Page 87 of Loyal
The cop looks at me, a whole new judgmental look on his face. “I see. Can you tell me what happened tonight?”
“Can you tell me if he is okay?” Farrah sasses back.
“Young lady, you might want to mind your tone,” the cop says.
“No, officer. You might want to mind yours. You didn’t even introduce yourself or anything, and now you think you are leading this interview. We were the victims here. Not criminals,so start treating us as such,” I spit at him, crossing my arms. “In fact, I want to speak with your sergeant.”
The cop looks annoyed, but before he can respond, another officer steps into the room.
“Rutledge, what are you doing in here? You aren’t supposed to be interviewing them,” the new man says.
“I must have misunderstood. I’ll head out.” The officer sneers at us before he leaves the room.
“I want a formal complaint made on that man. He treated my teenage daughter like a criminal. I don’t appreciate it.”
The new man pauses before nodding. “I’ll make a note and get you the forms. I’m Detective Leon. I’m handling this case. Do you mind if I ask a few questions?”
“Only if you answer mine first,” Farrah says.
He nods. “Go ahead.”
“Is Matthew okay?”
Detective Leon nods. “He’s down the hall in a holding cell. He came peacefully and hasn’t caused issues. Once his bond is paid, he will be released.”
“Good,” she says. “Why are you investigating this? What kind of detective are you?”
He smiles. “You are a smart girl, aren’t you? I’m part of the gang unit. I’m investigating because the Lotus MC has been on our radar for years. Anytime one of them is brought in, we handle the case.”
“They aren’t criminals. He only stepped in to protect me,” Farrah says, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Good. Let’s start from the beginning, though. Can you tell me how this all started?”
Farrah looks to me and frowns. “My parents got divorced.”
“I think he means tonight. Not everything,” I prompt her.
“She can tell me whatever she feels is relevant.”
I narrow my eyes on the detective. I see what he is doing. He is trying to trip us up.
Farrah surprises me though. “You are looking into the wrong guy. Loyal is my mom’s boyfriend. He has been nothing but nice to me even when I was being a brat. My father is the problem. He is always angry. He keeps making threats about getting my mom back.”
“Is that what tonight was?” Detective Leon pushes.
“He came to pick me up as is the agreed-upon custody agreement, but he was angry when he found out that I hung out with some friends. He yelled at Mom and then grabbed me. It hurt, so I cried out in pain, and that’s when Loyal came over. He drew his attention off of me so he would let me go. Then Dad punched him, and well, Loyal has a right to defend himself,” Farrah says softly.
“He does. Tell me, do you have a bruise from where your father grabbed you?” he asks.
She pulls up her shirt, showing the mark that is indeed bruising. I frown as I take out my phone.
“Let’s get a picture of that,” I tell her.
“If it’s all right, I would like to take some too.”
I nod as we both take photos of the damage. Once done, we sit back down.
“Are you afraid of your father?” the detective asks.
