I found the checkbook in the most obvious place. In the bedroom. I was helping Mom pack away some more of John's stuff, and when I opened a drawer for his clothes, it had been sitting right on top.
"Hey... Mom?"
"Yeah, honey?"
"I found his checkbook."
She was quickly beside me, opening the book and flipping through pages. They all seemed pretty average until she stopped on one for $5,000. It was made out to someone named Dominic Sanders. It was dated a couple weeks before Emmett's attack.
"Maybe... We weren't being paranoid..." she said softly.
"Well, we don't know that. We don't know who Dominic Sanders is. Maybe it has something to do with his campaign." I think I was thinking of excuses mostly for her sake.
"Yeah, yeah, you're right. We should look him up, first." She left the room, and I followed close behind. Her laptop was sitting on the table, and she quickly opened it, typing in 'Dominic Sanders KC'.
The first link was an arrest record in Kansas City.
We both stared at the screen silently for a minute before the mouse slowly made it's way to the link, and clicked.
The man in the picture looked angry, his hair shaved off, his eyes narrowed. His arrest record was extensive, though he somehow had never been convicted. Assault, theft, breaking and entering, among many others.
There wasn't really much point in denying it anymore. John Kennish had hired someone to attack Emmett.
"I should... I should call..."
"Yeah, Officer... Daniels? You should call him. Yeah."
"And you should tell Emmett."
"Yeah. I should."
Neither of us moved.
...
Emmett looked at me blankly. 'He did what?'
"It looks like he hired someone to attack you. And then make it look like a robbery. The police are looking for the guy now."
'I knew it. I knew he was up to something. Why didn't you tell me before?'
"Because what if it was nothing? What if it really was something as simple as we didn't pay attention to the baseball? And now we know that it wasn't nothing."
He shook his head slightly. 'What purpose does attacking me serve, anyway?'
"I don't know. He was mad? We're hoping Dominic will cooperate when the police find him."
'Ok. Ok, well, there's nothing more we can do about it right now. We need to leave for the doctor's appointment.'
I nodded, and we went out to his car.
It was officially April, and my due date was in just a couple weeks. We had a bag packed and in Emmett's trunk, one less thing to worry about when the time came. We had the fastest route planned, we had Natalie's number, and we had a sort of phone tree set up. Emmett and Kathryn were going with me to the hospital. Kathryn would tell Regina before we left, and Regina would tell Daphne. Toby and Daphne were then supposed to go get Melody, while Regina went for Angelo. Toby and Daphne would leave without Melody, while Melody went for Cameron. In my phone tree, I don't think anyone was going to actually use a phone. They might, though, I wasn't sure. My job was to tell Emmett and give birth, and I stopped paying attention after that.
We had finally decided on Luke Christopher if it was a boy. Luke Christopher Bledsoe. We had contemplated Dalia for a girl, but the more I heard it, the less I liked it. Raine had made it to the list, as well, and I think that was so far the most likely option.
Emmett parked and quickly helped me out, and we went up to wait for our appointment.
I wasn't as excited as I had been last week, instead tired. Two weeks felt like it was both right around the corner, and still an eternity away. Luckily, it wasn't long until we were called, and we followed the nurse. Natalie made her appearance shortly after.
"How are we doing?"
"I'm exhausted. I don't think it's all the baby, though. I mean, he's not helping matters, but there's family drama going on. And the Braxton Hicks are getting worse. He's moving less, but still definitely moving."
"All of that sounds perfectly normal."
"Two weeks feels like forever."
"Well, they may not come in two weeks. Idealistically, you won't go into labor for at least another week. But you could technically go into labor any day, now."
"And the baby would be alright?"
"I have no reason to believe they wouldn't be. I would still like it if the little one stayed in there a bit longer, though."
"Well, it's not up to me. I'll have a talk with him."
She grinned slightly and nodded, and the measurements started. We were done soon after, and I was scheduling my next appointment.
...
The next day, they found Dominic Sanders. They brought him in, and called Kathryn. I went with her to meet Officer Daniels, and Emmett insisted that he come, as well.
Daniels was waiting for us when we arrived, a man who looked to be in his 40s, his dark hair just starting to gray.
"Kathryn, I'm glad you can make it. Your daughter Bay, I assume? And this is?"
"This is Emmett," she said, her hands moving. "He was the one who was attacked."
Something flashed through his eyes. "Right. We should go somewhere private to talk."
Emmett stiffened beside me, an arm wrapping around my waist. I hadn't caught what had gone through the officer's eyes, but clearly Emmett had. We followed Kathryn out of the busy area, Officer Daniels leading us to an empty room. Windows were all around it, nothing inside but a table and some chairs. It looked like something straight from some kind of cop drama on TV.
I took a seat, Emmett never leaving my side. Mom sat to my left, while Daniels sat across from us.
"We talked to Sanders. He didn't request a lawyer, just answered all of our questions. Extremely cooperative. And..." He glanced at me before he turned his focus back to Kathryn. "You aren't going to like what I have to say."
Mom took a deep breath and finally nodded. "Ok."
"Sanders told us that he was hired by your husband to attack someone. The details were left pretty in the air. No set time, or place, so Sanders just had to bide his time. Sanders... He told us that he was paid to go after your daughter. John wanted him to... to 'handle' the pregnancy."
Emmett stood, pacing slightly behind me, shaking his head. I took hold of his hand and pulled him back to the seat, pulling his hand to my stomach. 'Calm down. We need to hear everything. We need to know exactly what happened,' I signed. 'He never got to me.'
I was actually surprised at myself that I was staying so calm. The man that had raised me had paid a criminal to get rid of my baby. Maybe I was in some kind of shock.
Once Officer Daniels was sure everyone was calm, he continued. "So he watched, but he had moral issues attacking a pregnant woman. He waited until someone else was home alone."
"Which ended up being Emmett..." Kathryn said softly.
"Which ended up being Emmett. He did as little as he could, is what he said, not that it excuses anything. Said he kicked Emmett in the stomach so he never had to technically lie to Mr. Kennish. Staged a break in, so it looked random, but gave everything to your husband."
That's why he had been surprised on Thanksgiving. Why he came to apologize. He thought I hadn't been pregnant, anymore. Dominic had told John that he had kicked someone in the stomach. John had merely assumed that I had been the someone. When he realized my baby was still there, he had needed to change plans.
And he had managed to fool everyone except Emmett. Emmett had remained steady in his distrust. My mind flashed to the one time I was truly alone with John, and shuddered slightly. What if he had tried anything? I felt like I was getting a taste of what Emmett had felt every time he had walked in on us together, without anyone else in the room.
"We got your husband's phone records, and he did call Sanders a couple time. Sanders called him once. We're looking for Mr. Kennish to bring him in, now."
Kathryn slowly nodded. "Ok... Ok. So what happens now? What do I need to do?"
"Do you know where John is staying?"
She shook her head. "No. He told me he was getting an apartment, but never told me where. I just dropped everything off at the car wash."
"Then there's nothing else, right now. We'll let you know when we bring him in."
"Ok... Thank you."
I got up first, and left the room, Emmett close behind.