The nurse took me back to a cubicle and taped the wound on my head. She gave me wet-wipes to clean myself up and sent me for an X-ray of my shoulder.
“Wait here for the doctor.”
I checked the time. “How long will it be? I need to pick my kid up from school.”
“There’s no one who can do that for you?”
“No. I need to be out of here by three.”
The nurse tutted and left. A split second later, a copper I hadn’t seen before stepped around the curtain.
“Seth Greene?”
“That’s me.”
“Looks like you might be here a while. Are you able to answer a few questions?”
Nerves churned my belly. “Of course.”
The copper took a seat and opened a notepad. “Before we start, I should warn you that your ex-wife has been arrested for attempted murder. That’s a serious allegation, so you need to answer these questions with as much detail as you can, okay?”
Attempted murder. Fucking hell. “Okay.”
“All right. I’ve reviewed the footage from the security cameras on Lauren’s property and some from neighbouring houses. Can you confirm why you were at her address today?”
I gave her the whole story, from haircuts to harassing phone calls. Showed her the evidence Folk had stashed on my phone. Message and voicemails that, left to my own devices, I’d have forever erased. And in the end, I didn’t need to repeat the mistruth about Lauren’s threat to my life.
“The audio from the doorbell cameras is pretty damning,” the copper admitted. “I can’t speak for how a judge will view it, but I’m fairly sure we have enough to convince the CPS to press charges.”
“For attempted murder?”
“That’s right.” The officer shut her notebook. “I know it’s tough to see it that way when the victim is male, but it’s still domestic violence, Mr Greene. I can put you in touch with organisations to support you if you’d like someone to talk to.”
“What? No. It’s fine. Thank you.”
The copper nodded and rose, pressing a card into my hand. “I’ll be in touch over the next few days. In the meantime, I’d expect your ex-wife to be remanded in custody, so you should make arrangements to care for your daughter full time.”
“What about Ben?”
“His father already picked him up.”
I blinked and tried to focus on the previous sentence.Care for your daughter full time.It felt like I’d been chasing those last six words my whole fucking life, but I felt no relief as the officer left me to it. No elation. Just a crippling numbness that pinned me to the bed when all I wanted was to get the fuck out of there and pick my kid up from school.
“Hey.”
I jumped. Like,literally,out of my damn skin.
Nash frowned and manoeuvred his bulk around the curtain. “Sorry, man. Didn’t mean to sneak up on you.” He came closer and gave me a careful hug. “Folk’s with the feds. They wanted to ask him some shit, given that you live together and all that.”
“The police have him?”
“They’re just talking.” Nash gave me a grin that was somehow easy and tight rolled into one. “Folk can handle himself. He ain’t Mateo.”
Thank fuck. But I didn’t feel any better, and an agitated breath puffed out of me. “Fuckinghell.”
Nash kept his arm around me, rubbing my uninjured shoulder. “I know, mate. But it’s gonna be okay. This shit is over, and we have you, all right? Wehaveyou.”
I had nothing to offer except a vague panic attack. A sharp wrench of anxiety that didn’t fade until Folk reappeared and took Nash’s place.
