Crayon drawings of turkeys and Pilgrims hung in the windows of St. Mary's Catholic School on Washington Avenue in Dumont. The leaves had turned, and the residential streets that led to Sunset Street were lined with knee-high piles.
As Victoria Liu turned the corner onto her street, she heard a heavy thud in the trunk of the red Oldsmobile Calais. She frowned and made a face. She'd just gone grocery shopping, and the heaviest item she'd bought was a gallon of milk. She prayed that it hadn't broken open.
As she approached the house, she noticed that Matt's car was in the driveway. Shifu's car wasn't there. Christen and Matt didn't hang around the house much when Shifu was home.
She pulled the car into the driveway and popped the trunk, hoping she wouldn't find it flooded with spilled milk. When she lifted the trunk, she saw that the plastic gallon was out of the bag and on its side, but nothing had spilled.
As she turned the bag upright and started to repack it, she suddenly heard someone calling to her from the street.
"Mrs. Liu? Mrs. Liu?"
She turned and saw two men in suits coming up the driveway. She couldn't imagine what they wanted. Then she noticed that one of them was holding up a badge.
"Mrs. Liu, I'm Detective Volkman, New Jersey State Police. This is Detective Kane. We're looking for your husband."
"Well, I— Why are you looking for my husband?"
Victoria Liu watched Detective Kane's eyes scouring the inside of the trunk. He seemed angry and suspicious.
But so was she. She didn't appreciate this sudden intrusion. Why were they confronting her out here in the driveway. Why didn't they come to the door?
"Is there something wrong." she asked. She knew her voice had a sharp edge to it, and she didn't care.
"We're looking for your husband, Mrs. Liu," Detective Kane said. "We have some questions we'd like to ask him."
"About what?"
They ignored her question. "Is he at home, Mrs. Liui?"
"His car's not here, so I guess he isn't home."
"Do you know where he is, Mrs. Liu."
"No."
"Is there any way you can get in touch with him.?"
"I don't know where he is."
"Did he leave a phone number where you could leave a message.?"
"I just told you. Detective, I don't know where he is."
Detective Kane was still staring into the trunk as if he were looking for something.
"What's this all about? What's the problem?"
"We'd prefer to discuss it directly with your husband, Mrs. Liu," Detective Volkman said. He was passing her off, and she didn't like that.
The front door opened then. Cerberus was barking. Matt stepped outside without his jacket. Christen was in the doorway, holding the big black Newfoundland by the collar.
"What's the matter Mom?" Christen called out.
Before Victoria could answer, the two detectives moved toward Matt. "Excuse me, what's your name?"
Matt was startled by their abruptness. When he hesitated, they fired off another question. "What exactly are you doing here, sir?"
Victoria put herself between Matt and the detectives. "He's my daughter's boyfriend if that's any business of yours. Now what I want to know is what you are doing here."
Volkman suddenly looked grim. "I told you, Mrs. Liu. We need to talk to your husband."
"No, you didn't tell me. Detective. What do you want to talk to him about?"
Kane answered. "We need to question him regarding a number of murders."
"What?"
"When do you expect your husband to return, Mrs. Liu?"
The last question didn't register. "A number of murders" was still echoing in her ears. Those words and Cerberus's barking were the only things she could hear.
"Mom? What's going on Mom?"
The trembling in Christen's voice struck a nerve. Her family, her home was being invaded. A mother's instinct is to protect her children from harm, and Victoria immediately lashed out.
"Get out!"
"Mrs. Liu—"
"Get off my property!" she demanded.
"Mrs. Liu, if you let me ex—"
"Show me a warrant or get the hell out of here. Get out"
"Mrs.—"
"Christen," she yelled, "let the dog go."
Cerberus was agitated, barking and straining at the collar, baring his teeth. Christen could just barely control him. "But, Mom—"
"Let Cerberus go, I said."
But Christen wouldn't let go of the dog's collar. The two detectives just stood there, staring at the big black dog, waiting for something to happen.
When it became obvious that the young woman wasn't going to release the dog. Detective Volkman pulled a business card out of his pocket. "Mrs. Liu, when your husband comes home, please have him call me."
Victoria Liu just stared at the card in her hand. Murder. She didn't believe this was happening.
The two detectives crossed the lawn then and headed for their car, which was parked across the street a few doors down.
Victoria stared at the state police seal on the business card. A number of murders? She knew Shifu was no angel, but murder. He had a vicious temper, but not murder. She couldn't imagine.
Christen was trembling. "Were they serious, Mom." Victoria pulled herself together. She didn't want to upset the kids. "It's nothing, honey. It must be some kind of misunderstanding. Take in the groceries for me, will you, Matt? Christen, bring Cerberus inside."
"But, Mom—" Christen started, concern in her eyes.
"Go ahead," she told her daughter. "Take him in before the neighbors complain about the barking."
Reluctantly Christen did what she was told. Victoria followed her in. She went to the dining-room table and sat down without taking off her jacket. Her heart was beating fast. Staring ahead blankly, her eyes gradually focused on the china cabinet across the room, and her stomach started to ache.
She suddenly remembered what that room had looked like the day Shifu exploded in there. It had looked like a bomb site when he was through.
It had been another one of his rages, one of the long, slow, torturous sessions. She couldn't even remember how it had started. Most times she had only a vague notion of what she'd done to set him off. That time he'd made her sit right where she was sitting now as he yelled and screamed, interrogated and accused, smashing plates and cups and saucers one by one to punctuate his anger.
It went on for hours, and the only way she could keep her sanity was by reciting a rosary in her head. When she finished that, she tried to remember the names of all the characters in the books she'd read in the last year.
Anything to keep from focusing on the ''bad Shifu" raging in front of her. It had started sometime in the afternoon, and it was dark out when he finally ran out of things to break. When it was all over, a hundred thousand dollars' worth of Royal Doulton lay smashed to bits on the floor.
When Victoria Liu realized where she was, her hand was in her pocket, clutching the business card in her fist. She knew she was going to have to tell Shifu that those two detectives had been here to see him.
There was no way she couldn't tell him. But this would definitely bring out the ''bad Shifu." She wished there were a way she could not tell him, but there wasn't.
The kids were there; they had seen it. If he somehow found out that those detectives had been here and the kids didn't tell him about it—she didn't even want to consider what he might do.
No, she was going to have to tell him herself.
Victoria closed her eyes and let her head drift back as she unclenched her fist on the business card.
A number of murders. God help us, she thought.