To Love and Protect (18 page)

Marge threw the car into park, and
then
stepped on the brake.

"I'm glad this car has seatbelts," Shelley murmured as she ran her fingers over the friction burn on her neck from the seatbelt strap.

"How did I do?" Marge asked gleefully.

"Uh, well, okay. Though you might want to slow down instead of speeding up when you're approaching a house."

"I'll have to try that next time," Marge said as she slammed the door behind her onto its unmatched hinges.

Shelley wrapped her lightweight jacket tightly around her as she stepped from the car. Fall had arrived in full force, and though it was already one in the afternoon on a sunny day, the temperature teetered at the fifty-degree mark. But the chill was worth the beauty of a New England autumn, with its swirls of reds and oranges and yellows, and its crisp, spicy air.

"Take your pick," Marge said as she pointed to several plants on the kitchen counter.

"This one's awfully pretty," Shelley noted as she held up a small potted plant with light-purplish flowers.

"African violet. Good choice."

"Are you sure you want to part with this?"

"I insist," Marge said, taking off her sweater.

Shelley soon followed suit and removed her jacket. "It sure is warm in here," she noted.

"I have the heat on eighty."

"Eighty! Are you serious? Why so high?"

"Herb will be home pretty soon and he hates the cold. Well, what he really hates are drafts. Ever notice how he wears his shirts buttoned up to his chin? That's because he can't stand the feeling of cold or wind on his neck."

And here she just figured it was because he was a nerd, Shelley thought. "But it must get unbearable in here for you and the boys."

Marge shrugged. "It does, but since Herb works and we do nothing−"

"You do nothing?"

"According to him. And that's why we have to keep the temperature where he wants it. But it's not his fault, really."

When would Marge stop making excuses for him, Shelley wondered, though she knew she had to be careful about what she said. On the other hand, what if she
were
the one responsible for causing an uprising in the Henderson home? Certainly, there were worse things in the world. Like leaving things the way they were, for example. "Why isn't it his fault?" she finally asked.

"He just can't tolerate cold, that's all." Marge snickered, revealing a brown tooth that had seen better days. "He even has to cover his ears when it gets chilly out."

Shelley dropped the plant to the counter with a thud, but luckily it remained upright. "What was that you said?"

"Just that Herb has to cover his ears in cold weather."

"With what?"

"One of those hats with ear-flappy things. He has a few of those hats, actually. But he avoids the cold so much that he doesn’t wear them unless he knows he’s going to be outside for a while.  He even wears one to the boys’ practice at the skating rink–"

"Marge," Shelley interrupted impatiently. "Does, uh, does Herb always wear his glasses?"

Marge looked slightly perplexed by Shelley's question. "Not always. He doesn't wear them to bed."

Please, Shelley thought, there were a few places where she didn't want this conversation to wander, and the Hendersons’ bedroom was definitely one of them. "I mean during the day. I was just wondering if he was like my cousin who can't see anything without his glasses." Good ol’ anonymous cousins, Shelley thought. They always came in handy for situations like this.

"He'll take them off when he's looking at something real close up."

"Oh?"

"Well, he has bifocals, but he says sometimes when he's trying to really study something up close in front of him, it's easier to do without glasses on. He's more nearsighted than anything."

So Herb doesn't wear his glasses when he studies something up close, Shelley surmised. Did that include unsuspecting women standing in their underwear in the supposed privacy of their own home?

"Marge, would you mind bringing me back home?" Shelley quickly asked. She knew how abrupt her request would seem, but it wasn't her fault that Marge was married to a man who quite possibly was responsible for turning her life upside down through fear.

"Is something wrong?" Marge asked, slightly more perceptive than usual.

"No," Shelley lied. "It's just that my dogs have been in the house all day and I wanted to let them out for a run."

"Now that you mention it, I noticed they don't seem to be out much anymore–"

"The plant is such a lovely gift," Shelley said, cutting Marge off as she walked to the door. "I can't thank you enough."

Marge's crooked smile returned. "Good. Let's go, then. I've been wanting to test how far I can drive that car on an empty tank anyway.” 

"You..." Shelley paused. At this point, she'd consider walking the second mile back if Marge could at least drive her a third of the way. Luckily that wasn’t necessary. Back in her driveway, Shelley thanked Marge again and scurried into the house, her fingers fumbling as she grabbed her cell phone to call Matt.

Please be home, she thought desperately. He had told her earlier that he would be spending the day watching a football game with a few friends, and she could only hope the match had gone into extra innings.

