Her Clothes in the Rain
Chapter 01 - Her Clothes in the Rain
Claire Bennett knew something was wrong before she reached the porch.
Her suitcase lay open in the driveway, rainwater soaking her clothes and the pale blue scarf her mother had given her. Her late mother’s quilt had been thrown near the curb.
A police cruiser flashed red and blue beside the house.
Claire stopped under the gray Seattle sky in a black suit, wet hair stuck to her cheeks, a leather folder in one hand.
Vanessa Cole stood on the porch in a deep red dress.
She looked perfectly dry.
Behind her, the front door of Claire’s house stood open.
Vanessa crossed her arms.
“I warned you not to come back.”
Claire stared at her.
“Where is Daniel?”
Vanessa smiled.
“Inside. Where he belongs.”
A uniformed officer stepped between them, holding a clipboard.
“Ma’am, we received a call about an unauthorized person refusing to leave private property.”
Claire looked at the clothes in the rain.
Then at the nameplate beside the door.
Then at Vanessa.
“I am not unauthorized.”
Vanessa laughed.
“You are the ex-wife.”
Claire’s face tightened.
“We are not divorced.”
A man appeared in the doorway behind Vanessa.
Daniel Bennett wore a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He held a tablet against his chest and looked at Claire with the exhausted expression of someone pretending her arrival was the problem.
“Claire,” he said, “please do not make this worse.”
She looked down at the leather folder.
May you like
Then back at him.
“You already did.”
