“Do their job. They refuse to take Mr. Warner’s statement about the man with the scar. Probably following the attorney general’s orders.”
I turned my head slowly toward Officer Ellison. His eyes dropped to the ground immediately.
“And as long as they refuse,” Nicole continued in a calm voice, “I will sit right here with Ginny until the reporters arrive.”
Officer Ellison threw a nod over his shoulder and asked, “Sir, can I talk to you in private?” But that wasn’t necessary. I already knew what was up.
Thomas Harlow.
He was most likely getting informed about anything related to Nicole. Any police calls. Prison visits. He must have been informed the moment the call about this attack came in. Then gave his direct orders. Nicole was 100 percent right on this.
Damn it.
I let it all settle in.
This damn case could cost me my career. I knew that. But one look at Nicole, covered in blood, still fighting like hell for what was right, told me everything I needed to know. To finally do the right thing.
“Sir? Can I talk to you?” Officer Ellison asked again.
“No,” I said.
Ellison blinked, thrown off.
“Take Mr. Warner’s statement,” I ordered.
“But—”
“I said take his damn statement,” I cut in. “Or I will personally have you investigated for refusing protocol and crime scene procedures. Now get your fucking pen and paper out and do your job.”
He glanced around for backup. None came. Every officer suddenly found something else to look at.
I turned back to Nicole. “Can Ginny please go home now?” I nodded toward the window, where the hard-faced woman was still watching. “So the EMTs can check you out while Officer Ellison takes Mr. Warner’s statement?”
Nicole studied me for a long moment. Long enough to decide if trust was worth the risk.
Then she reached for Ginny, wrapped her arms around the dog’s thick chest, and whispered something into her ear.
She looked up at Mr. Warner. “Please tell Emma she can get Ginny. Ask her to keep a cloth with some of the blood from Ginny’s mouth for me in case the police do a shitty job with thisas well. And please thank her for me. From the bottom of my heart. I’ll never forget her kindness. Or Ginny’s.”
He hurried off, and a few moments later, a sharp whistle echoed through the night from the Warners’ house.
Ginny lifted her head, then took off. She darted toward her home, startling the officers and EMTs.
Then she was gone.
The EMTs dropped to their knees next to Nicole, who was now groaning in pain as if she were finally allowed to be human again. Their hands were moving quickly now that the huge beast was finally gone.
I stood there and watched in awe. Nicole Kolter was a woman who made the saying“hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”feel painfully accurate.
She’d gotten her way. She could finally receive medical treatmentandgive her testimony that might tip the scales in the fight. Not just for justice but for survival. Hers and her daughter’s.
But as happy-ending as it all sounded, I already knew what would come next.
Thomas Harlow wouldn’t give up. Not quietly. He would fight her with everything he had.
And in this country, the court system didn’t belong to the innocent. It belonged to those with power. And money.
But now he’d have to fight me too. At least with whatever authority and leverage I still had left. Whatever stood within my power to help Nicole find the real killer.
