Chapter 24
The LAPD’s assistant chief of police, Aiden Flint, was a towering, lanky man with a build that implied many late nights and skipped meals.
His hair was dark brown and a little unkempt, as if he was constantly running his fingers through it.
Nina thought he might have been intimidating were it not for his eyes, which were big and brown and gentle.
Those eyes studied her calmly as she and Maverick took a seat in his office.
That morning on the drive to LA, they had called Alison, her agent. And though it had been a difficult conversation, Nina had told her everything.
Alison had been shocked and hurt and enraged on Nina’s behalf, but after she had worked through her own emotions, she had powered forward unquestioningly, gathering resources and contacting the assistant chief, whose children went to school with hers.
‘I read the report on your attack three weeks ago,’ Aiden Flint said. ‘I’m very sorry that happened to you.’
‘Thank you. I …’ Nina trailed off as she thought about what to say.
Mav reached over and took her hand in his. He gave her a small squeeze, but he didn’t let her go.
‘I lied,’ she rasped. ‘In my statement.’
Aiden Flint didn’t even blink. He nodded slowly. ‘We know.’
‘Excuse me?’ Nina asked, confused.
‘Miss Keller, as of yesterday afternoon, we’ve been trying to contact you for an interview regarding two alleged assaults, both of which were reported by Alexander Cane.’
Maverick’s hand jerked in hers.
Nina barely felt it.
Her blood ran cold, sending a shiver up from the base of her spine to the top of her head. She blinked slowly as the reality of her situation dawned like news of some fatal disease. ‘He … I’m sorry, what did he say exactly?’ she whispered.
There were no tears. Only bone-deep exhaustion.
‘Mr Cane said that he went to check up on you because you hadn’t been handling the stress of filming well.
He stated that you got into an argument and that when you attacked him with a knife, he fought back – in self-defence.
He alleges that he left the scene because he was afraid for his own safety, and that he didn’t report it at the time because he was concerned for the assault’s impact on Shadowlands. ’
The assistant chief didn’t pause. ‘He then asserted that when he went to Hunt Ranch to speak to you about what had happened, you—’ he looked at Maverick ‘—slammed his hand in his own car door. X-rays show that he has four broken fingers.’
Maverick released her hand to lean forward in his chair. He rested his elbows on his knees and said, ‘Good,’ clearly. Slowly.
Aiden Flint’s mouth quirked.
Nina couldn’t feel anything. She was numb down to the soul.
‘Someone has already leaked the story to the press,’ Aiden Flint continued.
Nina closed her eyes. Though she wasn’t aware of doing it, she rocked slightly in her chair.
‘What I can’t figure out is why you’re here without a lawyer and why you’re not telling me to go fuck myself?’
Nina heard the words. Slowly, her mind made sense of them. She opened her eyes to look at Aiden Flint.
‘Miss Keller—’
‘Nina.’
He tipped his head. ‘If you think I believe that a six-foot man had to knock you black and blue, render you unconscious, and crack two of your ribs to disarm you, you’re not as smart as you look. And that’s not saying anything about the state of your clothes when you arrived at the hospital.’
A warbled sob slipped from her lips. Nina covered her mouth with her hand, mortified as the tears started. Her entire body shook with the force of holding them back.
Aiden Flint opened the top drawer of his desk and fished out a pack of Kleenex.
He passed it to her. ‘But I am going to tell you to get your lawyer here before you speak to me. You know this isn’t going to go away without a fight, and having your lawyer here will reduce the number of times you have to recount everything. ’
‘Just like that?’ Mav asked, his scepticism clear.
‘I’ve run into Alexander Cane before.’ Aiden’s eyes shuttered. ‘Between the initial interview and the follow-up, my last victim completely changed her story.’
‘You think he paid her off?’ Mav asked.
‘One can only assume.’ Aiden looked at her again. ‘Do you have an attorney?’
Nina shook her head. ‘Only an entertainment attorney. I’ve never needed a personal one.’
‘I can recommend someone,’ he replied. ‘She’s one of the best. If you have nothing pressing to do today, I can give her a call and she’ll come down if she doesn’t have a hearing. She owes me.’
Nina nodded, and even though she could barely make out Aiden Flint’s face through her glassy eyes, she had to ask, ‘Why? Why would you help me?’
