THE GREAT PRETENDER (37 page)

Susan screamed as the glass shattered.

When Olivia pulled
up, they immediately saw Tracy’s Cherokee abandoned at the drop-off and pickup driveway in front of the lobby. Tracy didn’t think her heart could pump blood any faster—but it did.

Ignoring the NO PARKING sign as Reginald obviously had, the trio jumped out of the car and raced into the building. The security guard on duty called out to them as they raced boldly past the receptionist’s desk. “Excuse me! You ladies must sign in! Who are you here to see? You can’t just go up there!
Hey!
”

Tracy was the first to reach the stairwell and her daughters followed. They had no time for an elevator. God only knew what Reginald was going to do. Feeling like a large stone was lodged in her chest, Tracy took the stairs two at a time until she reached the third floor.

They heard the crash before they reached Susan’s desk.

Susan Dooley’s scream ricocheted throughout the entire third floor as they raced past her.

Reginald would never
be able to tell anyone exactly what happened in Franklin’s office that day. His mind had completely shut down, his heart propelling the actions.

Tracy, Olivia, Valerie, and Susan watched in absolute horror as Frank slid from the broken window frame and slumped to the floor behind his desk. They heard shards of glass hitting the sidewalk below them outside.

Reaching to grab a paperweight from his desk, Frank moved to stand up, obviously intending to throw it at Reggie as he charged, but he did not reach it in time. In one swift motion, Reginald kicked him back to the floor, and with the heel of his Doc Marten boot, began brutally stomping Frank’s head.

Franklin screamed.

His arms flew up to protect his head.

“Oh, my God, he’s going to kill him!” said Tracy as she ran over, attempting to grab Reginald’s arm. She glanced down at Franklin just in time to see deep red blood spew from his nose.

“Reggie, stop! For God’s sake! You’re gonna kill him!” She grabbed his left hand and tried to pull him toward her. “
Reginald!! Stop it!
”

“
Don’t you dare come in here and try to protect him
!
” shouted Reginald, before propelling her backward and off his arm. Tracy stumbled into Olivia, who was right behind her.

Frank’s attempts to escape the onslaught were futile. Reggie was relentless. He continued to pummel Frank’s head and chest, anywhere his foot would land. “You—dirty—son of a bitch!” yelled Reggie with each stomp. “Fucking my wife, and pretending to be my friend all these years!
I’m gonna fucking kill you!
” It was blind rage; a bright red hue obscured everything he saw.

Olivia glanced down and saw all the blood. It was quickly splattering all over.

Valerie trembled as she watched blood splash the desk, floor, and walls. She couldn’t believe this was actually happening. She hovered just inside the door, afraid of what would come next.

Susan Dooley shakily reached for the phone and pushed the button for an outside line as she saw Buzz, the security guard, emerging from the stairwell. His chest was heaving from exhaustion as he made his way toward her.

The suite was quickly filling with onlookers from around the floor, who heard the commotion. Susan carefully punched 911 as her gaze shifted back to the now motionless figure of her boss lying on the carpet behind his desk.

Buzz flew by her and brushed past Valerie. When he took in the scene, he rushed over to Reginald, attempting to grab hold of the taller man’s arms. “Sir, you’ve got to stop this!
Sir!
” But the silver-haired man was no match for Reginald. He was tossed off, just as Tracy had been.

And Reggie continued stomping. They could hear Frank’s bones as they cracked under Reggie’s boots.

Tracy was screaming for help now. “
Susan, call an ambulance!
Somebody call an ambulance—now, now, now! Oh, my God!
He’s killing him!
” She tried again to grab Reginald.

“
Tracy—get—the hell—away—from me
!
” yelled Reginald between blows. “
How dare you—come in here—and try to—help him?”
The words were forced through clenched teeth.

“
Daddy!
” Olivia’s screech bounced off the walls. “
Daddy, stop it!
You’re gonna kill him! Look what you’re doing to him!
Look!
” She pointed at Frank’s unrecognizable face. “Stop, goddamn it! Stop it now!” Her hands flew to her head in shock. Pure shock.

It was then that Reginald’s foot stilled. He spun his head around to look at them…through the red fog. His chest was heaving. He couldn’t see a thing.

There was no movement from Frank.

