Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 107352 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107352 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
“I—”
“Now,” I said, using my master sergeant tone that was low and guttural and even Jared Colter told me was a bit scary and could I please not.
Benning left, rushing down the hall, and moments later another officer—Daniels—came into the room.
“Are you Nash Miller from Torus Intercession?”
“I am. I have ID, and so you know, I’m carrying because I have a license to do so. If you’d like to come check my credentials, I can pull them for you.”
“Yes, please,” Daniels replied, moving to reach me. He had a copy of the information Shaw sent, and he matched what I handed him to what had been emailed over. It took longer than I would have liked, but he was being thorough.
When he smiled and left, I leaned on the counter, waiting, and after about five minutes, out walked a bloodied Griffin Duchesne. His sweater was covered in dirt, grass, and traces of blood, and his nose might have been broken. There was a cut over his right eye that I suspected—along with his nose—was responsible for most of the blood. As soon as he was close, I lifted my phone and took several pictures of him. When Daniels opened the pass-through for him, they stopped him so they could take off the handcuffs. I got shots of that before they were removed.
“Cuffs? You don’t think that’s overkill?” I asked, not expecting an answer, taking hold of Griffin’s arm and easing him toward me.
“Wait, we need you to sign—”
“I’m not signing anything,” I stated, making a call. “And you will be hearing from the chief of police in Newcastle, as well as my lawyer. I hope you all enjoyed being law enforcement officers, because you can’t hurt a child and get away with it.”
Did I think they hurt him? I had no idea. The point was to get a reaction.
“No,” Daniels rushed out. “Neither me nor Benning touched—”
“Who did?” I roared at him, and he took several steps back.
“Chief Wilson. He said that Griffin and his daughter—”
“That’s enough,” I muttered, walking out the door with Griffin in tow.
Once we were outside, in the sun, I saw him shiver.
“Who’re you?” Griffin asked softly, nearly pitching forward.
I caught him easily, scooped him up, and carried him to the Jeep. Darwin had vacated the front seat when he saw us coming, and Tatum started crying when she spotted her oldest brother.
Once Griffin was seated, I belted him in and then darted around the Jeep and slid behind the wheel. I called Shaw first.
“We’re talking a lot today,” he informed me snidely.
“I need a lawyer for the kid. They beat him up in custody.”
“Fuck all,” he groaned.
“I need to see them today at the house no later than five.”
“Got it. I’ll text you a name as soon as they’re on the way.”
“I appreciate it,” I said and hung up. I then made my second call.
“Hello, you’ve reached the Newcastle Police Department, is this an emergency?”
When I explained that I had a kid that had been battered in police custody in Eena, she asked me to hold a moment, and in seconds, I was talking to their chief of police.
Diana Higheagle was horrified to hear what happened to Griffin, but at the same time not surprised. Once she gave me her email, I sent her pictures, explained to her how ready Daniels was to tell me the whole story, and conveyed that I needed to take Griffin to the hospital. I also sent over my credentials and the overview of my file Owen had prepared years ago for each fixer. This was the brief that was sent out to law enforcement. It was more detailed than what Shaw had forwarded to the Eena PD.
“Okay,” she said with a sigh. “Mr. Miller, please take Griffin to Overlake Medical Center in Bellevue—that’s the closest, and we have a good working relationship with them. I’ll get all the reports I need.”
“Thank you.”
“I will have detectives at the Eena police station there in under fifteen minutes. They’re on their way now.”
“I appreciate the urgency and you,” I stressed, realizing how relieved I was. “I was thinking I’d have to take these kids and go.”
“Oh no, Mr. Miller, I appreciate you, and I’ll have my officers do regular check-ins at the Duchesne residence for the next week to make certain Chief Wilson is not as stupid as I’ve always found him to be.”
She was talking to me like we were friends simply because a quick glance at my file told her who I was, and she knew she didn’t need to sugarcoat or not get directly to the point.
“Thank you again.”
Once we hung up, I refocused on Griffin. “I had Tatum check first, and since you had clothes in the dryer, no one had to go in your room to grab you a clean T-shirt and a hoodie. I know you don’t like people in there, and I’m glad I didn’t have to violate your privacy, but I would’ve if I had to. I’ve picked up a lot of guys from police custody over the years, and a change of clothes is always helpful.”