Three blocks from Brierwood Lane.
The glass sign read:
NOBLE INTERIORS
BY APPOINTMENT
She had a waiting list within two months.
On her desk sat one small object.
A piece of blue velvet.
The same piece that had fallen onto the sidewalk the day Donna grabbed her.
Celeste had framed it.
It reminded her of something.
Not Donna.
Not the fear.
Not the anger.
It reminded her that they had stayed.
The New Neighbor
One evening, Harrison was jogging through the neighborhood.
The same two-mile route.
The same streets.
The same magnolia trees.
But everything felt different.
People waved now.
Children rode bicycles.
Neighbors sat on porches.
Nobody called the police.
Near the curb, an elderly man named Ed Callaway stopped him.
“Chief Noble?”
Harrison removed one earbud.
“Yes?”
Ed looked uncomfortable.
“I've wanted to tell you something.”
Harrison waited.
“I saw what happened to your wife.”
Harrison's expression softened.
“The morning Donna grabbed her arm.”
Ed looked down.
“I should have said something.”
“Why didn't you?”
Ed swallowed.
“I was afraid.”
“Of Donna?”
“Yes.”
A pause.
“I told myself it wasn't my business.”
Harrison looked at him.
“But that's not true.”
Ed shook his head.
“No.”
His eyes became wet.
“I chose my own comfort over doing the right thing.”
Harrison stood silently for a moment.
Then he nodded.
“You're saying it now.”
Ed looked up.