Sticks and Stones

“Hey honey, would you be able to run into town to grab some chicken, steak, and beer for tonight? Ben called to his wife Hannah, who was just getting in from her jog with their dog Tex.

              “Yeah sure,” she said “Do you want me to make anything else? I can make that macaroni salad and a dessert of some kind… maybe my Oreo fluff?” She grabbed a pen off the counter and started writing a list.

              “Sounds good babe. Conner said that Laci is making a potato salad and bringing her beans and Lisa and Tom are going to bring a watermelon and some chips and dip, so we should be good otherwise.”

              Hannah walked over to him and gave him a quick kiss. “If you think of anything else we need while I’m gone, just give me a call!”

              She walked out to the car and headed into town. While driving in, Ben called and asked her to make sure she grabbed some sweet corn and butter, so she made a note to stop at the small farm stand outside of town on her way home. She could also grab some fresh tomatoes; she added that to her mental list as well.

              As is expected in small towns, she ran into just about everyone she knew at the grocery store. First, there was the nice old lady who lived next door to her brother and sister-in-law who wanted to stop and chat about the flowering shrub that her brother planted awfully close to the property line. Then, just as she managed to duck out of that conversation, she ran into the man who runs the local hardware store who asked her to remind Ben that his lumber would be in next week. She thanked him politely and sprinted towards the cash registers, hoping to get out of there without running into anyone else.

              As she unloaded the groceries onto the belt, she gave Ben a call to make sure there was nothing else she needed to grab. No answer. He was probably out on the lawn mower, no big deal. She paid and made her way back out to the car.

              While pulling out of the parking lot, she noticed that she needed gas, so she swung by the gas station to fill up. She ran into another family friend who she made small talk with for a minute or two, and then headed out to the local farm stand to grab sweet corn and tomatoes.

              Her phone rang, and she looked down, expecting to see Ben’s name on the screen. Instead, it was her mom.

              “Hi Mom, what’s up?"

              “Hannah! Are you by chance in town? Betty, your brother’s neighbor, mentioned seeing you at the grocery store, so I’m hoping you’re still around so you can do me a quick favor.”

              “Well, I was on my way home, but I can help you out. What kind of favor are we talking about?”

              “Could you just swing by my house and feet Scooter? I am out of town for the weekend, and I asked your brother to stop by and check on him, but you know how he is. I just want to make sure he’s being taken care of.”

              Ugh, Scooter. That damn cat. “Sure Mom, I’ll check on him for you.”

              “Thanks honey, you’re my favorite daughter.”

              Her mom hung up the phone, and Hannah pulled out of the farm stand driveway and headed back to town. Scooter hissed at her as she walked through the door, and Hannah hissed back.

              “Stupid cat. I have no idea why Mom even keeps you around.” He hissed again and ran up the stairs.

              Hannah rolled her eyes at him and filled his food and water bowls. “There; Satan cat is fed.” She sent her mom a text letting her know the cat was okay, and once more headed for home.

              She tried calling Ben one more time. No answer again. If he decided he needed something, he can run back into town then since he wasn’t picking up his phone.

              As she pulled into her driveway, Tex ran up to greet her, which was odd because Ben never left him outside while he was mowing. Tex didn’t understand the concept of personal space, even when it came to the lawn mower. She then noticed the lawn mower sitting in the middle of the yard, still running. Now she was worried.

              “Ben?” she called out. No answer. She walked around to the back of the house. No sign of him. She could see the grill lid was wide open and there was charcoal in it that hadn’t been lit yet. A semi-cold beer was sitting on the table next to the grill. She turned around and screamed.

              One of her glass deck doors was broken, and on the inside, there was a small puddle of blood. Hannah felt the bile rising in her throat as fear started to consume her.  Where the hell was her husband??

              She instantly dialed 911 and told the dispatcher everything she had found when she came home. No, she hadn’t heard from him since he called her asking her to grab sweet corn. No, she had no idea who would want to hurt him. No, she wasn’t at home at the time of the incident. The dispatcher advised her that an officer would be there shortly and disconnected the call.

              The sheriff came up her driveway about five minutes later and met her in the driveway. He looked stern and serious and made her feel like she was a suspect right away, even though she knew she hadn’t done anything wrong.

