Chapter Thirty-Five
Stephanie POV
"ZOË! Where is Zoë?" I screamed. I scrambled up from the floor, ran to Zoë's room, wrenched open the door, and found her fast asleep on the floor. Her cheeks had tear stains, and my heart broke for her. I gathered her in my arms and rocked her as she slept.
I didn't register anything happening around me, concentrating on the feel of her small body nestled into mine. I didn't hear Tank calling my name. I didn't hear Ranger's concerned "Babe?" I didn't hear the police arrive ten minutes later.
When Zoë awoke a short while later, she squirmed from my tight grasp and put her little hands on each side of my face. "Mama?" she whispered.
My eyes focused on her. "Zo-zo."
"Mama, Uncle Tank and Uncle Ranger are here," she said. "Where did Daddy go?"
Tears pooled in my eyes, and I hugged her close again. "He had to go, Zo-zo."
Tank sat beside me on the floor and pulled me into his lap. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly. Zoë's bottom lip was quivering. "Mama?"
Tank looked into her little face and said, "Squirt, can you give me and your mama a big hug?"
She threw her arms around me and patted Tank's face behind me. "I love you, Mama," she said sweetly.
"I love you too, Zo-zo," I said into her neck.
Ranger came into the bedroom and looked at us with a hint of sadness. "Babe. The police are here and need to talk to you."
Tank said, "I'll stay here with the Squirt, Steph. She shouldn't see anything out there."
I laughed harshly. "What about me? I don't want to see anything out there either." He patted my arm awkwardly; he didn't have to say it. I didn't have a choice.
I stood and took Ranger's proffered hand. He led me into the hallway and stopped. "You don't have to go into the kitchen again, Babe. We'll talk to the police right here." He said all of this in a low, soothing voice while rubbing circles on the back of my hand.
Two police officers stepped into my field of vision. Ranger had positioned me in the hallway so that I was facing the front door of my apartment. I didn't look around. "Mrs. Orr," the first officer greeted me respectfully. "I'm very sorry for your loss."
I inclined my head, feeling numb.
The second officer spoke. "Mrs. Orr? Can we ask you a few questions?"
I looked to Ranger. He nodded slightly and stared at the officers with a menacing glare.
"I'm Officer Patrick, and this is Officer Bennett. We won't take too much of your time. Could you please tell us what happened today?"
I swallowed hard. Ranger's arm snaked around my waist and squeezed gently, offering me silent support. There was a slight pain at his touch, and I looked down. Ranger's eyes followed mine and frowned. He raised my shirt a bit until he exposed the bruises on my pale skin. My eyes met his. He cocked an eyebrow, and I nodded. His lips thinned.
I pushed out a breath and started talking. "I thought he was in jail. He was supposed to be in jail. We came to New York, and when I woke up, he was in the living room with Zoë."
The second officer interrupted, "Zoë?"
"My daughter. I picked her up and took her to the kitchen, He hit me, and Zoë yelled at him. He sent her to her room, and I asked her not to come out until I came to get her." I let out a sob.
"What happened then, Mrs. Orr?" the first officer asked after a moment.
"We were getting divorced. He was insisting I cancel it and move back to our apartment. I said no. He…he pulled a gun out of his waistband and pointed it at me. He said something about not letting me leave him. He wouldn't let me check on Zoë. He started talking to himself and pacing. The phone rang, and he shot at it but missed. The bullet went into the wall. There was a knock on the door, and it was Tank and Ranger. Richard was furious when Ranger called me Babe. They came inside, and Tank made Richard angry again by asking about Zoë. Ranger taught me how to get out of holds at the gym, and I remembered that, so I got his hands off me and dropped to the floor. Tank pointed his gun at Richard, and Richard said something about not wanting to go back to jail, and then he put the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. Oh my god!" I gasped and started crying again.
Ranger pulled me to his chest and started smoothing my hair, crooning softly in Spanish. I didn't understand what he was saying, but it felt comforting.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Orr," Officer Patrick cut in. "We have a few more questions."
