screamed.
Why had he spared me? Did he plan on returning to finish the job?
Shuddering, I pushed the thought as far away as possible. Then I hurried down the hallway into the bathroom to wash everything away.