Chapter 239: Bad Cop
Detective Rogers’ POV
Detective Rogers was not in a good mood.
That morning she had slept past her alarm. As a result of that, she’d had to rush in order to get ready for work and had spilled coffee down the front of her shirt just before walking into the station.
Were it up to her, she would have liked to spend the day at her desk, brooding over paperwork and glaring at random stationery. But she had found that she could not do that. Ryan Terrell’s girlfriend was finally ready to talk. Sure, the woman had literally not been able to talk to the police before, thanks to her voice being gone. Plus she had been too weak to properly be questioned, but that did not change the fact that Mel was irritated.
Why in the world was she being sent to do the interview? The chief knew she had horrible people skills, and yet the old man just seemed to love throwing her into the lion’s den. As she was led up to the penthouse by Ryan Terrell’s security, Mel could not help but look around and feel her irritation grow.
The entire place was spotless and just screamed money.
In her apartment there were stains that she was certain had supernatural qualities to them. And no matter the time of day, she could hear the pipes creaking like there was something living in them. Yet here Ryan Terrell’s place was. The building looking like it would kill mold itself if it even thought of growing on a single surface there.
When she was finally let in by a stoic Ryan Terrell and given a seat, Mel had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from moaning out loud. What were the chairs were made of? The moment she sat down, every single ache in her body went away. After taking a split second to enjoy the comfort that only money could buy, Mel looked over at the couple, obviously loving, seeing the way that they were seated with their bodies pressed so close together, it was hard to tell where one person ended and the other began.
"My name is Detective Rogers and I will be asking a few questions about the incident," Her very professional start was undermined by her having to shake her recorder and blow on it to get it to work, but in the end she managed.
***
"So you gave that sucker the beating he deserved until he was singing in soprano, good for you, permanent castration would have been better. But at least you made him taste his own ball sack," Having been looking down at her recorder as she spoke, Mel suddenly paused, her gaze flicking up to the couple, her eyes wide. Had she just said that aloud?
From the twin looks of shock that she was getting that was most probably the case. Goodness, this had been such a bad idea.
"I apologize for being too forward. I spilled my coffee and my gargoyle of a chief sent me here before I could get more," Realizing that she’d also said that part out loud from the way that the couple’s eyes widened even more. Mel bit her lower lip and prayed for strength as she pulled on her tattered professional facade.
"So, Miss Rose, you defended yourself against the assailant, a man that you can positively confirm is your ex-boyfriend, Bryce, a fitness instructor," Vivian Rose nodded, "I did, and then once he was down I grabbed the keys and tried to let myself out. But he caught up with me before I could get the door open and he dragged me back by my hair and-" Vivian Rose cut off, whether it was due to her dull sore throat or if it was trauma. Mel had no idea, but what she did have was a lozenge. Without even thinking about it, she held it out for Vivian Rose and the woman gratefully took it.
The interview continued afterwards and Mel also took the time to subtly question Ryan Terrell again. A part of her pleased when his statement did not differ too much from what he had already told the police. Had his answers changed and it would have been very obvious that he was lying, Mel would have been in a world of trouble. She would have been forced to investigate the billionaire to see if the couple before her had not had a domestic spat and were now trying to salvage the man’s reputation by lying and saying that her ex had done it.
So far though, things were looking good. Questioning done, Mel got to her feet and with a promise to get back to them if there were any leads, she made her way out of the expensive penthouse. But not before giving the couch one last longing look, were it not illegal, she’d arrest it and take it down to the station with her.
***
"Rogers in my office now," Having just arrived from questioning Terrell’s girlfriend, Mel already knew what the chief wanted to talk about. Sure enough, the moment she walked into the old man’s office, he was bombarding her with questions about the Terrell case. Wanting to know what she was doing about it, how it was going and how soon she would be able to close it.
Through it all, Mel grit her teeth and pretended that she actually cared about anything that the old man was saying. They all knew that the case was high profile, yet it had been given to Mel, the crankiest detective in the entire precinct and she knew why. The higher ups were looking to burn her, if things went wrong, they would make sure that she felt the full wrath of the police department.
After a very uninspiring update, she made her way back to her cubicle and started working on some reports. As she worked though, Mel’s mind drifted back to Vivian Rose. From the articles she’d read while working the case, the woman was described as a down-to-earth preschool teacher. Mel had thought that that was a lie, but after meeting the lady, she had realized that it was true.
The other woman was polite and had not made Mel feel like she was beneath her in any way. As a police officer, she tried to treat her clients impartially and help them equally, but she had to admit she had a soft spot for the well mannered ones. So for Vivian Rose’s sake, she would be putting in more effort to resolve the case faster.