              She walked him to the backyard and showed him the broken glass with the blood. He poked around a bit, and called for a team to come sweep the home for evidence.  In the meantime, she made calls to Ben’s parents and to their friends, who all told her they would come as quickly as they could. She tried Ben’s friend Greg to see if he had heard anything.

              No answer. Okay, now this was getting weird.

              “Who did you just try calling ma’am?” the cop asked her.

              “My husband’s friend Greg. He’s the only one I wasn’t able to get ahold of.”

              The officer, whose name tag just simply said Smith, went back to his car and made a phone call.  Friends and family started showing up and offering to help her search the woods surrounding her home. Since her home was considered a crime scene now, she took them up on their offers and they organized a search through the property.

              They came up empty-handed, and as they made their way back to the house, they could see that the officer and his small team of investigators had also come up empty-handed.

              A different officer, a woman this time, pulled Hannah aside to ask more questions.

              “How is your marriage? Are you and your husband happy?”

              Hannah was surprised by the question. “Of course we are; we are just fine. I wasn’t even here when this happened; why are you even questioning me?”

              “Ma’am, we have to ask these questions in a case like this. You understand?”

              Hannah was annoyed, but she nodded her head.

              “Okay, so our records show that you and your husband just recently redid your life insurance policies. Is that correct?”

              “Yes, but that was Ben’s idea. We are talking about starting a family and we figured it was just a smart decision.”

              She had seen enough crime shows to know why she was being asked this question. Money is a great motive, and she stood to inherit a ton of money if her husband were to die.

              “Okay, so take me through this afternoon. Where were you?”

              Hannah told the officer everything, starting with leaving for the grocery store, stopping for gas, then stopping at the farm stand and feeding Scooter. She gave the officer a list of all the people who saw her, all the witnesses that could corroborate her version of events. When they were done, the lady officer went back to the original officer, and they began comparing notes.

              Hannah sat down on the front steps of her home and started to cry. How could this be happening right now? Tex came up, whining, and pushed his way into her arms. She hugged onto him tightly, afraid to let go.

              All of a sudden, she heard the sound of a vehicle coming up the driveway. She looked up just in time to see her husband’s friend Greg’s truck pulling into the driveway, her husband sitting in the passenger seat. She couldn’t believe it!

              Ben looked genuinely confused as he got out of the vehicle. Hannah rushed up to him and hugged him tight, which earned her a loud “OUCH!” right in her ear.

              She pulled away and looked down. Her husband’s hand was bandaged up and he was wincing.

              “Oh my God Ben, what happened?”

              “It’s really a stupid story babe, but first can you tell me why the entire town police force is in our front yard?”

              “I… I saw the window and the blood and I guess I just assumed the worst. When I couldn’t get ahold of you, my first instinct was to call someone who could help…”

              “I’m so sorry honey, I should have called you. While I was mowing, I hit a stick and one of the pieces flew up and shattered the window. I cut my hand on the glass while I was trying to clean it up and knew that I couldn’t stop the bleeding or drive myself to the hospital, so I called Greg. When we left, I realized that I forgot my phone at home and Greg’s phone had died, so I just didn’t have the time or opportunity to call you. I thought maybe they would just stitch me up and send me home before you would get here, but that clearly didn’t happen. I am so sorry.” 

              She hugged him again, this time keeping a better eye out for his injured hand. Tears were streaming down her face, which then turned into laughter. She started laughing uncontrollably and couldn’t stop. Ben looked down at her, convinced she had lost her mind.

              Everyone else standing around eventually joined in laughing, including the cops. Ben’s friend Greg offered to fire up the grill, Laci and Lisa went into the kitchen and started cleaning up the glass, and everyone pitched in to help make the meal. Hannah and Ben retold the story so many times they lost count and everyone had too much beer and food.

              Later that night while laying in bed, Hannah put her head on Ben’s chest and snuggled in close to him. His heartbeat put her at ease. He gave her a kiss on the top of her head.

              “I love you Hannah. I really am sorry for all of this today.”

              “It’s okay babe, I’m just thankful that you’re okay.” She really was. She couldn’t imagine her life without him.

              She was just starting to doze off when she heard him say, “Hey babe?”

              “What?” she asked sleepily.

              “I think we’re gonna need a new door.”