Chapter 6 - The Mother's Return
The paramedics loaded Noah onto the gurney to transport him to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital for X-rays and emergency care. I climbed into the back of the ambulance beside him, holding his small, good hand tightly in mine.
Derek remained at the scene with the lead investigator, Detective Miller, to finalize his formal statement regarding the forced entry and self-defense intervention.
Just as the paramedic was preparing to close the rear doors of the ambulance, a screech of tires echoed down the street.
A silver sedan slammed to a halt behind the police cruisers, blocking the street. The driver’s door flew open, and Lena—my ex-wife—stepped out, her hair disheveled, holding an iced coffee and a shopping bag from an upscale boutique.
She took one look at the flashing lights, the handcuffs on Travis, and the ambulance, and her face turned ghostly white.
"What is going on?!" Lena screamed, rushing toward the gurney. "Noah! What happened?!"
An officer intercepted her, grabbing her arm to keep her back. "Ma'am, step back! This is an active crime scene!"
"That's my son!" Lena shrieked, struggling against the officer's grip. She looked at me sitting inside the ambulance, her eyes wide with frantic confusion. "Christian! What did you do?! Why is Travis in handcuffs?!"
I looked at the woman I had once loved, the woman I had shared five years of my life with, and felt a wave of profound, absolute disgust.
"Where were you, Lena?" I asked, my voice terrifyingly calm.
"I... I was at the mall! I was getting my nails done!" she stammered, her voice shaking. "Travis said he would watch Noah for two hours! He said they were going to play in the yard!"
"He hit him with a aluminum bat, Lena," I said, pointing directly at Noah's splinted arm. "He broke our four-year-old son's arm while you were getting your nails done. He threatened to hit him again if he cried."
Lena froze. The color drained completely from her cheeks. She looked from Noah's tiny, bruised body to Travis, who was being shoved into the back of the police cruiser across the yard.
"No..." Lena whispered, shaking her head in denial. "No, Travis wouldn't... he said he loved children... he said..."
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"Don't come near him," I said as the paramedic began pulling the heavy doors shut. "Detective Miller wants to speak with you. And Lena? You better get a very good lawyer."
The doors slammed shut, locking her out, and the ambulance pulled away with its sirens wailing into the late afternoon sky.
