“Anyway, I felt safe in the closet, and I felt safe in the kitchen. It was… my domain. You know? My home turf where I had total control. And I could just focus on small things: ingredients, steps in recipes, individual dishes. I could handle all of that. It was soothing, and it was like being home.” She shrugged. “I took two months off to get over the worst of the physical injuries, then I went back to work. The story that my parents and I put around was that I’d been in a car accident. That explained the bruising and my limp.”
“And that’s why the press never got a hold of it?”
“Partly. Also, remember, it never went to trial.” Her eyes were cold. “It was all plea bargaining and deals between lawyers. I wasn’t a reliable witness, and the four guys all turned on each other, and it was a me
