Choked (Devoured #3) (7 page)

When Kirk rounded the corner into his neighborhood,
he noticed an unusual police presence which only seemed to increase as he
approached his house. His street was entirely blocked off by cops, and he
pulled his car over beside the curb and jumped out.

He hurried towards his home, and when he saw that
his property was encircled by yellow police tape, he started running.

He didn’t even see the two cops standing next to the
sidewalk until they grabbed him.

“Sir, you can’t cross here. We’re investigating a
crime scene.”

Kirk thrashed under their grip. “But this is my
house! I live here!”

“Sorry.”

“But my wife! My wife was at home! Where is she?!
Where is my wife?!”

“Calm down sir or we’ll make you calm down. Do you
understand?”

“I just want to know where my wi-” Then he saw her.

Madeline came walking out of the house with two cops
on either side of her. One had her arm around her, and the other had a tablet
that he was writing on.

“Madeline! Madeline! Honey! Oh my God- Are you
okay?! Madeline!”

Madeline stopped walking and turned towards Kirk’s
voice. Her stare was icy and distant and she looked right through him like she
didn’t even know him. She turned her back on him and kept talking to the
officers.

“Madeline!”

The police kept their grip on his arms and his throat
hurt as he screamed for her.

One of the officers talking to Madeline looked over
his shoulder at Kirk and then started towards him.

Kirk stopped struggling for a moment and waited.

“Mr. Jenkins, I’m going to have to ask you to calm
down and stop screaming.”

“I just want to talk to my wife.”

“I’m sure you do,” the officer said. “But she
doesn’t want to talk to you right now, and she’s been through enough tonight.”

“I just want to know if she’s okay. Is she okay? Is
she hurt?”

“She’s fine sir. A bit shaken up as anyone would be
given the circumstances, but she appears to be fine. And as soon as we’re done
here, we’ll take her to the hospital and get her checked out.”

“Can you tell me what happened?”

The officer looked at the older cop holding Kirks’
arm. The cop shook his head.

“I’m sorry, sir. That’s all I can tell you at this
time.”

Kirk’s eyes darted from the open door to the police
tape to the red and blue lights back to his wife.

Madeline turned and looked over her shoulder at Kirk
again. Her eyes were red and she had a wad of tissues in her hand. She turned
back around.

Kirk fell to his knees on the cement and dropped his
head. “Nonononono.”

The two cops who had been holding him reached down
and picked him up. His legs were jelly. He didn’t even try to find his footing
as they dragged his heels through the grass to the curb and stuffed him into
the back of the police car.

After they closed the door, he let his forehead fall
against the window and he kept his eyes on Madeline. He willed her to turn
around again, but it was in vain.

The two cops that put him in the car leaned against
the trunk.

He could hear them talking.

“Think he had anything to do with it?”

“I don’t know. He didn’t put up much of a fight
getting in the car.”

“The guy’s in shock.”

“Shocked that he didn’t get away with it.”

“Why do you always assume the worst in people?”

“Trust me. When you’ve been at this for as long as I
have, you learn it takes too much energy to give people the benefit of the
doubt. They just let you down.”

“I don’t know.”

“You’ll see. I’ll hate to say I told you so, but
you’ll see.”

For the first time, Kirk noticed the neighbors. They
stood in front of their houses, watching the spectacle in their slippers and
robes.

He slid down in the seat, lay on his side, and prayed
all the way to the station.

The cops led him into the gray building and down a
narrow hallway. He kept his gaze down as the officers escorted him to an
interrogation room and released him. It was empty except for two metal chairs
and a table.

“Don’t leave me in here!” he said.

“Someone will be in to talk to you shortly. Just sit
tight.”

“I want to see my wife. When can I see my wife?”

“No one is keeping you from your wife, Mr. Jenkins.”

“When can I see her?”

The cop sighed and looked at him. “As soon as she
wants to see you.” 

Then he pulled the door closed and left Kirk alone.

Kirk considered kicking the chair and table over and
screaming some more but frankly he was exhausted and knew it was pointless.
Instead, he moved the chair out with his foot and sat down, trying to think
clearly. After all, when Madeline came to see him he needed to be strong for
her. He needed to maintain his composure so he could tell her everything would
be okay. Like he hoped someone would come tell him.

It was hard to believe that just a few hours ago his
work had been recognized and celebrated by his most esteemed peers. There was
no doubt that it had been the greatest honor of his life to date… Besides when
Madeline said “I do”.

Now he was sitting in a police station, completely
dishonored. He had to assume he was suspected of something, but he tried not to
worry about that. After all, it was probably just regular police procedure. The
more he cooperated, the sooner he would be out of there.

The important thing was that Madeline was safe and
their baby was safe. That was all that mattered. By the grace of God, he hadn’t
lost them.

A female cop who seemed as tightly wound as her dark
curls came in the room and sat across from Julianna.

“Can I have something to drink?” Julianna asked.

The officer clasped her hands on the table in front
of her. “Are you going to drink it or throw it at me?”

“I’m going to drink it.”

The cop turned to the mirror behind her. “Can
someone bring us two waters please?” She turned back to face Julianna. “My name
is Officer Brady.”

“Can somebody take my cuffs off?”

“I would really like to do that, Julianna, but
unfortunately we don’t know if you’re a danger to yourself or others.”

“I’m not, and they’re hurting my wrists.”

