Chapter 7 - The first police findings
The garage had security cameras.
My father installed them after several car thefts in the neighborhood.
The footage showed:
Kerensa standing beside her packed suitcase.
Lenora shouting.
Kerensa attempting to retrieve her key from a shelf.
Lenora using the side of her heel to kick the suitcase hard.
The case struck both of Kerensa’s shins.
She stumbled backward.
Hit the car.
Fell.
No ambiguity.
Then my father.
He did not push her.
He did pick up the key.
He threw it onto the floor.
Audio captured:
“Deliver the baby and leave.”
His lawyer argued:
Cruel speech is not necessarily a crime.
Correct.
But the statement mattered in evaluating the family situation and later protective orders.
Then my act.
I threw Lenora’s suitcase.
Video showed it hit her torso.
She fell.
Again:
Clear.
The district attorney offered me pretrial diversion on misdemeanor battery.
Anger-management course.
Community service.
No new violent offense.
Successful completion would dismiss charge.
I accepted.
My lawyer said:
“We could argue defense of spouse and extreme provocation.”
“She wasn’t touching Kerensa when I threw it.”
He nodded.
“You understand the weakness.”
“I understand what I did.”
That mattered to Kerensa.
She said:
“Thank you for not turning it into some heroic thing.”
May you like
I had protected her by helping her up.
Everything after that belonged to anger.
