The inspector pulled out a chair.
"Take your time."
I sat.
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
Then she asked one question.
"Has he frightened you before?"
My mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
I had expected questions about the wine, the argument, the bill.
I hadn't expected someone to ask about fear.
I stared at my hands.
"Yes."
The word barely escaped.
She waited.
"He hasn't always been like this," I began.
Then I stopped.
Because that was the sentence I'd been using for years.
I tried again.
"He controls what I spend. He checks my messages. He gets angry when I visit friends without telling him. Sometimes he stands in doorways so I can't leave an argument."
My fingers tightened around the towel.
"And when I complain, he says I'm too sensitive."
Inspector Salazar wrote carefully.
"Has he ever threatened you?"
I swallowed.
"Tonight he threatened to end our marriage if I didn't pay."
