Chapter 4, Part 1

Andrew rode with Shelly and Bob in silence for the first few minutes of the trip home, but then he had to speak out.
“I hate to be nosey,” he said, “but what is Mitch and Denise’s story? I mean, she seems so unhappy. Why has she stayed? Am I missing something?” Andy had so many questions he really wasn’t sure where to start. Bob and Shelly exchanged worried glances, and Shelly nodded. Bob drew in a deep breath before he began to speak.
“They met in college, and started dating. It wasn’t long before they decided they were soul-mates and meant to be together forever. Mitch proposed and Denise accepted.” Bob paused briefly. “We knew them then, and have been friends with them since the beginning of their relationship.”
“Okay,” Andy mused, deep in thought. “So, what happened?” Shelly jumped in next.
“Well,” she started, “Mitch has always been a little … well, controlling and high strung, I guess?” She glanced at Bob who gave an approving nod. “Poor Denise had no idea what she was getting into when she agreed to marry him. Mitch doesn’t believe in divorce, and once the wedding band was on her finger, his true colors started showing.”
“We never thought he’d be abusive or anything like that,” Bob interjected, “or we would have said something to her before they married. Sadly, there’s nothing we can do about it now.”
“So, he DOES hurt her?” Andy’s face clouded with anger and disgust, and the concern rang clear in his voice.
“We can’t say for sure,” Shelly said timidly. “He’s never actually raised a hand to her with anyone around that we know of. We can only assume.”
“And we can’t report anything based off of assumptions,” Bob added ruefully. “All we can do is be there for her, and hope this baby turns Mitch around.”
“Do you really think that’s possible?” Andy asked quietly.
“I don’t know,” Bob replied. “I really don’t know…” his voice trailed off.
“You have to tell him about Midnight, Bob,” Shelly said. “He needs to know the whole picture.” Bob heaved a heavy sigh and cleared his throat nervously.
“Tell me what? Who’s ‘Midnight’?” Andrew asked, alarmed.
“Midnight was Denise’s cat,” Bob replied, his face flushing slightly.
“I didn’t see a cat…” Andy said, confused. “Did they decide to get rid of it because of the baby?”
“No,” Bob said flatly. “Mitch broke its neck a few years back.” Andrew’s face drained of color at the shock of this news.
“Oh my GOD!” he hollered. “What the hell happened? What is WRONG with this guy??” His sparkling sea blue eyes turned black with anger and concern continued to build.
“Shortly after they were married, Denise fell down the stairs of their apartment building and broke her ankle and her wrist,” Shelly began quietly. “Once the hospital released her to go home, Mitch got her a kitten. He was black with a little blue tint to his coat, and Denise named him Midnight. That cat adored her, and protected her.”
“Sadly, the cat didn’t like Mitch AT ALL,” Bob jumped in. “One night when we visited, Mitch raised his voice to Denise and Midnight hissed at him, and buried his claws into Mitch’s leg,” Bob paused, and his expression changed as he recalled the horrific scene. “Mitch was so pissed, he picked the cat up, snapped its neck, and tossed the body in the kitchen garbage can. Denise never forgave him, and I can’t blame her.” Bob shook his head.
“That’s when we knew that things were much worse than we thought,” Shelly added sadly. “Denise is too afraid to leave him. I would be too if I was in her shoes.” Andrew sat in stunned silence. His mind was reeling with the vision of Denise’s husband killing her pet and throwing it out like it was an empty pack of cigarettes – and right in front of her! He simply couldn’t comprehend such a thing.
“Did the asshole ever even apologize to her?” he growled the inquiry.
“Not that we know of,” Shelly replied, in a whisper.
“We have to help her!” Andy cried. “We can’t let her raise a baby with a monster like that!”
“Andy,” Bob said sternly, “We CAN’T get involved! Mitch will kill anyone who tries to take Denise away from him. I wasn’t kidding when I told you that before we came over tonight.” Bob glanced sharply at Andy over his shoulder. “I am DEAD serious – Mitch is a complete psycho where Denise is concerned. He will NEVER let her go.”
