A Stranger in the House

by Shari Lapena

Karen sees herself in the familiar mirror above her dresser, still battered and bruised. She remembers how frightened she’d been. All those times she’d come home and found things slightly out of place, subtle signs that someone had been going through her things. It had scared her. And Tom knew nothing about it.

She wishes she could tell her why she’s so frightened. But she can’t tell her best friend, or her husband, the truth.

all they’ve found is a pair of pink

rubber gloves with a floral print near the elbows, discarded in a small parking lot a short distance away. Rasbach doesn’t think they have anything to do with the victim in the restaurant, but he has them bagged anyway. You just never know.

Rasbach decides to check all police records for the forty-eight-hour period between the evenings of August twelfth and August fourteenth. He’s looking for anything out of the ordinary. There isn’t much; nothing shows up but some minor drug busts and a couple of car accidents.

Suspicion is an insidious thing; doubts have started creeping in, things that he’d previously been able to ignore. Doubts about her past. When she moved in, she brought so little with her.

Rasbach now makes a mental note to get a new espresso maker for the forensics department for Christmas this year.

Brigid sits and watches out the window; she never tires of it. Every now and then she sniffs delicately at her wrist. She will stay up until Tom and Karen go to bed, until they are safely tucked in and all their lights are out.

She’s really never stopped wanting Tom. It’s just a question of what she’s willing to do to get him back.

She’s not an abused or battered woman, and never has been. The idea almost makes her laugh. The day any man raises his hand to her will be the last day he’ll try that ever again.