Free Listen by Rene Gutteridge Page A

can’t believe you would even stand there and ask that!” She yanked her purse off the chair and swung it over her shoulder. “You have to stop this. Do you understand me? I am a grown woman. We are not married anymore. You have no business being in my business. You need to move on. Why do you even care whether I’m at work or home or elsewhere?”
    Frank glanced at the captain, then back at Angela. “Because I still care about you. That’s why. Some weird things are happening in town, and I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
    She stepped closer to him, her brow so furrowed that the skin between her eyes turned purple. Her finger jabbed his chest. “Leave me alone or I’m going to file a restraining order on you.”
    “Please don’t do this. I, um, overreacted—”
    “You’ve crossed the line. You always cross the line. Heard you gave MaLue a ticket. When are you going to get over that ? Get a life. Please. Get a life.” Angela brushed past him and out the hallway. Her stilettos clicked and clacked until he heard the back door open and close.
    Grayson said, “Close the door.”
    Frank closed it and decided to sit down. “Well, I’m glad she’s okay.”
    Grayson’s expression didn’t change. “Captain Stephens sent out his guys on this. Gave it preferential treatment because you’re one of our own. Said you sounded frantic when you were filling out the form at the station last night.”
    “I couldn’t find her.”
    “Yeah, but don’t you think this is a little extreme?” Grayson asked. “We all know the divorce was hard on you. I realize it’s been difficult to let her go, but—”
    “It’s not about that,” Frank snapped. He drew in a quick breath. “It’s not about the divorce.”
    “Then what’s it about?”
    “I just . . . I overreacted. That’s all. I mean, we’ve got dead cats hanging in trees and deacons abusing their wives. Stuff like this doesn’t happen in Marlo.”
    “If she were to press criminal charges against you, you’d lose your job. You understand that, don’t you?”
    Frank leaned forward, trying to relieve the strain on his chest caused by all the emotion that wanted to bubble up and out. None of this would be happening if she hadn’t insisted on a divorce five years ago. He could protect her.
    There was nothing for Frank to say. He froze in his own humiliation. It was one thing for the captain to come down on him, but another for Angela to. He saw the hate in her eyes. It was the same look she’d had for him that morning at breakfast when she announced she wanted a divorce.
    Grayson pulled a folder off his desk. “The woman from last night, the deacon’s wife, she’s not pressing charges. Says it was an accident.”
    “So I guess she’s going to live.”
    “Fractured skull but the bleeding has stopped and the doctors said she’ll make a full recovery. So the case is closed. I don’t know if the neighbors are going to press charges about the cat. I need you to write up your part of the report. Murray will fill in the rest. Now, go on. Get out of here.”
    Frank stood slowly. His knees hurt today.
    “By the way, I told Gavin to report if you go anywhere near Angela.”
    “Is that really necessary?” Frank asked.
    “I don’t know. You tell me.”
    Frank went to the door. The day hadn’t started and already he was exhausted. “Captain?”
    “Yeah?”
    “What about this Web site?”
    “What Web site?”
    “The one where all this information is coming from. It’s got this ominous message on it about our town, and now apparently we’ve got someone recording private conversations and posting them there. Look what it’s already caused.”
    The captain sighed. “There’s always going to be things to get mad about. Any guy that would throw a remote control at his wife doesn’t need a Web site to set him off. It could’ve been anything.”
    “It’s stirring up trouble in our community.”
    Grayson nodded, but his focus had turned to a file