“Would you say you’re more or less uncomfortable
than Madeline Jenkins was when she was fighting for her life?”

“Is she-“ Julianna looked over Brady’s shoulder at
the mirror and wondered how many people were standing on the other side of it.
“Did I-”

“Kill her?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s the last thing you remember, Julianna?”

“Choking Madeline.”

“And then what?”

“Waking up in cuffs with a headache.”

“That’s because Madeline smashed a lamp over your
head in self-defense.”

Bitch
, Julianna
thought
. If someone had only had the good sense to smash that lamp in the
eighties, I wouldn’t be here right now.

“She knocked you out cold.”

Julianna sighed.

“You want to tell me why you tried to kill Madeline
Jenkins?”

“Because Kirk couldn’t do it.”

“Her husband?”

“Yeah?”

“Why would he want to kill his own wife?”

“It wasn’t supposed to happen like that.”

Someone knocked on the door. “One second.” Brady
went to the door, took two small cups of water from floating hands, and set
them down on the table. “So tell me. How was it supposed to happen?”

“Can you unhook my cuffs so I can drink that?”

“In a minute. What was supposed to happen?”

“Kirk was supposed to tell her the truth. Then she
would have left him, and we could’ve been together.”

Brady crossed her arms.

“But he refused so I had to tell her myself.”

“And what if she didn’t leave him when she found out?”

“She would’ve. I was going to tell her every little
detail so she couldn’t love him anymore even if she wanted to.”

“I see.”

“I know what kinds of pictures I could’ve put in her
head that would have made it impossible for her to even look him in the face.”

“Really?” Brady took a slow sip of her own water.

Julianna nodded.

“So why didn’t you?”

“Cause she didn’t ask. She just told me to get out.”

“Why didn’t you leave when she asked you to?”

“Because I hadn’t told her everything yet.”

“What did you tell her before she told you to get
out?”

“That I’m carrying Kirk’s baby as a result of the
affair and about the nightdress.”

“The nightdress?”

“Yeah.”

“Can you tell me about it?”

“I’ll tell you anything you want if you just undo my
cuffs.”

Brady got up and walked behind her.

Julianna listened as the cuffs clicked open and
closed. When she went to put her hands in front of her, only one came around.
The other was now cuffed to the back of the chair. Julianna groaned.

“So what’s the deal with the nightdress?”

“It was a present from Kirk. It had his semen on it.
I sent it to her because it was taking him too long to tell her.”

Brady cocked her head. “So what happened when you
refused to leave?”

“She went to make a phone call and I tried to stop
her.”

“By throwing tea on her hands and strangling her?”

Julianna shrugged.

“Was that the first time you’ve been to the Jenkin’s
house?”

Julianna nodded. “Inside, yeah.”

“What is Kirk going to think about all this?”

“He won’t be happy, but I doubt he’ll be surprised.”

Brady leaned back in her chair. “So if he had told
her and Madeline decided to leave him-”

“That’s what was supposed to happen.”

“Right, but why would he want to be with you after
you drove his wife away?”

“Because even if I wasn’t pregnant with our love
child, which I am-” Julianna pushed her hair behind her shoulders. “I’m his
drug of choice.”

“Do you love him?”

“Yes.”

“Would you protect him?”

“Of course.”

“Did he put you up to this?”

Julianna took a sip from her cup of water and looked
at the mirror behind officer Brady again. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

Julianna shook her head.

“Well did he ever say anything that might have
encouraged you to try and kill her?”

“He didn’t ask me to do it, if that’s what you
mean.” Julianna pursed her lips. “But I guess you could say I got the
impression that his life would be a lot better if she wasn’t around.”

“Go on.”

“Well even when I first met him, it was obvious that
he wasn’t happy at home.”

“Did he tell you that?”

“Not in so many words, but he showed me, didn’t he?
Anywhere we could be alone.”

Brady swallowed.

“And he was my teacher so it’s not like I could say
no.”

“Did he force himself on you?”

“Not physically.” 

“In what sense?”

“I think he took advantage of the fact that he knew
I admired him as a teacher and found him attractive.”

“Did you break things off then?”

“Well I graduated and went somewhere else for
graduate school for a while. But we were planning on being together again when
I moved up here in the fall to teach.”

“You made plans for the future?”

“Nothing was set in stone, but we talked about how
we would be together as a family as soon as Madeline was out of the picture.”

“You know you’re lucky she hit you with that lamp.”

Julianna tilted her head.

“Otherwise you’d be facing much harsher sentencing.”

“If I’d killed her?”

Brady nodded.

“Don’t I get a phone call or something?”

“You want to call a lawyer?”

Julianna shook her head. “No. My dad.”

Julianna stood behind the front desk and took the
phone off the wall.

The voice that answered was half asleep. “Hello?”

“Dad?”

“Julianna.” He cleared his throat. “Do you know what
time it is?”

“Dad, I’m at the police station.”

She could hear her mother in the background asking
what was wrong over and over.

“Is everything alright? Are you okay?”

“I’m okay dad. I just- um, I might feel better if
you came down here. They won’t let me leave.”

“Of course. I’ll be right there.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“What happened?”

“I was attacked.”

“Attacked?” His voice was suddenly alert. “Are you
okay?”

“I’ve been better. I got knocked out though, and my
head hurts.”

“Your mother and I will be there as soon as we can.”

“I’m scared, dad,” Julianna told the dial tone. “I’m
scared.”