"Hey there!" Matt answered, his voice nearly drowned out by the sound of men cheering like a pack of baboons at a banana party. What was she doing? Shelley wondered. It's was his day off, and he certainly needed one after all she had put him through in the last couple of weeks. She debated whether to say a quick ‘hi’ and then hang up and call the police department instead.

"Are you still there?" he asked. “The game’s almost over and I was just about to call you.”

Hearing this was just enough to ease her qualms about sharing her discovery with him. "I think I know who was looking in my window the other night."

"Keep it down, guys!" Matt yelled. "Who?"

Shelley filled him in on her unexpected find at Marge's.

"I
knew
there was something about that guy! Wait till I drag him into the station–"

"Whoa. Is that what you plan to do? Don't you need proof first?"

"No, not in a small town like this. We'll have him convicted before he even has a chance to make a plea."

"Matt!"

"Shelley, I'm kidding. Of course we need proof. I was just getting a little ahead of myself because I already hate this guy for what he's put you through."

"I know. Believe me, he's not my favorite person, either. But I also want to be certain that he’s the one responsible for all this. I'd hate to break up a family and have an innocent man go to jail because I jumped to conclusions.”

"You don't believe it's him, even after all you've told me?"

Shelley stiffened with unease. The truth was that she wasn't sure of anything anymore. "If you find the same Mickey Mouse hat with ear flaps in his house, then yes, I will know for sure that it's him."

"I'll go down to the station right now and get the ball rolling to get a search warrant of the house."

"Matt, I don't expect you to jump on this today. You're with your friends–"

"You're joking, right? You think I'd rather watch a football game than find the creep who's been harassing you?"

"Okay, maybe not..." Shelley said hesitantly.

"Even a game where my team is winning?"

"That's what I'm talking about–"

"I'm just kidding. Like I said – the game’s almost over and they’re too far ahead for the other team to come back anyways.”

"Okay – I actually just came by my house to pack some more things to bring to Diana's, but maybe I won't need to."

"I still think it's a good idea to stay with her until we have this straightened out once and for all. You just never know."

"You're probably right. Oh, and Matt?"

"Yes?"
"Do you think you could turn down the TV a bit? Dozer's ears are really sensitive."

"You're joking, right?"

"Is he in the corner somewhere right now with his head between his paws?"

“Hold on…” Several moments elapsed. “Okay, I turned it down. Boy, you're a pest."

"I know. Believe me, I know."

"But a
cute
pest, too."

Shelley smiled. "Should I meet you at the station?"

"Why don't you finish getting your stuff together and I'll swing by your sister's after I see whether or not I can get a warrant to search the house today."

"Sounds like a good plan to me. And Matt?"

"Let me guess. I need to adjust the screen brightness so it doesn’t bother Dozer’s eyes.”

She shook her head and smiled. "No – I just want to thank you for all you're doing."

"I have no choice. I'll be fired otherwise."

"Real nice!"

"Okay, okay. You get so feisty when you’re annoyed that I can't help teasing you."

Luckily for him, Shelley thought, he had yet to see her truly angry. Not like Diana, at least. But as Shelley sat in her sister's living room a half hour later, all those childhood sibling fights faded, replaced with the easy support they gave to each other as adults.

"I think it might finally all be over," Shelley announced as she sunk into a comfortable, oversized chair.  Diana handed her a glass of warm apple cider and sat on the sofa beside her. “You mean you know who’s been threatening you?”

"Well, I know who was watching me the other night, and I can't imagine I have
two
creeps trying to make my life miserable at the same time."

"You sound like Elaine talking about her ex-husbands."

Shelley laughed. "Then maybe I'd better be quiet."
"Don't you dare! Tell me what's going on."
Shelley filled her sister in on the latest revelation. Diana shook her head. "You just never know."

"It is pretty creepy, isn't it.”

“So what's happening next?"

"I'll let you know when Matt gets here.”
He arrived in his uniform three hours later. "It's over," he announced with a smile, hugging Shelley tight. 

"You found the hat?" she asked.

He nodded. "It was lying right out in the open on a bedroom dresser, next to the same kind of hat with a Daffy Duck patch."

Shelley's joy was tempered with sorrow for Marge and her family. "How did she take it?" she asked quietly, concerned about Marge's already fragile state of mind.

"You know, it was almost like she expected this to happen."

"If she knows her husband, then perhaps she did. Speaking of which, was Herb home when you got there?"

"Yup. Sergeant Rinaldi called the DA at home and got him to sign off on a search warrant. So the two of us drove right over. At first Herb seemed completely shocked by our being there. But then he just seemed to resign himself to things."

"Did he admit to anything?"