Page 46 of Inside Silence

She leans down and places her palm against the side of my face. My entire body feels like it’s on fire, so her cool hand on my skin is nice. Soothing.

“KC Kingma is one of my deputies and was the first to arrive at your house. Apparently, he knows your daughter from the church youth group he runs.”

He must be the young guy she mentioned once or twice.

“Is she okay?”

“Upset and a little scared, but that’s to be expected. She says she came home from school and saw you lying on the floor of the garage. You were bleeding and unconscious. When she screamed, a neighbor heard her and called dispatch.”

That was probably the voice I didn’t recognize.

I feel bereft when Savvy takes her hand back. But then she pulls a stool closer to the bed and sits down beside me, her face now level with mine.

“Now, can you remember what happened to you?”

I close my eyes, both to try and minimize the throbbing in my head, and to concentrate so I don’t miss any details.

“I came home and was putting away my tools—I finished Brenda’s bathroom today—when someone walked up behind me and hit me over the head.”

“Wait,” Savvy interrupts. “Did they walk in or were they already in your garage waiting for you?”

I assumed whoever hit me walked in from the street, but I guess it’s possible he’d already been there. I take a moment to think about that.

The garage door was closed when I got home, I’m positive. It works on either the opener I have clipped to the sun visor in my truck, or you can access from the keypad if you have the code. However, other than the overhead door and the one leading into the house, there’s another access door on the side. One that leads into the yard.

I mowed the lawn on Wednesday and thought I’d locked that door after I put the lawn mower back in the garage. But maybe I didn’t.

“I never saw him so I can’t be sure. It’s possible he came in through the side door and was waiting for me.”

He certainly seemed to know me.

“You say ‘he,’ are you sure it was a man?”

“It was a man’s voice.”

“He talked to you?”

I start nodding but think better of it when a stab of pain pierces my skull.

“He told me I should’ve stayed away.”

Savvy suddenly sits straighter and I can almost see her ears perking up.

“What did he say…exactly.”

“You should’ve stayed away,” I repeat the man’s words verbatim.

“Did you recognize his voice?”

“It was more of a growl so it’s hard to know for certain.”

I take in a breath and give my response one last consideration. I don’t have a good track record with law enforcement—I generally don’t have a lot of faith in them—but I have to believe Savvy is not part of the old boys’ club.

Decision made, I add, “But if I had to venture a guess, based on the message he imparted, I’d place my bet on your former deputy.”

Her lips thin and her jaw tightens as she gets to her feet slowly but deliberately, and starts pacing the small room.

“I see,” she finally shares. “Just for clarity’s sake, other than his message, was there anything else, anything tangible that suggested to you it was him? Were you able to see anything at all?”