When they got to the station, Roger climbed out of the car and opened Amelia’s car door. He looked at her for a moment, studying her face. God, she was beautiful. Exhaling long and hard, he offered a small smile. “Come on, Vampira.” He was back to pet names now that he was over his little tantrum inside of his head. Turning away from her, he led the way into the station. While walking, he pulled his phone out and called the cop that was escorting Jacque and Galtem over. “Hey, bring Manzenli into the interrogation room. Leave the blonde with another cop in the waiting room. She’s a witness, but she might be able to go home soon. Whether or not she decides to leave her boss…well, you have fun with that.” Hanging the phone up, he arrived to his office door and he pushed it open. Turning to Amelia, he held the door open for her and smiled once more.“After you.” If she went inside, he followed suit and closed the door. Walking over to his desk, he took a seat and gestured for her to do the same. Picking up the phone, he talked to his secretary “Get me Shane Williamson on the line, please. Call me as soon as you reach him.” With that, he hung up. Leaning back in his chair, he looked at his friend. “All right, what do you have to say for yourself?”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Main Hallway
Jacque was quiet the whole ride to the station. What could she say in her situation? She could have just minded her own business and went home when she saw the cops. But no. She just had to go ahead and try to be a nice person. Didn’t that just bite her in the ass. Crossing her arms, she looked sideways at Galtem and wondered how he was holding up. He didn’t say much to her when she was being interrogated and she hoped she hadn’t said anything to piss him off. Jacque didn’t know Jennifer’s name and even if she did, she still would have played dumb. Both Amelia and Galtem mentioned the fact that he was in the bathroom with her, so Jacque figured she’d play dumb on the whole thing. All she really did know was that he was hopelessly in love. While she was sulking and thinking about her predicament, the cop driving got a call. After nodding and saying ‘uh huh’ a lot, he hung up said nothing to the people in the back seat. Perfect.
When they got to the station, the cop got out and opened their door. “Out.” Assuming they did as they were told, he grabbed their arms and began to lead them once more towards the station. When they were inside, he looked at Galtem and said“You’re going to be questioned further. You will be read your rights and you may request a lawyer.” Not waiting for a response, he looked to his partner and instructed him to take Jacque to the waiting room. “Get the lovely lady anything she wants.” He then winked at her and led Galtem further on. Jacque just smiled weakly at Galtem. Looking at him sincerely, she still smiled “I’m not leaving, ok?” When they were gone, she turned to sit in the waiting room. Grabbing a magazine, she began to read while silently hoping her boss would be ok.
When Jacque was gone, the cop walked down the hallway with Galtem and asked nonchalantly “What’s the deal with the blonde? You and her…uh…rockin’ the bed?” It was extremely unprofessional, but such is the reaction a mermaid can produce. Her pheromones were a bit more higher than most human women, whether she wanted that or not. When they got to the room, the cop pushed the door opened and pointed to the door “Sit.” Not caring for Galtem’s response to his command, he slammed the door and walked away. Who knew how long poor Galtem would be left waiting? At least his phone wasn’t taken away.
“Alot.” Amelia was now in the sanctity of the Lieutenant’s office, and knew that to lie at this point, would only make things a whole lot worse. When she heard that Shane Williamson was being called, she breathed something of a sigh of relief. He was truly her alibi, and could back up everything she said, since….he was there. Leaning back in the chair, she sighed audibly, especially when she looked at the clock. This had to be the longest night of her life. Rodger had been kind, kind enough to call her by her pet name, not going off the deep end at her in the car. She didn’t need that, and neither did he. Finally, she started to recant the night’s events.
“Okay…I went to the bar twice that night. First time, was just to have a drink and check out the bar. I saw Galtem Manzenli, the owner at the bar. He happens to be the brother of my last….boyfriend.” This was hard for her to admit, since it put out there that Amelia once had a relationship, with someone. “That was a lifetime ago though.” Branching off accidentally, she caught herself and then continued. “Galtem gets word that there is some…relative, a kid that he has to go pick up. Caleb Manzenli. So he asked me to tag along. Nice kid, looks just like Galtem, which I told him at the VIP lounge later and he kinda went all angry at me.” Her face fell a moment. “This was after I had..six shots I think, and then I went to be sick.” Amelia’s cheeks flushed, as she hated retelling this story. “So, I come back out and grab a juice at the bar, and Shane Williamson, the D.A was in the VIP lounge now, and he was talking to Galtem. See, they used to be law partners before Galtem left NH.”
