“His black eye is from me,” I admitted, nodding to Pat.“He startled me, and my instinct was to protect myself, so I punched him.”
A look of understanding flashed across the female cop’s face as she pressed her mouth into a soft smile and gave me a single nod.
“Did you ever go to the police to file a restraining order or to report the abuse?”the male officer asked.
I nodded and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
“I tried everything I could think of, but I’m sure you can understand how difficult it was to convince anyone in a small town that their beloved sheriff was abusing his wife.I wasn’t able to get the assistance or protection that I needed, so I left.”
“When was the last time you saw your husband?”the male officer pressed as he pulled out a notepad and jotted down something.
“He was still inside the house when I left Saturday night.I don’t know what happened after that.I got a phone call earlier from Detective Gibson of the Coyote Creek Sheriff’s Department, stating they were trying to locate him.”
“We spoke with Detective Gibson as well,” the female officer confirmed.“It was how we received the information about your whereabouts.We contacted them once we identified the body, since there was a missing person alert.”
“So, what happens now?”Patrick asked, wrapping a protective arm around me as I leaned into him.
“The body has been taken to the local morgue, where they will perform a full autopsy at the request of the medical examiner.After that is complete, you can discuss transportation options with the funeral home if you would like to have his body transported back to Coyote Creek for burial,” the male officer explained as he put his notepad and pen away before pulling a business card out of his pocket.“This is the information for the funeral home in Silver Falls.”
Patrick took the card and put it in his pocket without letting go of me.
“Would you like to file a police report for the attack that happened the night you left?”the female officer asked as she looked from me to the male officer.
“With Silver Falls, or do you mean back in Coyote Creek?”
“In Silver Falls.”
“Is it necessary?I mean, it’s not like they can do anything to him now.”
“It’s absolutely your decision.But I’ve learned that it’s never too late to say something.Just because we can’t arrest him for what he did doesn’t mean we have to ignore what happened.People deserve to know the truth about who he was and what he was capable of.”
There was something that felt off about what she was asking, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was.I studied her for a few minutes until I recognized the look in her eye.The sadness that clouded her blue eyes as she struggled to hide it from me.It was the same look I had after he hit me the first time.It never went away.
“You didn’t get to report yours,” I whispered.
She shook her head and pressed her lips together.
“I wish I would have, because maybe if I would have told someone what was happening, they would have stopped him.Instead, I packed my bags and moved to Silver Falls, leaving Coyote Creek behind.”
My heart skipped a beat as I processed her words.Dale had hurt her, too.
“You weren’t the first woman he put his hands on, but you will be the last.I didn’t have the courage to report it when it happened to me, but I would like to help you do what I couldn’t.”
“Okay.Tell me what we need to do,” I said, as a wave of emotions washed over me.
