rolled his eyes at Detective Marshall. “All right, we’ll wait here,” Detective Samuels said.
Trevor closed the door and hollered for Brenda. “Mom, those two detectives I was telling you about are standing on our front porch. They want to talk to you.”
“I’m not dressed. Tell them I just woke up.”
“Okay.”
Trevor opened the door as the two detectives chatted away. They stopped and turned around at the sound of the door opening.
“My mother just woke up and she’s not dressed,” Trevor said.
“We’ll wait,” Marshall said, taking the lead. “We’ve got all day.”
“Come in.”
The detectives followed Trevor into the foyer and looked around. Trevor led them into the family room and offered them a seat.
“We’ll stand,” Detective Samuels said as Beyonce tiptoed into the room and made an appearance, stopping to check out the two gentlemen who dared to invade her space. Uninterested, Beyonce turned around and walked out of the room.
“Cute cat,” Samuels said.
“I’ll be right back,” Trevor said.
Trevor took two steps at a time and hurried to his mother’s bedroom. He knocked at the closed door. Brenda peeked out.
“What is it, Trevor?”
“The two detectives? They’re in the family room. Said they aren’t going away until they speak to you.”
“Jesus,” Brenda hissed. “I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
Trevor returned to the family room where Samuels and Marshall were engaged in a lively discussion. Upon Trevor’s entrance, they clammed up and waited. Trevor sat down and the detectives decided to do so as well.
Marshall sat on the edge of his seat. “So, son…”
“My name is Trevor.”
“All right, Trevor, is it normal for your father to stay away from home for long periods of time?”
“No!” Brenda’s voice boomed as she made her way into the room dressed in a pair of denim jeans and a white cotton tee but void of makeup.
Detective Marshall rose from his seat and looked Brenda over, touched the back of his pen to his face as if he was contemplating something, looked over at Samuels, and then back at Brenda. “So, Mrs. Christianson, do you know where your husband is?”
“He must have risen early and stopped by the university to do some work.”
Detective Marshall motioned to Samuels. Samuels rose from his seat and walked outside. He was gone for no more than four minutes and reappeared. Brenda began to fidget in her seat. “Is it customary for him to go in to work on a Sunday?”
Brenda said nothing.
“We’ll have someone check the university to see if we can locate Mr. Christianson,” Marshall said, looking Brenda square in the face.
Detective Marshall made Brenda nervous. He continued to stare at her, as if using one of the tactics he’d learn at the academy or wherever he had received his training to break her down. Too many police dramas. She needed some romance in her life.
Detective Marshall pulled her out of her daydream. “Mrs. Christianson, you indicated to the officers at the hospital that your husband is in possession of a gun and you were concerned about his state of mind…that you were afraid he might do some-thing…in your words ‘stupid.’ What prompted you to say that?”
Trevor shot a quick glance at Brenda and looked away. Brenda stole a glance in Trevor’s direction and then into the face of Detective Marshall who waited for her answer.
“I asked my husband for a divorce and he became visibly upset. He was angry and decided to leave the house. When he picked up his coat, a gun dropped out.”
Trevor shot Brenda another quick look.
“Do you know why he would be carrying a gun in his pocket and was there a particular reason that led to your announcement at that time?”
Sweat dotted Brenda’s hairline. She balked at Marshall’s line of questioning, hoping it wouldn’t cause her to reveal more than she was ready for Trevor to hear. She stared at Trevor as he sat stoically in his seat, as if gnawing on the bits and pieces of information that flowed from her mouth. She was not ready to reveal the contents of Mimi’s secret, so Brenda searched hard for an answer.
“Victor…Mr. Christianson and I have been somewhat estranged in our marriage for some time. I can’t say what actually caused the moment, but a petty argument led to a bigger one, and I had had enough.”
Marshall rapped his pad on his knuckles. He glanced at Samuels and back at Brenda.
“If Mr. Christianson should come home, please let him know that we need to speak to him right away,” Marshall said.