“What if he kills her? Or the baby?” Andrew shot back, becoming irritated with Bob and Shelly’s lack of initiative in helping their friend. “Or, God forbid, both?” Shelly and Bob looked at each other, as if they hadn’t even considered such a horrible thought.
“I really don’t think even Mitch could be that terrible,” Shelly said, after a moment’s consideration. “I mean, killing a cat because it attacked you is a far cry from harming an innocent, defenseless baby,” she finished indignantly.
“What if you’re wrong?” Andrew snapped back. “What will you do then?”
“Hopefully, we won’t be,” Bob replied sullenly, as he pulled into Andy’s driveway.
“I really friggin’ hope you AREN’T wrong,” Andy shot back as he climbed out of the back seat. “Otherwise, you two will have a hell of a lot of guilt hanging over your heads. Are you willing to live with that?”
“Andy,” Bob pleaded, “don’t get involved, please! Denise doesn’t need to live with the guilt of her husband going to jail because he committed murder thinking you were trying to steal his wife from him!” Andrew’s face hardened.
“At least she’d still be alive and Mitch would be where he couldn’t hurt her or her child,” he replied flatly. “I will try to stay out of this, but I can’t make any promises. Denise needs help, and since no one else will be there for her,” he glared at the couple, “I just might have to step up. No one should have to live like this. NO ONE.” He slammed the car door, and let himself into the house.
When he was inside, Andrew went straight to the phone book to see if the Farber’s phone number was listed. Coming up empty, he tried information, still with no luck. He paced the living room, his anxiety growing with each step. He slammed his fists on the counter, and decided to call in a favor. He hated to do it, but he couldn’t get the thought of Denise suffering at the hands of her husband out of his head. He grabbed his Army address book, and leafed through it. He found what he was looking for, and picked up the phone.
“Hi, Top. It’s Andrew Blake. I hate to ask, but I really need a favor…”
Andy stood under the hot spray of the shower rubbing his temples gingerly. He’d been absolutely distraught since he left the Farber residence, and learned how violent Mitch could actually be. He couldn’t get Denise out of his head, either – not just the danger she was in, but just HER. He pictured her delicate features again, remembering how her eyes sparkled when he teased her and joked around with her. He thought of her tiny frame and her beautiful pregnant belly… how he’d love to hold her in his arms and protect her from the likes of Mitch.
“Dammit,” he growled to himself furiously. “I can’t do this – I can’t start falling for her. That’s not what she needs,” he chided himself aloud. “She needs to get away from that asshole, and have her own life. If something happens after that, then…” his heart skipped a beat at the thought, but he didn’t dare utter it aloud, afraid to jinx the possibility.
Andrew got out of the shower, put on sweats, and grabbed a carton of ice cream from the freezer. He took a spoon out of the drying rack and sat on the couch with the remote to watch television, since it was too early for him to go bed. He had to work the next night starting at eight o’clock. The shriek of the phone startled him. He snatched it up quickly and checked the caller ID.
“Hey, Top! Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.” Andy leaped off the couch and grabbed a pen and piece of paper. “Yes,” he said, “I’m ready. Uh-huh,” he scrawled some digits. “Okay, I’ve got it. I really appreciate this. I promise, no one will hear it came from you.” He listened silently for a moment. “Okay, that’s great. I’ll talk to you then. I seriously hope you don’t turn anything up on that, though.” He paused again, listening to his friend on the other end. “Ya, I’ll explain everything when I see you at the next drill. Thanks.”
Andy switched the phone off and returned the handset to the cradle next to the couch. He put the ice cream back on his lap as he sat back down, and looked at the number scrawled on the paper in his hand. His Army buddy had connections at the State police department and had made a few calls to get the unlisted telephone number he wanted. “I’ll tuck this in my wallet just in case I need it,” he murmured to himself. He jotted the name ‘Denise’ above the telephone number, and slipped it under his Army identification card for safe keeping. He wanted to call now and check on her, but knew it would only cause harm to Denise if he did. After a while, he put the ice cream away, switched off the television and went to bed.