Amelia swallowed and then put herself on track, as she was to reveal the next part of the story, which included “the bathroom scene.” “Well…that juice went to my bladder and I felt the need to pee. Okay, so I hurried to the bathroom. That is where I caught sight of Galtem with….with…” At this point Amelia’s heart started to pound near out of her chest. She was about to reveal the truth, and the name of the woman in the bathroom. Glancing up at the ceiling like she hated herself for this, she then composed herself and said “Jennifer Wiles.” Amelia knew Rodger would be taking note of this, and probably be bringing her in for questioning, but there was nothing she could do about that. “Well, I couldn’t pee…in there and went down stairs. Shane followed and when I came out, I told him I felt sick and needed to go home.” She didn’t say that it was seeing Galtem and Jennifer snogging that made her sick, but it did. “Shane drove me home, and I didn’t see anything at the carpark at that time. I was all kinds of…uhm…guess sad in a way when he dropped me off. I watched some CSI reruns, OH and I found a kitty near my garbage can. Hope it’s not messing my apartment.” Her eyes widened, hoping the kitty was okay. “Then I get a text message from Galtem to come to the club cause…some dead body was there and…well, my Sister Melinda was at the club. But like she wasn’t there when I had been earlier.” She stated truthfully.
All this out of her system, she collapsed back in the chair, and sighed. “Rodger…I’m sorry I wasn’t upfront. I really have had the worst night of my life.”
Shane’s house.
Sitting at his desk in his den, he sees his phone start to vibrate on his desk. Picking it up, he gets the call that Amelia in in the station being questioned about some body. “Suspect? The fuck? I’m on my way.” Shane got up quickly, and headed to the Police station to get Amelia out of trouble.
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Galtem was trying his best to remain calm in the car, this was being the worst night so far, and all he wanted to do was just drink to try forget what he had to deal with Jennifer, and the alcohol that was inside him, is basically all gone, due his werewolf abilities, so he doesn’t feel drunk anymore, and its pissing him off.Reaching the police station, the way the cop grabbed him, just made Galtem’s eye twitch. Be civil..be civil. He thought for himself, while walking inside the building and just doing whatever the cops told him to, maybe like this he could get out of here early. He rolled his eyes whenever the cops told him about his rights and request a lawyer, hell, Galtem was a lawyer, he could take care of himself, he would never say much that could make him go down to hill, he knew how this stuff worked, and they wasn’t going to fool him.
He took a look over his shoulder and saw Jacque saying she wasn’t going to leave, she could leave if the cops didn’t needed her anymore, she really didn’t had to stay here, but for some odd reason, he appreciated her care, it wasn’t like he had much people in his life that cared about him, so. He followed the cop, then they were finally back, and Jacque said something about him and the blonde woman he was with, rocking in bed, that wasn’t really what he could call it. Rolling his eyes he just replayed.
“I was caught in the bathroom, do you think there’s a bed?”
He hasn’t seen Jennifer in 100years, so of course, they never had time for each other, not like they needed to, it seems their goal is stay away from each other, and get over their feelings, even if they love one another.
He just sat down, when the cop told him to.
“I already told you everything, there’s no more reasons for me to stay here.”
“I wanna know why she was even brought in in the first place. The girl was doing her job, and due to some bizarre circumstance YOUR Lieutenant decided to bring HER in. The girl has done amazing work for this department and precinct. I THINK she deserves a little more credit and a lot more respect.”
The Police Commissioner huffed and took out the reports so far. Slamming it down on the desk, he stabbed it with his finger. “We have quotas Shane…you of all people should know that. Lieutenant Rodger was doing his duty. We can’t just turn a blind eye to a suspect, who happens to have been working on the case.”Shane rounded on the Police Commissioner and chuckled “Quotas huh? Oh really. And who do you think SETS those quotas? Hmm? RIGHT…now, get one of your desk jockeys, to take me down to where she is, and we can get this WHOLE mess straightened out.” He then leaned in so his face was inches from the Police Commissioners. “I…need her to help me crack some of the biggest cases of my career. So…let’s get one thing perfectly clear. She has an alibi. Me.”With that, he snatched the report and tore it in two. “By the way…how is Dawn doing? Sure be nice if she found out about your weekend tryst with Monica.” The D.A grinned as the Police Commissioner looked like he was going to have a heart attack. “You humans are so predictable.”
He then left the Police Commissioner’s office and smiled at Monica. “Rodger’s office, if you would be so kind to show me the way.”
