Chapter Nine
Bhodi
The same questions are being asked, over and over again. I can only answer them so many times before I feel the anger and frustration begin to churn in my gut.
They already think I’m fucking guilty.
Both the captain and Callaghan have tried taking turns to wear me down, catch me out and try to trip me up using my own words against me. I lean back into the chair and my eyes narrow on them, they begin to shift and show their excitement over this a little too much.
“You were sleeping with Summer Harper?”
Callaghan asks for the third time.
“Yes.”
“Did you know her prior to Michael’s murder?”
Kinda.
“No.”
“So after only a few short weeks, you both were in some sort of physical relationship?”
“Yes.”
“See I’m not buying it, Bhodi,”
the captain chimes in, running a finger across his mouth, staring down at the closed file in front of him. “Because of this.”
He opens the file and slides a different set of photos towards me. My eyes land on different photos of myself, leaving Summer’s apartment. I look to the captain, and he merely shrugs.
“You’ve been following me?”
“No, but someone has. These were sent to us earlier this morning, it doesn’t look good for you, Bhodi.”
I continue to glance across the photos, each time I left Summer’s not as Two/Face I’d parked the car out the front of the building, I guess it’s lucky my cover is still intact for now.
“So how am I meant to have murdered Harry?”
I fold my arms and lean back in the chair, feeling myself begin to zone out. This is fucking bullshit and they know it.
“An officer has come forward; they have said that you were the one who handed them the blade to pass to Brent Mason.”
I scoff, running a hand over my face, continuing to shake my head.
“I’ve told you; I was with Summer the night Harry was murdered and I arrived to the news about his murder the following morning. If you remember, you were the one who informed me. Yet somehow, I’m meant to have organised a murder?”
“She’s hardly around to verify your story, is she?”
Captain Dean raises a brow towards me, his tone almost mocking me.
I feel my jaw tense, glancing down to the table, I work out whether I can dive across and break the cunt’s nose before I’m pulled off. I feel myself twitch in my seat, I’m barely an inch off my seat before the muffled voices on the other side of the door drag our attention away.
“Get out of my way.”
When the door is pushed open, Jimmy barges in with a patrol officer hot on his heels.
“I’m sorry, captain, he wouldn’t listen.”
The young officer shoots Jimmy a warning glare.
“James, what the hell are you doing here?”
The captains face pales and Callaghan looks between the two. Jimmy straightens his suit, the steel-eyed determination I haven’t seen for some time is back. Placing his briefcase down onto the table, he flips it open.
“I’m here to represent my client…obviously.”
He replies with a hint of sarcasm.
Captain Dean’s jaw tenses momentarily, his eyes flicker to mine as a tension slips over the room.
“Detective Grey refused...”
“I’m sure you’ve done everything by the book, captain. However, it has come to my attention that the officer who made the initial accusation regarding Detective Grey, is now nowhere to be found. Is that correct?”
My neck snaps towards the captain, a crimson spreading effortlessly across his face. He swallows hard, his eyes darting between the three of us. Callaghan even shoots him a concerned look, making me believe he wasn’t aware of this shit either.
“That’s true but…”
“I’ve also been informed this person isn’t actually a member of the NYPD, but an imposter?”
“We’re looking into this...”
“So, the unknown individual who made this accusation is now in the wind, after falsely identifying as an officer of the law and somehow being able to access the precinct and no one batted a fucking eye?”
Jimmy’s abrupt, the anger radiating off him as he stares the captain down. Who eventually begins to fumble his words, unable to meet our eye.
“Well ..How…”
“How did I find out? Very simple….I still have friends here. And as for the charge of rape and murder of Summer Harper, those charges can be dismissed immediately.”
The captain lets out a small chuckle, his face contorting into a mocking expression whilst he stuffs his hands into his pants’ pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels.
“See, James, I can kind of understand your issue with the previous charge, but Summer Harper is now lying dead in a morgue, and we have his DNA on her body.”
The captain smirks.
“Show me the report.”
Jimmy replies bluntly.
Rolling his eyes the captain slides the report across the table to Jimmy, flipping it open, it immediately reveals the grim crime scene photos and I can’t help but look away. Jimmy lifts the report, his eyes scanning each line, before flipping the page and continuing to read. A smirk begins to appear across his face, I feel my brows pinch in confusion. One thing Jimmy isn’t is morbid, nor is he a sick fucker, he surely can’t be enjoying what he sees.
Can he?
“OK, it says here you’ve confirmed her DNA and dental records, Detective Grey’s DNA was found on the body and there are signs of rape. Seems you’ve done everything by the book, captain.”
Callaghan shoots me a confused look, my features contort further as the conversation between the two continues. Jimmy reaches into the briefcase and pulls out a USB, sliding it over the desk towards the captain.
“What the hell is this?”
“This, captain, will prove my client is innocent. This was left at my door earlier this morning, it shows the final moments of Summer Harper, there’s also a timestamp which shows the time the incident happens. Whilst it is gruesome, it will show that my client was nowhere near the building at the time of the event.”
I stiffen in my chair, watching as the USB is slid towards the captain. He looks visibly disappointed, almost as though he was looking forward to watching my world fucking end. The captain looks to Jimmy, scoffing slightly as he shakes his head.
“And the rape?”
“My client has already confirmed they were having a sexual relationship. Rough sex and riding bareback isn’t a crime between two consenting adults, captain. You know it and I know it. It’ll be tough to prove.”
Callaghan’s jaw’s been on the floor for the past five minutes, watching Jimmy in awe whilst he seemingly walks in and shits all over Captain Dean, he’s practically bent him over and fucked him in the ass without even buying him dinner first. He sucks on his teeth, the tension in the room rising. Neither man appears to be backing down and I’ve got no fucking clue what game Jimmy is playing, I’ve only ever seen him in the courtroom once and he’s a Pitbull, but it’s been eight years. The captain finally takes a step back, sliding the USB off the table, he heads for the door along with Callaghan.
