Page 16 of The Sound of Silence

My eyes slowly moved to the top of the staircase. Ethan stood there with a disgusted look, shaking his head.

“I’m going to meet Cynthia. Don’t do anything rash while I’m gone because I’ll know. Remember, I’m the Chief of Police. All the cops work for me. They won’t help you, Gianna. You and I both know it. You’ll only embarrass yourself.”

He disappeared from my line of sight, and a few seconds later, I heard the front door open and close. Wrapping my arms around myself, I curled into a fetal position and cried.

* * *

I didn’t knowhow long I stayed on the basement floor. Time ceased to exist as warm blood pooled between my legs. Was it bad a part of me would be relieved if the blood meant a miscarriage? How could I feel that when there were so many women who wished to be blessed with a baby? I knew no child should be brought into my world—at least not right now. Anxiety, hope, fear, confusion, and anger consumed me, the emotions swirling as I clung tight to the pain, unable to move.

Eventually, I crawled up the stairs. My vision was hazy and I wondered if I had hit my head on the way down. Sliding my broken body across the kitchen floor, I reached up to feel for my cell phone I’d left on the center island. Once I had it in hand, I propped myself up to a sitting position and leaned against the base.

I dialed the only person I knew I could trust.

“Nat, I need your help.”

6

Ethan

The moonlit night was unforgiving as I sat in my BMW parked across the street from my house. I watched the windows for any sign of movement inside. After about forty minutes, I saw Natalia’s car pull into the driveway.

So predictable.

I knew Gianna would call her, I just wasn’t one hundred percent sure what she would do next. I was fairly certain she wouldn’t call the police. They wouldn’t have believed her if she did. Convincing my guys at the precinct Gianna had mental issues would be a walk in the park. They’d seen all kinds of crazy females in their line of work. I just didn’t want the embarrassment or have to make pointless explanations. After tonight, I would have to monitor her better. I made a mental note to put a tap on her phone, so I never had to worry about such things down the road. I honestly couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought to do it sooner.

Natalia would probably tell her I was an abusive asshole. That was also predictable. Most people would agree with her on that front.

Most people were fucking idiots.

They didn’t know anything about me or my relationship with my wife. Too many drank the Kool-Aid, believing in this new-wave idea that men and women were created equal, having so easily forgotten how Eve was the one who led Adam to sin. It wasn’t Adam’s fault. For him, evil came when the path to good was so hidden, there was no other way.

Still, I thought it best to make a few calls to cancel Gianna’s credit cards in case she got any crazy ideas. Pulling out my wallet and cell, I dialed the first credit company.

“Thank you for calling Capital City Visa. This is Donna. How can I assist you today?”

“Hi, Donna. My name is Ethan Walker. My wife is a signer on my account and it appears she was a bit careless and lost her purse while out shopping this afternoon. I need to cancel her card just to be safe. You never know what kind of person may have picked it up.”

“I completely understand your concern, Mr. Walker. Give me just a moment and I’ll take care of that for you.”

Once I finished my call to Visa, I repeated the same story to American Express and Master Card. After completing the calls, I took one more glance at the house. All seemed quiet. I imagined my wife sitting at the kitchen table, complaining to Natalia about me. The mere idea of her saying anything negative about me caused my muscles to tense. Tossing my wallet and cell phone onto the passenger seat of the car, I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white.

“Fucking bitch!” I hissed and started the ignition. Pulling away from the curb, I sped through the dark streets of Indian Hill toward Avondale.

After the long day, all I wanted to do was to come home, eat a quick meal, then head out to meet Cynthia at the condo I still kept on West 4th. I was glad I kept the place after my mother’s death. It had more than served its purpose. It had been weeks since I’d last felt Cynthia’s punishing strokes of ecstasy in the White Room, and I was long overdue. I just hadn’t planned on Gianna’s smart mouth to get in the way. Now my evening was ruined, having had to cancel with Cynthia in order to keep an eye on my foolish wife.

Twenty minutes later, I arrived at the tiny flat in Avondale. A homeless man laid on the steps leading up to the building. His presence pissed me off. Shit like that was the reason why Avondale had a bad reputation among most Cincinnatians—that and the higher than average crime rate.

“Get the fuck out of here!” I growled at the filthy lump. He was wearing tattered army fatigues—but that didn’t make him a soldier. Oh, no. I knew this type—always looking for a handout. He probably got the outfit from the local AMVETS thinking the garb would gain him sympathy from strangers.

Most likely, he was richer than I was.

Giving him a hard, swift kick, he grunted. I kicked him a second time, this time even harder. Slowly, the man collected his sack of God only knew what and got to his feet. I nearly vomited from the smell of him. Pulling out my wallet, I flashed my badge. The sight of it made him move a little faster.

“I’m going, man,” he slurred. He mumbled something that resembled an apology and staggered a few steps. If he didn’t stink so bad, I might have driven my boot into him a third time.

“Go find a job, you worthless piece of shit! And I’d better not catch you on these steps again!”

Needing to get away from the putrid smell, I hurried past him, went inside, and climbed the stairs to my fourth-floor flat. I opened the door and slammed it closed behind me, the impact causing dusty drywall bits to fall to the dingy floor. I looked up and saw a crack in the ceiling caused by water damage.

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