<3>
“So…” she started off, clasping her hands together, “I hear there was a murder…and your own Forensics expert may or may not be involved.” She smirked. It was days like today that she thoroughly loved her job.
Roger listened to Amelia with a straight face, though he was doing his very best not to groan and interrupt. This was turning into a hell of a case, and he hated that she was involved. However, he was very relieved to learn that she was just on friendly terms with Galtem and that she was most likely home at the time of the murder. He was fidgeting with a paper weight on his desk when Amelia dropped Jennifer’s name into the mix. Frowning, he leaned forward and mumbled “So this woman does have a name…Mmmh.” Her story seemed to hold up, however there was the minor detail of both her and Galtem seen going to the bathroom at separate times. Unless there were cameras that could confirm them entering the bathrooms, there was a small amount of time unaccounted for. Sighing heavily, he rubbed his hands over his face and swiveled his chair around so his back was facing her. Suddenly, he had a very large headache. He continue to listened to her as he stared at the wall, a smile curving on her lips when she mentioned a kitty. Adorable, and so like Amelia to take in a stray. Swiveling around again, he revealed his gentle smile to her. “Well, hun, it looks like if we can get Shane to confirm your story, you may be in the clear.” He waved a hand through the air to brush off her apology. Roger was just glad she was ok. Leaning forward in his seat, concern clouded his usually friendly face “The worst night of your life, huh? Is there anything I can do?” His voice was very low, and very quiet. His eyes locked on hers as there was a hint of something that was more than concern for Amelia behind his hues.
However, their moment was soon interrupted when the door to his office opened. Roger frowned as Carmen came in without waiting for any welcome from the lieutenant. The nerve of this woman. It was pretty clear by the look on his face that he really had a deep dislike for the woman. When she came to sit on his desk and crossed her legs, he immediately stood up and walked over to stand behind Amelia’s chair. It seemed as he was hovering over her protectively as he crossed his arms and stared the IA agent down. “Well, it’s so nice you prefer to listen through the grapevine for your facts. Unfortunately, you will be a bit disappointment to hear that it is being taken care of. Reed has an alibi that we need to clear and will prove that there was no involvement from my forensics team. Other than doing their job well, that is. Are you familiar with people doing their jobs well? I understand if it is a concept that is beyond you.” Smirking, he looked down at Amelia and winked.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Interrogation Room
Neil Franklin loved his job. He especially loved the part of his job where he got to question scumbags like Galtem. Stepping into the room, he shut the door and crossed his arms with a smirk. “Really, Manzenli, I thought you of all people would be more original than that.” Walking over to the table, he took a seat and stared Galtem down. “But I suppose you’re really a ‘person’, are you?” Neil was really enjoying himself now. While the other cop was in here asking him question and question about his night and making him walk through it multiple times, Neil did a little digging of his own. It turned out that Manzenli was accused of being a drug dealer. However, there was just too much smoke clouding the evidence to be anything other than circumstantial. And yet, God smiled down on Neil. Just as he was going to give up and come in to just harass Galtem, one of the forensics specialist revealed that they found Galtem’s wallet near the body. It was only circumstantial…for now.
As Neil watched Galtem in the interrogation room, he tilted his head and was silent for a moment. Reaching into his pocket, he then pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. After placing the cigarette in his mouth and lighting up, he shoved the pack over “Want a smoke?” Not waiting for an answer, he puffed on the cigarette and began to chuckle “Do you have any idea where your wallet is? I suspect you wouldn’t, since I have it here.” Pulling out a clear bag, he then revealed the wallet that was inside. “Look familiar?” Standing up, he began to laugh darkly “I’d love to hear your excuse, but lucky for me, we’re keeping you hear for the night…maybe longer. I have all the time in the world.” He walked towards the door and smiled “I imagine you look great in orange, Manzenli. Sweet dreams.” Turning his back on him, Neil then opened the door and slipped out. Closing the door, he snapped at a cop “Bring him to a cell.” The cop nodded as Neil walked away and went into the room. Grabbing his cuffs, he then cuffed Galtem assuming he was cooperating and led him down to his cell silently. This was going to be a long night.
He leaned himself back against the chair, and stared around the room, it would be better get his mind distracted with the others things in this small room, which didn’t had anything but four walls, a window, table, and two chairs, but it was always better look at other things then look at that face of the cop, that was really asking for a punch. It seemed the cop wanted to keep on messing around with him, by starting to smoke here, and ask him if he wanted, if he gave him time to answer, Galtem would deny, but the cop just asked him if he knew where his wallet were, it was on that moment, he began to pat his pockets, and couldn’t find his wallet. The hell? Where was it? He thought this whole time, it would be in his pockets, but nothing was there. Did it fell somewhere?
