“A one minute conversation where I never even exchanged anything with her won’t hold up in court. Besides, what she got from that conversation was half my money. And there isn’t a shred of evidence anyway.”
“There were photos…”
“Penny. I took care of that. Let me take care of this too.”
“When I talked to your parents, they said they’d handle this. Maybe you should check with them first. Maybe they already filed a complaint.”
“A complaint?” He laughed. “They invited her to our engagement party. As far as I’m concerned they’re just as much to blame.” He climbed out of the car and slammed the door.
I quickly climbed out of the passenger’s side. “James, your parents seemed sorry about that. Especially your father. You should call them.”
“Penny, Isabella tortured you for a week. She tried to break us up. She threatened you. She stole our money. Those are crimes. She doesn’t deserve to be out there walking the streets. You said yourself that she had a backup plan when her original pictures and notes didn’t work. What if she’s planning something else? I won’t have peace of mind until she’s behind bars.”
“Okay. If you think we should, then let’s do it.”
He grabbed my hand. “You seem like you’re scared to go in there.”
“A little nervous, maybe. I’ve never even been pulled over before. “I’m awkward around authority figures.”
James laughed. “Oh, is that why we ended up together? Maybe I shouldn’t let you in there then.”
“No. That was different.” I shoved his arm playfully. “I mean law enforcement. Those detectives that questioned us at the University of New Castle really knew how to crawl under my skin.”
“You have nothing to worry about. Like you said, you’ve never even been pulled over for speeding. Which is great, because I have a terrible record. They’ll trust your word more than mine.”
“I didn’t even think about that.”
He pulled me toward the front doors. As soon as we stepped inside, the air turned stale. It didn’t look anything like it did in shows and movies. No one was jumping up to talk to us, eager to close a case. There was a large desk where officers sat behind glass and their eyes were glued to their computer screens. I couldn’t help but think that the glass they were behind was bullet proof. It made me glance over at the people sitting in waiting chairs. They looked harmless enough. One of them was clearly homeless. Well, at least the police officers were nice, letting him stay here like this. It was so hot in New York in the summer and it was definitely cooler in here.
I heard a fly and glanced toward my right. I grabbed James’ arm. “Oh my God, there’s blood on the floor,” I hissed.
James laughed. “I’m pretty sure that’s soda. Probably. Come on.”
My eyes stayed glued on the spot as we approached the desk.
“Good afternoon officers, we’d like to report a crime,” James said calmly.
The woman on the computer didn’t look at us. “Is anyone dead or in immediate danger?” she asked as she typed something on her keyboard.
“Not yet,” James said.
I elbowed him in the ribs at his joke. “Not funny,” I mouthed silently.
The woman paused and looked up at us. “If you could please fill out this form,” she said and shoved a clipboard under a small slot in the glass partition. “We’ll be with your shortly.”
“Thank you,” I said.
James lifted up the pen and quickly filled out the information as I tried not to stare at the blood stain. He pushed the clipboard back through the slot and we walked over toward the seating area. Before we even had a chance to sit down, we heard a beeping noise. I looked over my shoulder at an officer who had just opened up a door.
“James Hunter, please come with me,” the officer said.
That was fast. James kept his hand in mine as we followed the police officer through the door. We walked down a narrow corridor into a larger room with tons of desks. This was actually a lot more like T. V. shows and movies. Detective and police officers were on phones, a few guys were handcuffed to chairs, and there was a buzz of electricity in the air. There were even maps on the walls and pictures of wanted subjects. We followed the officer to a desk and sat down.
“I’m Officer Daugherty and I’ll be handling your case.” He glanced at his notepad. “I understand you’re filing a complaint about blackmail against Isabella Hunter. Correct?”
“Yes,” James said.
“Wife?” he asked as he jotted something down in his notebook.
“Ex-wife. I’m getting remarried tomorrow.”
Officer Daugherty looked up and eyed me coolly. “Name?” he said.
“Penny Taylor.”
“Okay.” He turned to his computer and typed something on his keyboard. He scrolled with his mouse and glanced at me once more. “You have a much better record than your future husband.”
It took every ounce of restraint not to ask about James’ record. That was one thing I still didn’t know about. I knew he had been arrested in the past. I just didn’t know all the details. “Um… thanks,” I said instead.
The officer smiled. “I’ll need to know the specifics of the blackmail. What were the demands and what were the compromising materials that Isabella Hunter had against you?” He started typing on his computer again.
“Right,” James said. “She had photos of us having sex in my office that she was going to leak to tabloids if we didn’t send her 20 million dollars.” He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
Officer Daugherty paused in his typing and looked up at him. “Did you say 20 million dollars?”
“That is correct,” James said. “And we gave it to her.”
“Okay, well, that escalates this to a felony. Do you know if your ex-wife is currently in New York City? We’re going to need to bring her in for questioning.”
“I have no idea,” James said.
Officer Daugherty typed something into his computer. “Do you have any documentation of her demands and threats?”