The officer introduced himself and came in. He proceeded to check the downstairs.
"Anyone else in the house?"
"My fiancee is upstairs." He called Tanya down.
"My partner is checking outside. Do you have animals?"
"No."
"Let's check around and see if anything is broken or missing."
Morgan led the officer into the main room of the house. Crying out in dismay, Morgan leaped forward. Something had smashed through the plate glass window and hit the Indian sculpture. It lay on the floor, dented but otherwise unharmed. Distressed, Morgan dropped to his knees, looking for the offending object.
At first, their search didn't reveal much. Then, at Tanya's suggestion, the men moved the love seat. Lurking on the floor beneath it, they found a rock about the size of a baseball. No one touched it until Officer Katz brought gloves and an evidence bag.
"Any idea who might do something like this?" Lindsey asked.
"An angry ex," Morgan said. He told them about Vanessa and the court case.
"I heard about that," Katz said. "My brother-in-law works at the courthouse. I heard the judge locked her up for assault."
"I guess she made bail," Lindsey replied.
"Do you think you can pull any prints off that?" Tanya asked.
"Maybe. We'll see what the folks in the lab can come up with," Lindsey replied. "In the meantime, do you have anything to cover that window?"
With Officer Lindsey's help, Morgan got the window covered with a piece of plywood. He and Tanya went back to bed, shivering as they clung together. Neither of them slept well after that.
In the morning, Morgan called the insurance company and sent them pictures of the damage via e-mail. They gave him the name of a glass company who did work for them. That accomplished, he and Tanya decided to spend the day at home rather than going out as they'd planned.
"Do you think it was Vanessa?" Tanya asked.
"No idea. She's crazy enough to do that, but I don't know. Question is, why?"
"She's a vindictive bitch. What else is there?"
"Maybe she really needs the money?" Morgan strove to find something positive to say about his ex.
"She needs to be locked up."
"Not disagreeing with you." He grew very silent.
"Morgan. You don't owe her anything—not anymore. Your obligation stopped when she destroyed your life, and made you think it wasn't worth living. You don't even owe that bitch the time of day. So if you try to convince yourself that you need to be charitable, and give her some money, I might have to hurt you."
He turned surprised eyes on her. "What?"
"It's been on your mind since yesterday. You were hoping the judge would award her a settlement, so you could be magnanimous and give her something. I swear, if you do that, you and I will have issue. Not because I want the money, but because she doesn't deserve it. Not after how she treated you. She made your life hell for years, and you let her. However you justify it to yourself, you let her tear you apart. I love you, but I have no sympathy. And if you try to give her anything more than a sock to the jaw, I'll fight you over it."
"You're right," he sighed. "I'm bored," he declared, completely changing the subject. "Get dressed." He slapped her on the fanny before helping her up.
"Morgan, five minutes ago you were depressed. Now you want to go out?"
"Yes. Get dressed. Something nice, not fancy."
"Okay...." She hesitated. "Want to give me a hint?"
But she could tell he wasn't listening. He held his bottom lip between his thumb and index finger, frowning as he wandered over to the broken window.
Tanya went upstairs and changed into a pair of navy dress pants and a matching bolero jacket, over a harvest gold blouse. She wore flats instead of heels, since she had no idea how much walking Morgan intended to do.
He came up while she was doing her makeup, changed hastily into a pair of dress slacks and a long sleeved rugby shirt with wide navy and white stripes. He grabbed his keys, wallet and sunglasses. Tanya grabbed her purse and followed him out. He still hadn't spoken. As he opened her car door, she took his chin in her hand, forcing him to meet her gaze. His eyes held deep pain. She could have pressed him for answers. Instead, she pursed his lips with her fingers and kissed him until he responded. When his hands took her waist and pulled her close, she knew she had him.
"God, you taste good," he whispered.
"We can go back to bed," she suggested.
"We need to do this," he said with a sigh.
"What are we doing?"
© 2020 Dellani Oakes
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