I stepped out of Ranger's embrace, but he held me to his side. I looked at the officers expectantly.
"You said Mr. Orr was supposed to be in jail. Why was he in jail?" he asked.
"Um. I filed a complaint at the police station last week sometime. He was a bigamist. He had a second wife in Greenwich. And he had these porn websites. He uploaded videos of us. I didn't know he was making videos. The police arrested him a few days ago. I thought he was still in jail, or I would never have come here."
"Then you don't know how he was released?"
I shook my head. "No. His second wife and I have been in contact, and she told me he asked her to bail him out, but she refused. His parents don't have money, but maybe he gave them the money to hire a bondsman. I'm not sure."
"Was that gun his?"
"I didn't know he had a gun. I would never have wanted a gun in the house with Zoë here. I don't know where it came from."
"Thank you, Mrs. Orr. Once again, we're truly sorry this happened. I've called the coroner to come, and he should be here soon. I'm afraid the apartment will be subject to an investigation, and you won't be able to stay here. Do you have somewhere else to go?" he asked.
I nodded. "I live with my sister and brother-in-law in Trenton."
Officer Bennett spoke up. "Can you come into the station to make an official statement? The other witnesses will also have to make statements."
I looked at Ranger again, and when he nodded, I said, "okay."
We went back into Zoë's bedroom, and Ranger gestured to Tank. "We'll need to make witness statements," he informed him, and Tank nodded. He turned his back to send a text on his phone.
"Can we leave now?" I asked. "I can't be here anymore."
"I think so," Ranger said. "I know this isn't the best time, but we could go to the police station now to make our statements. Then we don't have to come back here tomorrow."
I nodded. "Whatever."
Tank led me down the hall to my bedroom, shielding me from the kitchen. "Let's pack up so we can go, Steph." I started throwing things in my suitcase. I didn't even know if they were the things I brought from Trenton or entirely different. I didn't care. I just needed to get out of here.
I finished tossing things in and zipped up the suitcase. Tank picked it up and slung his free arm around me. We walked back toward Zoë's room, and Ranger was putting clothes in her small suitcase. She was helping him and chattering about the stuffed animals on her bed. He seemed to be listening patiently, or else he was a great actor. He finished and picked her up, then picked up her suitcase. We all made our way to the front door and left. There was some wordless communication between Tank and Ranger, and then Tank took out his phone and called someone to pick up my Explorer.
He pulled Zoë's car seat out, secured it in Ranger's Porsche, and buckled her in. He gestured for me to take the front passenger seat, but I shook my head. "I want to sit with Zoë," I said.
He merely nodded and waited for me to climb into the back seat, then closed my door for me.
Ranger started driving. I didn't pay attention to where we were going. I held Zoë's hand and rested my head against her car seat. She hadn't said anything, and I wasn't sure what she knew about what had happened at the apartment. It had started to rain at some point, and the car was silent except for the whooshing of the wiper blades and the soft tapping of the rain hitting the roof.
At the police station, I was surprised to see Mr. Manoso waiting for us. "Hello, Stephanie. I'm so sorry for what happened."
"Thank you. What are you doing here?"
"Carlos called me earlier and asked me to come to New York. When it was determined you'd need to make witness statements at the station, I came directly here."
An hour later, accompanied by Mr. Manoso, I had signed my written statement and was free to go. I was exhausted, emotionally and physically. Tank put his arm around me while Ranger carried Zoë. He drove us to Tank's house in Trenton. When we exited the car, I unbuckled Zoë's car seat and took it while Tank held Zoë. Ranger approached the vehicle's rear to open the luggage area containing our suitcases.
"Will you be okay?" he asked me quietly.
I shrugged.
"Do you want to take some time off from work?"
I shrugged again. "I guess so. I can't think right now. Can I tell you or Tank later?"
He nodded and leaned forward to kiss my forehead. I tilted my head back out of his reach, and he straightened and looked at me quizzically. I didn't meet his eye and turned to walk into the house. I could hear him walking with the suitcases behind me.