“We’ll need to confirm this, wait here.”
The door slams shut, and I turn to Jimmy, he merely shakes his head, gesturing to me not to speak. Pulling out a chair, he sits opposite, his face not giving me anything. Ten minutes pass before the door swings back open, Callaghan and a red-faced captain enter. Jimmy leans back in his chair, crossing his arms.
“Well?”
“Well what, James?”
“I’ve just handed you evidence of a murder, which my client clearly did not commit as he was here. See, I’ve tried being professional here and I appreciate I haven’t had much to do with criminal law in the last few years, but the one thing you need to make a case is evidence, yours is circumstantial at best. So, I’m going to try a different route.”
Jimmy rises from his chair, dwarfing the captain immediately, his eyes narrowing. “I’m walking out of here with Detective Grey, you have fuck all here and it looks to me like you’re trying to make a case. I still have a few friends in the DA’s office who I’m sure would love to hear about this shit you’re trying to pull.”
The captain begins to tremble, his face lighting up a beetroot red. Jimmy doesn’t back down, standing his ground, he flashes a quick sarcastic smile before turning to me.
“Come on, let’s go.”
“You can’t do that!”
Captain Dean snaps.
“I can…and I will. You have Detective Grey’s weapon and badge for now, as I’m sure you’ll need to clear your mess up with Internal Affairs. But for this, this.”
He gestures around the room. “This is over, Dean.”
Reaching for his briefcase, he slides it from the table and heads for the door. Callaghan leans over and unlocks the cuffs. Rising to my full height, I look to both men, the betrayal I feel in this moment cannot be hidden and I follow Jimmy from the interview room. It’s taken a few hours of poor interrogation but my mind has been made up, I’ll never see the inside of this precinct again; the damage has been done.
Sliding my jacket on, Jimmy hastily heads down the steps and doesn’t bother looking back or even talking to me. I find myself trying to catch up, watching as his eyes scan the street. Finally approaching the car, he shoots me a look before opening the door and gesturing for me to get in. My brows pinch but I get in, securing the seatbelt. Jimmy slides in and wastes little time before tearing off.
My palms hit the dash as I’m jolted forward without warning. He’s clutching the steering wheel tight, and his eyes continue to shoot looks through the rearview mirror.
“Jimmy, what the fuck was that back there? How did you know where I was?”
He looks to the rearview mirror one more time, before his shoulders eventually relax.
“Axe called me, I would have come sooner but I needed to download the footage from Michael’s to make it look like it had been dropped to my office.”
“Why?”
“Because I know you’re fucking innocent that’s why. I’m hardly gonna let you rot in some cell, whilst the police build a case around you.”
“But we’re...”
“Oh fuck that shit, Bhodi. This is fucking serious; they’re trying to pin rape and double murder on you.”
Jimmy snaps.
“What the hell do I do now? As soon as my accuser comes forward, I’m fucked.”
“It’ll disappear.”
I can’t help but turn to Jimmy. For someone who’s so by the book and rigid with everything, seeing him behave like this isn’t normal, there’s an anger in him and a determination amongst all this carnage we’ve been thrust into.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Trust me, whoever it was that walked into that precinct dressed as a cop won’t be found alive and they won’t be found anytime soon.”
“Do you know who it was?”
“No, just trust me. That’s probably the only definite in the messed-up situation right now.”
“How...”
“Fuck…We’re being followed.”
Before I can ask, Jimmy snaps. I turn in my seat and look behind us. His eyes are fixed on the rearview mirror again and I feel the car begin to pick up speed.
“The silver Lexus?” I ask.
“Yeah, it’s been a few cars behind since we pulled out of the street. I saw it parked up across the road.”
I study the car for a moment, but as I turn back, I grip onto the door handle as Jimmy flies straight through a red light and narrowly misses a car as he takes a sharp corner.
“Hold on!”
Slamming on the handbrake, the tyres screech, oncoming drivers jump on their horns, coming to a screeching halt as Jimmy flies past them and continues on down the road. Checking behind, the silver Lexus is now stuck at the intersection surrounded by other cars, and I feel the relief wash over me. He reaches for his phone, still checking his mirrors as he pulls the phone to his ear.
“Right, meet us at the hotel, we’re being followed. Pamela knows, meet her round back.”
Ending the call, he drops the phone back into the console. I turn to him open mouthed, but he just shakes his head.
“You need to see it for yourself.”
I can’t work out what’s going on in his head right now. He flits between haunted, erratic and smug all in a short space of time. I let out a low breath and slump back into my seat. The drive continues in silence as the familiar hotel comes into view and the car pulls towards the underground parking lot. As the iron shutters slowly rise, he pulls to one side.
“Go through the maintenance door and Pamela will meet you on the stairs. I need a couple hours to sort some stuff, but I’ll be back.”
“What the fuck is going on?”
“Bhodi! For fuck’s sake, just go.”
He runs a frustrated hand over his face. “It’ll make sense.”
I don’t argue, recently I’ve pushed Jimmy and I’ve seen a shift in his character. I know better than to press him further. I know he’s trying his best, trying to keep us all safe, work on where this went entirely wrong, and I have to accept I have no control right now. I’ve become a target; I’ve been set up and I allowed myself to be followed.
Jimmy looks towards the door as it opens. I turn around to see Pamela, her face equally as haunted as Jimmy’s, they share a brief look before Jimmy pulls away and back towards the busy street. I glance around the almost empty parking lot before heading towards the maintenance door. I shoot Pam a questioning look, but she merely shakes her head and gestures for me to follow.