He stared confused at the cop, and then he finally revealed his wallet in a bag. What? How did he got it?
“What? That doesn’t make sense.”
It was all he could say before the cop started to leave and told another one to just handcuff him and put him in a cell. At first ,he didn’t cooperated, he tried to make the cop let go off him, and if he wanted, he would knock him out, but it was better cooperate, and don’t be such a pain in the ass. He huffed out in anger, and allowed the cop to take him in a cell. large one, it probably had five other guys in there, all staring at the new guy coming, maybe Galtem could put his anger on those guys, beating them up, its not like the cops would care about criminals do to criminals, right?
Carmen took note of the fact of where Rodger moved to stand, silently supporting Amelia and a dangerous gleam entered her eye.
“I have yet to meet anyone in your department who do their jobs…well.” Carmen stated, crossing her arms in a mocking stance. “In fact, I can name about twenty cases in the last month alone where one of your detectives had never done their job well. I can name names, dates and times if you need facts.” She was on a roll and never passed an opportunity to let her temper fly. “Insubordination, excessive force, bribery, evidence “conveniently” misplaced. Oh and that one little, teeny, tiny incident where a firearm was discharged over the heads of group of school children. Yes, I’d say they were doing their jobs real well.”
She slid from the desk and moved to the window, looking out into the squad room. “So, tell me, Captain, Ms Reed. Who is this…alibi?”
“Get my kit out of my car, it has all my evidence from the crime scene, along with the photos that I took in my camera.” Amelia said with a tone of professionalism. She hadn’t forgotten that she got called down there to do her job. Amelia took a look up at Rodger through her bangs and said; “I’m sorry about all this.” Which she genuinely was. But things were about to get a whole lot worse. The Department ball breaker, and head of internal affairs decided to make her presence felt, and she was not about to let Amelia go anywhere. Seeing her come in and the casual way she sat herself on the edge of Rodger’s desk, had Amelia chew her bottom lip, her eyes searching up at Rodger, as the pair became engaged in some head butting antics.
“I hear there was a murder…and your own Forensics expert may or may not be involved.”
“Well, it’s so nice you prefer to listen through the grapevine for your facts. Unfortunately, you will be a bit disappointment to hear that it is being taken care of. Reed has an alibi that we need to clear and will prove that there was no involvement from my forensics team. Other than doing their job well, that is. Are you familiar with people doing their jobs well? I understand if it is a concept that is beyond you.”
At this Rodger winked at Amelia, but it was not lost on Carmen. My god, she was like Mike Tyson in a woman’s body. She actually scared Amelia to death.
“I have yet to meet anyone in your department who do their jobs…well.”
“But…the Lawson case…we..” Amelia tried to get a word in, but it was too easily being drowned out by the pair. Then, Carmen went for a hit below the belt. “So, tell me, Captain, Ms Reed. Who is this…alibi?”
Grinning, the door was flung open and a million dollar looking D.A made his presence known.
“That would be me, Lieutenant!” It was Shane, and boy did he look like he was walking into a courtroom, and about to stun the jury with some amazing dialogue. He strutted over to Carmen and let his eyes roam over her form. “Well well well…did you run out of case files in that dark hovel of an office of yours? Hmm? Oh wait..that’s right. You have lost how many assistants in the past month to harassment charges? Ha….and you are in charge of internal affairs? Sounds like a conflict of interest right there, hey Toots.” Shane did a big knowing nod and tapped the side of his nose, before turning to face Rodger.
“Now then. Miss Amelia Reed was at the VIP lounge this evening, and I know since I was with her. I don’t need to go into the nitty gritty of how she barfed technicolor in the ladies loo….NOR do I need to tell you when she nearly peed herself on the dance floor after catching the bar owner with some leggy blonde in a red dress.” He then gave Amelia a concerned look, as he went into the final part of his confession. “I’ll be blunt, the girl was suffering depression, mixed with the drink and juice earlier and I drove her home. At that point…there was NO dead body in the car park, and I watched her go inside. The time difference between when I dropped her off, and went back to the bar myself, WHICH can be shown on the CCTV cameras as well as the statements of one barmaid named Lizzy, I can assure you, that Amelia and I were no part of the murder, and were actually AT HOME, at the time it took place. I am sure that the evidence collected at the crime scene, can attest to that.” He then walked boldly up to Rodger and said. “You do…have the evidence, Lieutenant?”
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