Ellen McKenzie 04-Murder Half-Baked by Kathleen Delaney Page A

Janice’s husband saw her and the kids at the doctor’s and evidently tried to follow them . N ow everyone is panicking.”
    “Oh, Lord.” Nathan’s good-natured grin faded. “Where’s Anne?”
    “In the kitchen making phone calls. What’s going on?”
    He stopped, opened his mouth, closed it, and shook his head. “You might have to help, so you’d better understand.”
    “Understand what?” I really wished he wouldn’t look so grim. I was trying to convince myself that whatever was going on wasn’t serious, or dangerous, and he wasn’t helping.
    “We take women who need help to get to the next stage of their lives, but we’re not equipped for women who need protection. Only sometimes … W ell, we took Janice and her kids because if we didn’t, something really ugly might have happened. Janice’s husband has threatened to kill her and , given his track record, it seemed a good idea to pay attention. If he’s seen her, or has any idea of where she is, then we have to get her out of here. San Luis Obispo will just have to make room.”
    He turned to go into the kitchen, leaving me speechless. All of this was real. I followed, wondering with growing unease what was going to happen next, and how I could possibly help. It didn’t take long to find out.
    Anne was on the phone, talking in low, urgent tones. “Yes, we need to get them moved today. Nathan will have them. Where can he meet you?” She looked up as I came in. “Ellen, can you hand me a pad of paper? And a pen? They’re right … thanks. Okay. Where? Got it. What time? No. They can’t leave right now. I have to find out where he is and make sure … yes, I’ll call you. No more than thirty minutes. Okay. Thanks.”
    She hung up and turned to Nathan. “Can you do it?”
    “Of course. I don’t think he knows my car . B ut how are we going to get them in it? I’m parked on the street, and if he’s driving around, looking, we can’t chance taking them out the front. And since he saw Margaret’s car … we better leave it in the garage unless we ’re sure he’s not around.”
    “How can you be sure ?” Anne ran fingers through her hair. It was starting to look as if this wasn’t the first time.
    The tension was building, but I didn’t want to believe that this woman, Janice, was truly in danger . “So what if he does see them ? He can’t do anything, can he? Not with everyone here. I mean, just tell him to go away.”
    Nathan looked at me as if I had lost my mind.
    Anne said, “If only it worked that way. This man has threatened to kill Janice. He came close to doing it last year. She stayed because she was afraid to leave, afraid for herself and for the kids. But a couple of days ago, she walked in on him with the little girl. He was … he had her … It’s a good thing she found them when she did. The next day, when he was out of the house, she called us.” She paused, as if trying to emphasize what she was going to say next. “The most dangerous time for an abused woman and her kids is when she’s trying to leave. More women are killed then than any other time in these rotten relationships. Janice knows that. But when she saw how close her daughter came to … when she realized what he was going to do to her, and that he’d try again, somehow the courage was there. She’s still just one step away from not being able to function, but she’s gotten this far.”
    “We don’t normally take women like Janice, but this time we had to.” Nathan’s voice was grim, his expression angry and worried. “If he finds her before she gets a chance to get a restraining order and at least temporary custody of the kids, it’s entirely possible he could take them away from her. And if that happens, she’ll go back also. I don’t think I have to tell you what might happen then. So, we need to get them down to San Luis Obispo. They’re making room.”
    I felt a little sick. And I thought I’d had it bad. Brian was nothing like this