He took his time replying, but when he did, he said something she hadn’t expected from the assistant chief of police.
‘My wife … She has a past. She’s been through some things.
Bad things. Things she’s still working through fifteen years into our marriage.
I have daughters. And I’m a veteran cop who’s seen things done to women by men …
Things that you wouldn’t believe. So, this,’ he said, looking directly into Nina’s eyes, ‘this is personal for me.
As it should be for every man who loves any woman, be it his mother or wife or daughter or sister or friend.
‘But because it’s personal for me, you really need a lawyer here.
If we do this,’ he said pointedly, ‘we do it properly. We leave no room for doubt. We get you the best lawyer money can buy, we help her build a solid case, so that when this goes to court, he’s left looking exactly like the idiot – the predator – that he is. ’
Nina was too overwhelmed to speak. But because he would be able to read the emotion on her face, she looked at Maverick.
And it was him who read the reply in her eyes and said, ‘Call her. Call the lawyer.’
‘Today is 23rd June 2025.’ Maverick remained completely quiet as Aiden Flint started the official interview only an hour and a half later. ‘Ms Keller, could you state your name and address for the record?’
‘Nina Marie Keller, 34 Hollybrook Drive, Hollywood.’
‘Ms Keller, do you understand that this interview is being recorded?’
‘Yes.’
‘For the record, Ms Keller’s boyfriend, Maverick Hunt, and attorney, Linda Patton, are present.’
Maverick couldn’t even enjoy the title, coming from a stranger’s lips for the first time. He was too tense. Too focused on Nina, who looked so small and tired just then.
She sat in the chair next to his, opposite Aiden Flint.
She was dressed in a pretty white sundress that would have looked beautiful against the summer golds of the ranch but that just looked stark against the grey walls of the LAPD’s Hollywood Station’s interview room.
Her dark eyes were sad and heavy, her shoulders rounded.
But every time she spoke, her voice was strong and clear. God knew he admired her for it.
‘Ms Keller, are you aware of the assault allegations made against you by Alexander Cane?’
‘Yes.’
‘For the record, could you please state your own account of the events of June 2nd 2025?’
Mav listened as Nina began to recount what Alexander Cane had done to her, slowly at first, and then faster as her panic began to take ahold.
Aiden Flint listened to her, only interrupting a few times to ask clarifying questions, one of which was: ‘The police report says that your friend, Markus Johnson, asked a stranger to call 911 on his way to you. Is that accurate?’
‘Yes.’
‘Why did you call your best friend? Why not 911?’
‘I grew up with a single mom who … entertained men a lot. She told me that if I ever called 911, the police would take me to jail. As a kid, when things would get rough, I would lock myself in the bathroom. As an adult … It honestly never even occurred to me to call the police. I panicked. And my best friend has always been a place of safety for me. But he – Markus – he had someone else call 911 while he stayed on the line with me.’
‘We’ve got that recording already, but the caller had no information except that there was a break-in at your address. Do you still have Markus’s outgoing call listed on your phone?’
‘Yes.’
‘Would you be amenable to submitting that phone to evidence?’
‘Yes.’
‘Would Markus Johnson be prepared to give us a statement corroborating this?’
‘Yes.’
‘Thank you.’ Aiden Flint ended the interview for the recording, leaned back in his chair. ‘Unfortunately, your phone is only going to prove that you called Markus. It’ll tell us when and how long that call was. Markus’s testimony will verify the content of that call.’
‘Can’t you subpoena the content of the call to Markus?’ Maverick asked, growing impatient. ‘He was on the line while she was being assaulted.’
‘We can only subpoena call detail records, showing who you called, when the call started and ended, and which cell tower you were linked to, none of which we have any need for with Nina’s permission to access her phone.
To get anything more, a judge would need probable cause to grant us a warrant, and it would probably be a waste of time as phone companies don’t automatically record calls.
‘Unfortunately, in this case, calling 911 from your phone instead of Markus would have helped – 911 calls are recorded and, due to their nature, the transcripts are easier to obtain.’
‘So, basically, it’ll be my word against his?’ Nina asked quietly.
Mav hated the defeat in her tone. He wished he could do something. Anything. Instead, he was useless. Helpless.
