A light tap on the door has Annabelle opening the door. “Mrs. Carmichael is here. Do you want me to bring her through to you?”
“Yes, please. Can you bring drinks too if that isn’t too much trouble?” I give her a small smile of thanks to go along with the request.
“Of course, I can do that.” Annabelle leaves the door slightly ajar.
It takes only a minute for Annabelle to guide Mrs. Carmichael into the office and to a seat. I give them both a smile and notice how tense the woman is.
"Are you alright?" Showing my concern, I ask quickly.
“No, not really. I want to get out of town, and I wanted to ask if I could do that with the divorce proceedings?”
“Yes, you can, as you have no dependents and no court order to stop you. Why do you want to leave?” I have to ask as I need her to be honest and tell me about the abuse fully. Then I can legally get a restraining order in place.
Tears fall slowly down Mrs. Carmichael's cheeks, and I quickly pass her a tissue from the box I keep on the corner of my desk. She takes a deep breath and replies. “In the two years after we married, Michael became violent. If I do something that displeases him he thinks nothing of lashing out. I’ve had so many bruises that I didn’t know where to sit for comfort. I need to get out of his reach. I don’t want to leave the state, not yet anyway. I just want to get away from here.”
“Okay. Let’s get this paperwork signed. I’ll ask for a restraining order, and I have a contact that will find you somewhere to stay and a job if you want that?” I look at her and do my best to assess whether she is being honest or not.
“Yes, I will need to work. I have some savings that Michael knows nothing about. I’m sure they will be enough for a few weeks.”
We quickly get down to the basics of the divorce. Signed and ready to be processed, I look up at Gloria Carmichael and know she’ll be okay. “I’m going to get my contact to call you and arrange things. Do you need to go home?”
“No, I have my car here, and I already have what I want with me. I was not going home even if I got into trouble for leaving town.”
“Wait here while I go make arrangements.” I leave the office and head to reception where I find the details of the shelter that helps women stay safe. I quickly make the call and give the information to Suzette, who manages the shelter. “Can Mrs. Carmichael come directly to you rather than waste time with calls?” I ask while scanning the reception area.
“Yes, give her the address and tell her I have somewhere for her,” Suzette gives me some more information, and I close out the call.
A man storms into the reception area and starts shouting. “Where is my wife? She can get her ass out here and come home. She is not leaving me, or divorcing me!”
I side-eye Annabelle who looks as worried as I do. But we both stand firm behind the reception desk.
“Excuse me, but who are you looking for?” I ask, and I have this terrible feeling I know who this is.
Picking up a pen, and trying to look efficient, I write,‘Get Mrs. Carmichael out the back. Give her the information I’ve written.’I leave my notebook, in which I’ve jotted all the information Suzette gave me, before turning my attention back to this man. I murmur, “Get back here pronto.”
“Gloria, Gloria Carmichael. I know she came here. She needs to get her ass out here.”
I can feel a lot of anger coming from the man right now. But I can’t let that deter me from protecting his soon to be ex-wife. “Oh, Mrs. Carmichael has left already.”
“Liar! Her car is outside.”
“Well, I can assure you she has gone, so if her vehicle is still outside then she must have popped into one of the shops close by,” I say it as though I mean it, but I’m thinking I hope she’s gone already, as Annabelle has returned.
Mr. Carmichael bellows Gloria’s name as he tries to push past Annabelle and me. But we push against him. I flick my eyes to Annabelle. “Call the cops,” I murmur. It had to be today, the day the other lawyers were in court. Leaving me in the building alone with Annabelle and two other women.
Mr. Carmichael pushes forward again, and grabs my arm, swinging me to the left, and I mean swinging me so hard and fast that my feet leave the floor. I lose my footingand fall, banging my head on the wall, and feel an intense pain in my arm.Fuck, he’s broken my arm!
Graham Bellows who is here about his divorce settlement, jumps from his seat and joins the fray. Swinging at the asshole who is still bellowing for his soon to be divorced wife.
Annabelle rushes up behind Mr. Carmichael and swings a large vase, bringing it down on his head. I cringe as I hear the smack, and blink twice when he falls to the floor, out cold.
“Shit, I hope I didn’t kill him!” Annabelle wails as she bursts into tears.
Graham, as calm as you like takes zip ties out of his back pocket and ties up Mr. Carmichael’s arms behind his back by his wrists, and his ankles. Looking up, Graham smirks, “He’ll not be going anywhere until the cops show up.”
Now, it’s a good thing we know Graham is an electrical specialist, so it’s not a surprise he has zip ties in his pocket.
I look at Annabelle and give her a pained look. “Will you call 911 for me? I think he’s broken my arm, and given me a concussion.”
