Chapter 2: A Face from the Past
The silence in the living room stretched for several uneasy seconds.
Luke was the first to break it.
"What?" he asked with a forced chuckle. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Jason didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he kept his eyes fixed on Luke, studying every detail of his face—the faint scar beneath his left ear, the crooked bridge of his nose, the slight limp when he shifted his weight.
It was as though he were piecing together a memory that refused to stay buried.
Melissa noticed the tension.
"Jason?"
He blinked, forcing himself back to the present.
"Let's finish getting Addie stabilized."
Sarah sat beside her daughter on the couch, gently stroking her hair while Melissa adjusted the oxygen mask.
The pulse oximeter clipped to Addie's finger showed her oxygen level climbing.
Ninety-one.
Then ninety-three.
Still lower than normal, but improving.
Sarah let out the first full breath she'd taken since walking through the front door.
"Is she going to be okay?" she asked quietly.
Melissa offered a reassuring smile.
"I think so. Thanks to that inhaler reaching her when it did."
Sarah looked down.
"When it did."
Those words echoed painfully.
Not before.
Not immediately.
Just... eventually.
She turned toward Luke.
"You knew she was struggling."
Luke shrugged again.
"She panics. Every little wheeze turns into a performance."
Sarah stared at him in disbelief.
"She's five years old."
"I was teaching her not to depend on you every time something scared her."
"You call this teaching?"
Jason stood.
His voice remained calm.
"Mr. Bennett, could you step into the kitchen with me for a moment?"
Luke frowned.
"Why?"
"I have a few routine questions."
"There isn't anything routine about this."
Jason's expression never changed.
"It won't take long."
Luke hesitated before following him.
Sarah watched them disappear into the kitchen.
She couldn't hear every word.
Only fragments.
"...timeline..."
"...when did symptoms begin..."
"...where were you..."
Luke's responses came quickly.
Too quickly.
As though he'd rehearsed them.
Melissa leaned closer to Sarah.
"Has Addie had severe attacks before?"
"A couple."
"Were they treated quickly?"
"Always."
Melissa nodded.
"And today?"
Sarah swallowed.
"I wasn't here."
Melissa didn't say anything else.
But the look in her eyes spoke volumes.
In the kitchen, Jason folded his arms.
"What time did Addie first have trouble breathing?"
Luke took a sip of his coffee.
"I don't know."
"You didn't check the time?"
"No."
"Did you call her pediatrician?"
"No."
"Did you call 911?"
"No."
Jason wrote something in a small notebook.
"You moved her inhaler?"
Luke's eyes narrowed.
"I already told you."
"I asked whether you moved it."
Luke leaned against the counter.
"I put it somewhere she'd stop playing with it."
"Why on the kitchen counter?"
"It seemed like a good place."
Jason nodded slowly.
"So she could see it."
Luke didn't answer.
"But not reach it."
Still silence.
Jason closed the notebook.
"I understand."
Luke smirked.
"Good."
Jason looked directly into his eyes.
"No."
"I understand what you're telling me."
The smile faded.
As Melissa prepared Addie for transport, Sarah packed a small backpack with pajamas, her favorite stuffed rabbit, and a tablet.
She was zipping the bag when Jason returned.
His face looked different now.
More serious.
He glanced toward Luke before quietly speaking to Sarah.
"May I have a word?"
Sarah followed him onto the front porch.
The evening air felt strangely cold despite the summer heat.
Jason lowered his voice.
"I need you to answer one question honestly."
"Of course."
"How long have you been married?"
"Almost six years."
"And before that?"
"We dated for about eighteen months."
Jason nodded.
"Did you know him before then?"
"No."
"Do you know much about his life before he moved here?"
Sarah frowned.
"He said he grew up in Oregon."
Jason didn't respond.
"He told me he'd lost touch with most of his family."
Still nothing.
Finally Sarah asked,
"Why are you asking me this?"
Jason looked back through the front window.
Luke stood in the kitchen watching them.
Watching every movement.
Every word he couldn't hear.
Jason turned back.
"I think I've seen your husband before."
Sarah blinked.
"Where?"
"I'm not certain."
"But if I'm right..."
He stopped himself.
"If you're right?"
Jason exhaled slowly.
"It was years ago."
"Another ambulance call."
Sarah felt a chill crawl up her spine.
"What kind of call?"
Before Jason could answer, the radio clipped to his shoulder crackled to life.
"Medic Twelve, be advised. Sheriff's deputies are en route to assist. Also, contact Detective Harris regarding the Carson file."
Jason froze.
For just an instant.
The name hit him like a bolt of lightning.
Carson.
He slowly turned toward the window again.
Luke had heard the radio.
The coffee mug slipped from his hand.
It shattered across the kitchen floor.
The confidence Sarah had seen all afternoon vanished completely.
Luke's face had gone pale.
His breathing quickened.
May you like
And for the first time since she'd met him...
He looked terrified.
