Page 45 of Sapphire's Gem
I entered and found Rivers on my heels. Hatton looked at our faces before motioning to two empty chairs. “Sit the fuck down. You start talking.”
“Detective Rivers is accusing me of hiding things from her because I want to fuck Sapphire from the Royal Harlots.”
“Like what?” Hatton asked calmly.
“Like the fact that one of the women there was attacked, and the RHMC is moving her to a safe house. Sapphire refused to disclose to either of us where the safe house was. Rivers then confronted me in the car and demanded I tell her. When I informed her, I didn’t know, and if I did, I wouldn’t say, she accused me of keeping quiet so I could fuck Sapphire.”
Hatton tempered his fingers and stared at me before turning to Rivers.
“Wylde’s got no right to hide things from me, I’m a detective too. He acted like I can’t keep a secret,” Rivers exclaimed angrily. “Why’s he protecting a criminal enterprise?”
“What authority do you have to know where a victim goes?” Hatton asked.
Rivers blinked. “What?”
“I said, what fuckin’ right do you have?”
“I’m a detective, I was called to an assault scene!”
“And I gather you took their statements and put a BOLO out,” Hatton said.
“Yes! Well, Wylde put the BOLO out, I wanted to check the footage first,” Rivers stated. “He took the word ofSapphirethat Liam Danvers was the attacker.”
I silently ground my teeth and stared at Hatton.
“Did Mrs Danvers, Gabi, Marabelle, and Sadie identify Mr Danvers?” Hatton asked.
“Yes. But Wylde—”
“Wylde nothing. He did the job you were supposed to do. I guess you would have taken the footage, pissed around for a couple of hours, and then checked it over. Meanwhile, Mr Danvers would be getting further away. Do you know anything about Mrs Danvers’ situation?”
Rivers seemed to sense this wasn’t going her way. “No.”
“Did you even do any checks before heading out? Like asking Wylde if he knew something?”
“No,” Rivers ground out.
“Wylde knows the case. He was there the last time Geri Danvers was admitted to the hospital. He’s also been called out to the shelter four times with Officer Katie House to deal with Mr Danvers. Katie usually handles the calls there. But she’s off today, which is why you went. From the complaint I’ve just had from Gabi, you were rude, condescending, wilfully combative with Sapphire, and intimidated the witnesses.
“Nobody has to tell you where the safehouses are. Why?Because they’re fuckin’ operated privately and funded by the RHMC.They’re not state-run ones. Wylde is correct. Once someone spills the address, including to a trusted partner, the location gets around. That property is no longer a refuge. Not even the clients know where they are being moved to. That’s the entire point of a safe house.
“And lastly, I hope the fuck you didn’t accuse Sapphire and the Royal Harlots MC of being a criminal enterprise to their face. One lawsuit this month is plenty. The truth is, youfucked up. Thought that because you had a badge, you were more important than the victim, who was being supported by a group of people you don’t like. Throwing baseless accusations at a dedicated and decorated officer isunwarranted and unprofessional!” Hatton bellowed at the now paling Rivers.
“I want a written apology from you to Gabi and those at the shelter, and one for Wylde, and also for Sapphire of the Royal Harlots. And I hope you are able to grovel as much as you can run your mouth. For the next month, you’re on scut work. And if you step out of line again, you’ll be directing traffic!” Hatton roared. “Fuckin’ risking the safety of a victim because you’ve got goddamn ego problems! Get out of my office!”
Rivers leapt to her feet and raced out, the door banging shut behind her. Hatton turned to me and grimaced. He reached down and opened his bottom drawer and banged two shot glasses on it before pulling out a bottle of whiskey.
“I know you want Sapphire. You got anything on her being a criminal?”
“Nothing. Although she did say today that if they were involved in anything illegal, it wouldn’t harm people. She also admitted that the tip-offs we’ve had on the trafficking, drug runs, and arms shipments came from the Harlots.”
“What the fuck?” Hatton exclaimed, sitting up.
“Yeah. She laughed at me and asked where we thought they’d come from.”
“Damn. That makes sense. But she said they’re not doing that? Did you believe her? Could they be stopping rivals so they have a clear run?”
“Don’t think so. We’ve got drug problems like everyone else, but it’s minor compared to most towns. Same with unlawful weapons. We get one or two a year, but certainly not an influx like we’d have if the Harlots were running guns.”
