“Son of a bitch shot my horse,” I murmured. I didn’t dare turn around. I yelled to Amber at the barn door, and she knew not to come any closer to the scene. “Amber, I need you to go to the first aid kit in the house and bring it here. Call my father. The number is on the fridge. Don’t worry, baby.”
“Okay, Colt.” Terror reigned in her voice. I heard the quick pace of her feet. I knew she was running to the house as fast as she could.
A pool of thick blood was running from the man’s ankle. I looked at the wound. I could see the meat of his ankle. I’d shattered it. Served the turd right.
I kicked him in it for good measure. He yelled out like a baby. “Please, spare my life. Don’t kill me.”
“Shut the fuck up!” I spat with anger. “I should have killed you the first time, but you’re going to die a slow and painful death in jail. Oh yeah, because I got some boys that are going to play real nice with you inside. How about that?” I got down close to his ear. “Congratulations, you’re about to become somebody’s bitch.”
It took the cops a whole eight minutes to reach us, and a crew of six cops came into the barn with their guns raised.
“Step back from him, Colt. We got it from here.”
The boys in blue took in the scene, slapping the cuffs on the Spanish guy, but not before bandaging up his leg.
I lowered my gun. Another officer signaled for it. “Hand it over, Colt.”
Limp armed, I handed over the gun to him. He had gloves on and put it into a plastic bag. I guessed for evidence.
“Colt, we need you to come down to the station with us for questioning. The cuffs can go on, or they can stay off. Up to you.”
Twenty-Six
Amber
My feet were incapable of movement. I saw the flashing lights, I saw the men in blue, but I couldn’t physically move. I found myself staring past everyone. They were blurred out, and my head was whirring.
“Ms. Atwood! We need you to come down to the police station for questioning.”
My eyes were glazed over, and my mouth dry like cotton. I still managed to reply, “Ah, yes, of course, Officer.”
The older officer, ironically, was one that I’d seen in passing. I don’t know why I recognized him out of all the others. I looked across to Colt, and our eyes met. He gave me a rueful look. I’d been happy on the way over, wanting to have a conversation to discuss our future together, but now my life seemed to be ruined. What would they say? Colt could go back to jail. There would be a trial. A rival gang member against another one. I would lose my job. So many thoughts ran rampant through my head. All in one breath, I felt like meeting Colt was a cross to bear. I rode in the back of the cop car, and now I was in the position that many of the men I fought for were in. I let out a breath as we rode silently to the police station for questioning.
We were questioned separately at the Merced police station. I hoped that my calling the police would exonerate Colt and me. My hands were shaking as I was taken in for questioning. All I remembered was this man’s ankle being shattered. I heard the gunfire.
An officer sat across from me with a tape recorder. “Do you understand your rights, ma’am?”
“Yes, I do,” I said solemnly.
The interview process began. The officer sitting across from me was an unassuming, conservative looking man. I waited for him to start.
“Can you tell me your account of what happened, Amber?”
“I was visiting Colt’s house, as we are friends, and he invited me to dinner.” I felt all sides of my face turning red.
“Friends?” The officer looked at the paperwork in front of him. “Isn’t Charlie Winters your client?”
I coughed. “Yes, he is. But his case has been closed for some time, as he has now regained custody over his daughter.” A slight lie, but I hoped it would slide through.
He nodded his head as if he understood. It was just me, him, and the tape recorder. “Were you visiting for dinner while you were taking care of Colt’s case? Just curious.” The conservative brown-haired cop stared at me, watching my movements carefully.
“Yes. I’ve been invited a few times by his mother and his daughter, Bella.”
The officer smiled back at me. “Okay, great. I just wanted to gain an understanding of the situation. Please tell me from the beginning what happened in the stable.”
I clasped and unclasped my hands. I took in a deep breath to stop myself from crying.
“Do you need some water? Please, take your time.”
“I was heading to the stable because when I knocked on the door to the main house, Colt wasn’t there, or I didn’t hear that he was there. I headed down to the stables, as I know that he loves his horses. That’s usually where you can find him.”
“Okay. And then what happened?”
“I saw that a man was pointing a gun at Colt, and his horse was crying out.” I saw the image in my mind as I said it. It caused me to break down and cry. The officer handed me a tissue.
“Here you go. It must have been traumatic for you to see that. What happened next?”
“I didn’t know what to do or what was happening. I saw Colt shoot the man in self-defense as the other guy raised his gun to him. He fell to the ground, holding his ankle.”
Again the officer nodded. “Okay. What did Colt say to you when you saw this?”
“He told me to call his father. That his number was on the fridge in the main house. I’d called you guys first.”
“Okay. Where is Bella currently?”
“She was at her grandmother’s house. She was due to come back to her father’s house tonight.”
The officer probed some more. “Do you know the man who shot Colt?”
“No, I do not.”
“Okay. And what happened with the horse? Did you see it being shot? Did you witness anything with the horse at all?”
I cried into my hand. “No. No. Just that it was distressed and trying to kick out of its stable.”
“Okay. Thank you, Amber. That’s enough questioning for now. As you probably know, don’t go anywhere or leave the country. We may need you to verify a few things, depending on the situation.”
“Okay. Can I see Colt?” I asked, knowing what the answer would be.
“Best that you don’t at this point. But once everything is cleared up, you will be able to resume contact.”
I liked the way the officer said that. I didn’t know if he believed me or not. I had no idea what my future with Colt looked like.
The next day, I went to work in a daze. I had no compass, no direction. I didn’t even know if I wanted the promotion that I’d been given. I looked deeply into the eyes of colleagues as I left my stall for lunch. Did they know? Did they hear what happened? The plan I had for Lucy in trying to make her a spokesperson at USP was on hold. I might need a spokesperson, depending on what Colt said. I closed my eyes at my desk, looking at all the positive quotes I had on my wall. I ripped them down in disgust, throwing them in the trash.
“Hey, girl, enjoying your new role?” Lucy came past with her usual spicy comments.
Today, I was full of rage and despair. I turned around and snarled, “Oh, fuck off, Lucy! I’m so tired of your shit. I don’t need any more of your backhanded comments.”