‘In my experience, cases like this typically end up being clearer than the physical evidence would suggest.’
Aiden pushed to his feet. ‘I’m just going to grab a bag for your phone,’ he said, and left the room.
The moment they were alone, Linda reached out and touched Nina’s hand.
‘You did an amazing job, Nina. I know it’s hard but try to remember that every time you recount this, you’re simply stating facts from memory.
Every time Alexander Cane recounts his side of the story, he’s going to be trying to remember every lie he told.
He’ll slip up, and when he does, I will catch it. ’
Nina only nodded.
Aiden came back into the room. He held an evidence bag open for Nina, who dropped her phone into it.
‘Come on. I’ll show you out.’ It was only once they were in the hallway that Aiden added, ‘That was a great start, Nina.’
‘I wish I had done things differently.’ Nina shook her head. ‘I could have avoided all of this if I had just been honest from the start.’
Mav linked his hand with hers.
But it was Aiden Flint who said, ‘Maybe. Or maybe you would be going through this exact same thing with severe injuries, having had no time to recuperate.’
‘What happens now?’ Mav asked.
‘Typically, in cases like this, accusations aren’t enough to make an arrest. Alexander Cane came in here with his lawyer, so you can guarantee he already has an answer to counter every question I’m going to ask him.
So, we gather all the evidence, and as soon as I find something solid, we take him in.
He’ll get out on bail, but optics are everything in a case like this.
And you—’ he turned to Linda ‘—kick his ass in court when the time comes. In the meantime, as I’m sure your attorney will advise you, stay far away from Alexander Cane.
Do not try and talk to him. Do not go anywhere he might be, including the Shadowlands set.
Don’t give him any reason to make another accusation.
’ He looked straight at Mav. ‘That goes for you too.’
‘Thank you, Mr Flint.’ Nina tried to smile, but Mav could see how much that tiny gesture took out of her.
‘I’m just doing my job. You’re the one risking everything to do this.’ He ran his hand through his hair. ‘Where will you be staying – so that I can follow up?’
‘We’re staying at Nina’s place tonight. And then I’m taking her home,’ Mav said, but he looked to Nina to confirm. When she nodded, he added, ‘We’ll drive up as often as you need us to.’
‘I’ll keep you updated as the investigation proceeds.’ He nodded to them, turned to look at Nina’s new attorney. ‘Help me nab this fucker, Lin.’
Linda smiled grimly. ‘With pleasure.’
She held the door open for them, and it was only once they had exited the police station that the attorney said, ‘Do you mind if I follow you to yours? We should go over everything again, and I should prepare you for what’s in store.’
‘Of course.’ Nina rattled off her address again.
Linda followed them back to Nina’s home in the Hollywood Hills, her nifty Mercedes easily tailing Mav’s Jeep through the dense LA traffic.
In the passenger seat, Nina was completely silent. Her big, brown eyes were vacant and shadowed with exhaustion, her arms wrapped around her raised knees.
Mav knew that there were no words he could give her that would be adequate, no words that would make her feel better. So, he didn’t say anything except, ‘I’m here with you.’
Nina turned in his direction, purposefully showing him the emotion in her eyes when she replied, ‘Thank you – for … everything.’ She shook her head. ‘You don’t deserve this.’
‘It is you who doesn’t deserve any of this. I’m choosing it,’ he said firmly. ‘I’m choosing you – every time, Nina.’
She tried to smile but couldn’t quite manage it.
When his Maps told him he was a quarter mile from her address, he started to see the cars and news vans parked on the side of the road.
The neighbourhood had not been designed for traffic of any kind, so many of the vehicles were illegally parked half in the road, making two-way traffic flow nearly impossible.
Nina put her seat back, hiding. ‘Just keep driving. Linda will follow.’
‘Hotel?’
‘Yeah,’ she rasped.
He dislodged his phone from its holder on the dash and passed it to her. ‘Put the one you want to stay at in.’
She quickly rerouted them and passed the phone back to Mav, who remounted it in its holder.
But when they drove past her house, he didn’t look at the dozens of people standing outside her home or sitting on her little walkway and lawn, he glanced back down at Nina. She wasn’t even crying. She was pale and defeated, her eyes empty.