Buzz seized the opportunity to reach once again for Reginald’s arms, and this time there was no resistance. Reginald’s chest continued to heave in rage; his eyes blazed as, unconsciously, he allowed himself to be led from the office.

Tracy and Olivia rushed to kneel beside Frank. His face, like a death mask, looked up at them. His nose appeared to be nonexistent, as they stared at him in horror. His entire head seemed to be oozing blood and his shirt had been torn, exposing a ghastly tear in his upper chest that was white on the inside.

“Did somebody call an ambulance?” Olivia said frantically, looking at Valerie, who was clutching the door jam. “Holy shit, Val. He looks like he’s dead.”

“Susan, did you call the police?” asked Tracy, racing toward the door.

“Yes,” replied Susan, treating Tracy to a bitter glare.
This was all
her
fault—the slut!
“They’re on the way.”

D
enise pulled out a light-blue crayon from the box and colored in her daddy’s tie. She was trying hard to remember exactly the way her daddy wore it. She was scared she was forgetting her daddy, so she decided to draw pictures of him to keep him remembered. When he finally came home, she would surprise him with them, and he would scoop her up and kiss her and call her his little angel!

She wished daddy would hurry up and come back home. How come he was staying gone
so long?
Didn’t he say that she wouldn’t have to miss him too long? Denise knew that her new mommy was mad all the time
because
Daddy was gone so long…And she missed her old mommy.

Her old mommy used to watch cartoons with her in the nighttime and tuck her in bed with one of her favorite bedtime stories. The new Mommy didn’t do that anymore. The new Mommy was mean…really mean. Denise wished she could go stay with her Aunt Helen until her dad came back, because Aunt Helen didn’t like the new Mommy either. Denise heard them arguing all the time about her.

She changed crayons again to color in her daddy’s dark hair. It was supposed to be a picture of all three of them, but when she thought about drawing Mommy, Denise got mad. She didn’t want to put her mommy in the picture, so she drew herself in her daddy’s lap, with a big smile that stretched all the way across her face.

When her picture was done, Denise realized that she had to go to the bathroom. Lately, she had made a habit of holding it, in order to avoid going out into the hall and making any of the noise that always made the new Mommy mean to her.

Taking one little step at a time, Denise went to the door and slowly turned the knob to open it. Peeking out into the hall, she listened for the new Mommy. She heard shuffling coming from the kitchen downstairs and was relieved to see the new Mommy was down there, instead of being in her room down the hall.

Being careful not to put her feet down too hard on the plush carpet, Denise sprinted across the hall and dashed into the bathroom. With her heart pounding in her chest, she rushed to finish and wash her hands.

On her way back to her room, she glanced down and saw her mommy curled into a round thing on the floor just outside the kitchen. Denise wondered why the new Mommy was lying on the floor like that, but she didn’t dare go down there, so she continued on to her room. She knew what could happen if the new Mommy saw her out of her room or heard any of the noise that made her so mad.

She would beat her up again.

Renee had just
finished washing the dishes when she remembered that she hadn’t yet checked the mail that day.
That’s been happening a lot lately
, she thought. She was forgetting almost everything. Drying her hands, she opened the front door and ran out to check the mailbox.

In the days since Thanksgiving, Renee’s disposition had gotten progressively worse. Every morning, she woke up telling herself that this would be the day Reginald would call to say he was coming home, or this was the day that he would simply show up. However, it had been weeks since he’d promised to try to fly in for a few days, and when he called, she heard the detachment in his voice. He was no longer focused on her.

It was slowly killing Renee.

Shuffling through the three or four envelopes that she’d pulled from the mailbox, Renee took Reginald’s usual seat at the dining table, as she did every night to read the mail. When she came upon a rose-colored envelope with a sophisticated foil label in the upper left-hand corner, Renee’s hands stilled.
It was from Reggie!
The names on the label read TRACY & REGINALD BROOKS.

Renee wasted no time in grabbing the letter opener and dragging it through the top of the thick envelope. As she opened the two-page letter, her heart fluttered in anxiety. Blowing a deep breath, she began reading…

Dear Renee,

The words on the page blurred as tears filled Renee’s eyes. She was shaking as she wiped them away, but she quickly read on…