Page 126

“I’m Carly Mills, by the way.”

“Emma Harrington and this is my boyfriend, Phoenix West.”

“It’s nice to meet you both. So, what’s this about?” she asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

“It’s about the police department covering up domestic abuse and rape.”

Her eyes light up. “Well, you’ve certainly got my attention. Mind if I record this?”

“Not at all.”

She pulls a recorder out of her desk drawer and sets it up on the desk. “Okay. Go ahead.”

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” she exclaims when I finish telling her my story, shaking her head.

“I wish I was. I have all this proof.” I start digging in my bag for the folder. I hold it out to her after I find it and she opens it and scans through the papers.

“Ho-ly shit. And they just dismissed all of this?”

“Yes.”

“So, why did you come to me?”

“Well, as you can see, he’s stalking me and threatening me. I’m concerned about what he is going to do, and the police won’t take me seriously. When I asked to speak to their boss, I was told that he was unavailable. If, God forbid, something happens to me, I want the world to know what is really going on. If I get hurt, I want Ryan and the police department held accountable for their actions.”

She nods in understanding and something like pride sparks in her eyes. “All right, I’ll do what I can. Can I make copies of all this?” she asks, pointing to the folder.

“Oh, those are copies. You can keep them.”

“Why did you bring the police copies?”

“Because I guessed that something like this would happen.”

She nods again in understanding.

“Don’t you worry, Emma. I’ll take care of this,” she assures me and I smile.

“Thanks, Carly.”