Page 18 of Sapphire's Gem
“I’ll wait with you until she comes,” I said.
Rose sent me a surprised look, which matched how I felt inside. Why on earth had I just offered? I sat down, and Rose kept staring at me.
“What? I’ve got something on my face?” I teased, and Rose laughed and winced in pain. “Have you had any pain relief yet?”
“No. They took those assholes in. I’m still waiting to be seen,” she murmured.
“Bullshit,” I stated and headed over to the desk. The nurse made excuses, but I insisted that Rose get some pain relief. As she scowled, I still got my way by flashing my badge.
“She’ll bring some over,” I said to Rose as I sat back down.
“What’s in this for you, cop?” Rose demanded, staring at me suspiciously.
“Just being nice, Rose. Hey, there’s Dix and Knowles now,” I replied, looking at the two uniforms heading my way.
“Detective, surprised they called you in for a common assault,” Knowles said.
“They didn’t, I was visiting another vic—someone else,” I said, not wanting to call Jed a victim.
“Okay. Ma’am, would you stand up and place your hands behind your back?” Knowles ordered as Dix pulled out his handcuffs.
“Why are you arresting her?” I asked, surprised, rising to my feet.
“There are three men back there who claim she beat them. They’re a mess, Detective, we’re charging her with assault,” Dix replied.
“Without getting her statement? What about charging them with sexual assault, boating under the influence, and assault and battery?” I reached out, removed Rose’s hand, and let the officers see her face.
“They said nothing about that,” Dix retorted, and I knew his anger was rising. I was embarrassing him for not doing his job properly.
“Of course they wouldn’t; they need to be the victims, don’t want to be charged with sexual assault. The coastguard removedthem from Rose’s boat while drunk and handed them to you. Did you breathalyse them?” I pressed, and Knowles glanced down at his boots.
“What’s it got to do with you?” Dix snapped.
“Because you haven’t done your jobs!” I snarled back, and Knowles looked worried.
“You haven’t seen the victims! One’s got broken fingers on both hands, another has crushed balls and might not be able to have kids, and the third has a penile fracture. Add in cuts and bruises, this bitch beat the crap out of them, yeah, detective, exactly,” Dix retorted with hate as I winced.
“Maybe they should have kept their hands to themselves and not sexually assaulted Rose. Seems to me they got what they deserved,” I replied, and Dix stared at me with wide eyes.
“Are you kidding me? She wears a cut, we all are aware of their men, a slut gets what she deserves,” Dix growled, and I blinked.
“You’re off the case. This is now mine. I’ll call Hatton and let him know exactly what happened here.”
“They’re club sluts!” Dix insisted.
“She was a victim of sexual assault and other crimes. You’re believing those assholes because they’ve dicks, and she wears a cut? Yeah, I think it’s more than clear that you’re done here,” I replied.
“She’s a slut; they’re all sluts at that place!” Dix exploded, and people looked over.
“Nice to know, I wonder how much we’d get for a slander suit,” a voice drawled. A shiver ran down my spine—Sapphire. Behind her lurked Vengeance.
“Thank you for your defence, Detective, at least the suit won’t be against you!” Sapphire continued. I turned around and saw her with her phone out, recording the entire scene.
“You can’t record me! This is a two-party consent state!” Dix shouted at her.
“Actually, that’s regarding private conversations. It’s a First Amendment right to record police officers while performing their duties. You’ve no expectation to privacy! And you call yourself an officer of the law. Seems to me you need to go back to school,officer,” Sapphire sneered.
“Knowles, get your partner out of here,” I ordered.
