A Southern Noir: Deception by Any Other Name

Chapter 28

My clothes were soaking wet by the time I started the drive home. Despite the wet clothes, I felt good. I closed the case and was ready to begin my first job for the insurance company. I almost felt giddy as I drove home.

The thunder began to roll again and the rain began to fall harder as I turned into my neighborhood. When I got to my street, the rain fell so hard it was difficult to see the road. I felt a few hunger pangs as I guided my car down my street toward home. As I got closer, I spotted a car in the drive.

It was Emilie's car. She was home from the beach. My heart fluttered and I began to feel those giddy feelings again as I turned into the driveway. I parked behind her and rushed to the door. "Emilie?" I called as I opened the door looking forward to seeing her. It struck me a little strange that Rusty did not come running to greet me. "Emilie," I called again. There was no response and no sign of her anywhere I looked.

She must be upstairs, I thought to myself. I began to climb the stairs, but I still didn't hear her. When I got to the bedroom door, it was cracked open. Bracing myself, I pushed open the door. Emilie was there, lying naked in our bed underneath Clayton. They didn't see or hear me at first, and I was shocked to the point I could not speak. Finally, I managed the word, "Emilie?"

They both rose up and covered themselves. "Hunter? What the hell are you doing?"

"Emilie?" I could feel my legs beginning to lose strength. Though my eyes could see them, my mind did not comprehend what it saw. I searched for words, but none came. The sight of them together was all that needed to be said.

"Oh, don't you act so surprised, Hunter. You knew it all along, but you were too stupid to admit it. This is all your fault. Some detective you are. You spend so much time chasing down people whose marriages are falling apart, but you couldn't see it when it was happening to you. You couldn't see your own family slipping away from you. A fine detective you turned out to be. You can't see what was right under your own nose."

I didn't say another word. What was there to say? I turned around and stumbled down the stairs. I could hear Emilie yelling, but I could no longer understand what she said. Leaving the front door open, I got in my car and started to drive.

The storm raged as I drove to who knew where. I didn't care. The rain's intensity became so great that seeing the road in the darkness was nearly impossible. I decided to pull off the road, ironically, I turned into a church's parking lot. I sat in the lot for a moment in silence as the rain pounded on the roof of the car. I began to heave, my breath growing desperate, shallow, and rapid. My head pounded. I sat there in the car until I couldn't stand it any longer.

I got out of the car and went to the church's front door, only to find the doors locked. My strength left me, and I collapsed to my knees. The rain beat down on my head as my sobs blended with the raindrops. Looking up to Heaven, I tried to seek an answer as my walls fell around me, "Why God? Why? Why did you let this happen? Why God?" I screamed as the thunder roared and the rain fell.