She leaned across the table toward me. “The time for you to start talking is ending. We have people talking. Don’t think we don’t. They are going to name you as an accessory to this whole thing. We can protect you, Brielle, if you help us. We can keep you safe. Elijah will have no idea you were a part of this.”
I wanted to flip the table over. Then I wanted to leap over it and run out of there. Instead, I took a deep breath and hunched further down in my seat. She was going to keep talking, no matter what she threatened.
“Oh.” She started laughing, stood up, and walked in a small circle. “Do you want a lawyer? You think your mom can pay for one? I read your file. Your whole history is in there. Your daddy left when you were little. Your mom’s working two jobs. You didn’t go to college. How come? My guess is that you stuck around to help your mom?” She opened a folder and skimmed her hand down it, stopping in the middle. “It says you work at the nursing home, but you quit recently. Is that what you’re going to do all your life? Are you going to get another job?”
“How is that any of your business?”
“You make shit money. With what we have on you, a public defender won’t get you off. You’re looking at jail time, Brielle. Jail.”
I wanted to laugh at her. For what? For picking the wrong guy and ignoring my brother’s warnings? Yes. If that was a crime, take me away, Officer.
Someone knocked briefly on the door, and a new guy came inside. Looking in his older thirties with his blond hair combed back, he was dressed in jeans and a shirt. He was also wearing a GWPD vest. After he nodded to the woman, she left and he turned to stare at me. Nothing was said for a minute, and then he slowly sat down in the chair across from me and folded his hands together, resting them on the table between us. “My name is Detective Williams, and I am here to tell you what we know. You can decide whether or not you want to participate in this investigation or not. Now.” He leaned back in his chair. With one finger, he slid a picture across the table toward me. “That’s a picture of a girl that overdosed at a rave last night. What Officer Sonya said is true. We do know you and Elijah were there, but we can’t connect you to the girl. However, we do know that your boyfriend oversees Grant West. Someone else runs Grant East. Are they the ones moving in? Wait, that’s another discussion if you decide to help us. We don’t know if you’re a part of it, and because of that, yes, you will be released in a moment.”
My head perked up.
He shook his. “I want you to know everything before you leave, so sit back. We would like you to help us, and we can hold you a whole hell of a lot longer without officially arresting you if we need to. But we’re not going to do that as a sign of good faith. Call me a hopeless romantic, but I have a feeling you won’t be able to not help when we’re done.”
That was stupid of him. I leaned back in my chair and settled in. No matter what he said, I wasn’t a narc. “You’re not from around here, are you?”
His eyebrows moved forward before flattening back into place. “Why do you ask?”
“You recently moved here?”
He didn’t reply, but he didn’t need to. His mouth flattened. “I don’t know what that has to do with this, but here are the facts. A girl overdosed. She is in the hospital, and she may never wake up.” He pointed to the picture. “Do you know this girl? Did your boyfriend sell drugs to her?”
I didn’t know her, and I had no idea if Elijah did or not. Until this morning, I hadn’t even wanted to admit he was a drug dealer.
I remained silent, and after another two minutes passed in silence, he stood up and a disgruntled sound came from him. It sounded like a groan mixed with a gurgling bark. “Fine. We have nothing to hold you. Elijah has been adamant that you have no part of his organization. He’s insisting we release you before he will comply, so with that said, you are free to go.”
I shoved my chair back and stood. “Can I get my phone?”
“No. That stays with us.”
“I thought you said you were letting me go?”
“You’re the girlfriend of a known drug dealer. We have every indication that he might’ve used your phone to set up deals. Your phone stays with us.”
They think he used me? Used my phone? My jaw squared, and I stalked down the hallway. Leaving didn’t take long. They never fingerprinted me. No paperwork had been filed so the only thing I waited for was my bag. As the cop moved to hand it to me, he held it a moment. I glanced up to see him staring at me. It wasn’t a crude stare—not like a lot of the guys in school or Elijah’s friends. It was in a way that my mom used to look at me. His eyebrow raised as he said, “Dump the bad boy. He’s not worth it, and in the end, he’ll just take you down with him.”
He let go of my bag.
“Thanks,” I muttered under my breath, pulling my bag on my shoulder as I headed to the front of the station. Little did they know it was already over. I was an idiot, but I was a single idiot now. Then I stopped and turned back to the clerk. “Can I use your phone?”
“What number?”
Oh, this would not make me look good. “Rowdy’s.”
His nostrils flared.
“Just call. My brother’s band practices in the basement. They’ll still be there. They’ll answer.”
He did and it wasn’t long before I heard someone answer. He straightened and his hand scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, hello. This is Officer Malley. I’ve got a…” He paused and held the phone against his chest. “What’s your name?”
“Bri.”
He held the phone to his ear again and continued to frown at me. “A Bri here. She reassures me that her brother’s band uses your basement to practice…” He stopped, and after another moment, he nodded and hung up. “The owner’s sending someone to pick you up.”