We all went into the pool house. Tank set Zoë down on the couch, turned to me and said, "I left a message for Jeanne Ellen. She'll call when she can." I nodded. "Do you need anything?"
"No. Thanks, Tank. I'll come over for lunch and dinner later, but you're working tonight, right? You should get some sleep. Thank you for coming to New York." I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. I walked him and Ranger to the door and waited for them to leave. Ranger smiled gently and inclined his head at me. "Thank you for coming to New York," I said quietly. He patted my hand and left. I closed and locked the door and walked over to the couch to sit next to Zoë.
"Mama, why are you so sad?" Zoë asked.
I sighed and pulled her onto my lap. "Zo-zo, I have something very sad to tell you that will be hard to talk about. Your daddy died today."
Her lower lip trembled, and her eyes swam with unshed tears. "Daddy died? Like Rex?" Rex was Zoë's hamster who had died the previous year. It was Zoë's first experience with death.
"Yeah, sweetheart. Like Rex."
She started crying and buried her face in my neck. I held her closely and rubbed her back. She cried herself to sleep, and I felt tears course silently down my face too. I was divorcing him and starting to hate him for everything he had done, but he was my husband and had been in my life since I was twenty years old. He was the father of my daughter. I cried for everything I thought I had and the loss of my dreams for our lives together. I had rarely cried during the past few weeks, and with every new blow of betrayal, I had pushed down that growing pit in my stomach. It was all pouring out of me now.
I woke up some time later, Zoë still straddling my lap. My stomach was grumbling, and Zoë was starting to stir. I looked at my watch. Wow, it's two o'clock—no wonder I'm so hungry.
When Zoë was fully awake, I kissed her forehead and asked, "Zoë, are you hungry?"
She nodded, and I said, "okay. I need to go to the bathroom, and then we'll go and get some lunch, alright?"
"Mama, I need to pee too."
"You go first, Zoë."
She went to the bathroom, and I helped her wipe, then used the toilet myself. After washing my hands, I took her to the main house and made each a tuna salad sandwich on multigrain bread. I poured her some milk and made some tea for myself. We ate quietly at the kitchen table.
For the rest of the day, we were mostly quiet. I took her back to the pool house and turned on the Discovery Plus app on the television, and we vegged out and watched various animal shows. I didn't pay any attention, and I'm not sure that Zoë did, either.
For dinner, I made grilled chicken and pasta with cut-up broccoli. Tank joined us for dinner, and I bathed Zoë in their tub. I put her down for the night with the customary song and story hour, then joined Tank in the living room of their house.
"How are you holding up?" he asked sympathetically.
I shrugged. "I feel like it can't be true, you know? How can it all be over so suddenly, so permanently?"
He sighed. "I know. But I'm so pissed off at him too. It was the coward's way out, and he chose to leave his family behind. Both his families, all of whom deserve better than the life he lived and left."
Tank's cell rang then. "Yo," he answered. A beat passed, then his voice softened. "Hi, Baby." He paused to listen again. "Yes. I'm not sure. She's right here. Sure."
He passed me the phone, and I answered, "hello?"
"Steph, are you okay? I'm so sorry. I wish I could be there," Jeanne Ellen said.
"I'm okay," I told her, firmly ensconcing myself into the Land of Denial.
"Liar. Do you need me to come home?" she asked.
"No. Really, Gigi, it's okay. I've got Tank, and you need to work. It's fine."
She sighed. "Steph, if you need to, call me. Promise?"
"Yes. I promise."
We talked for a few more minutes, and then she had to go. Tank and I sat until he had to leave for his shift at Rangeman.
I went back to the pool house, had a shower and crawled into bed, plagued by thoughts of the day's events.
I woke up a couple of times during the night with nightmares. I kept reliving that moment when he pulled the trigger. The noise was so loud. Before I had run to Zoë's room, I had closed my eyes to try to block the sight, but I could see blood everywhere from my vantage point on the floor.
I curled into a ball on my bed, hugging my knees, wondering if I could ever get that sight out of my head.
