…??Its Too Late??
Chapter 44
…
I rake my hands down my face. I can hear Sloan’s breaths speed up as she begins to realize what Ryan and Tillie are telling us.
“But what about the three of us?” I ask Ryan. “It’s our word against his. We know he orchestrated that entire thing. He admitted to it out loud.”
Ryan nods. “He admitted it to you, Luke,” he says. “I never heard him say it, so I won’t be able to testify against him. I wasn’t in the room with the two of you. And…” Ryan pauses.
Tillie leans forward and says, “He’s claiming the two of you set him up.”
I sit up straight. “Are you f-__-king kidding me? What jury is going to believe that $h|t?”
This is ridiculous. They’re in here saying absurd $h|t and upsetting Sloan. I shouldn’t have let Ryan talk to me about this in front of her.
“I know this sounds crazy,” Ryan says. “We all know how guilty he is. But to a jury…how do you think it’s going to look that Asa’s fiancé was knowingly sleeping with the undercover cop who was trying to have him arrested? How do you think it’s going to look to a jury when it’s Asa’s fiancé and that undercover cop’s word against his?”
Sloan’s hand slips from mine and she covers her face. My chest is starting to ache with all of this.
“You knew I was pursuing her, Ryan. If I knew it would jeopardize the case…” I was about to say I wouldn’t have done it, but I shut my mouth. Because I would have done it. I did do it. I pursued her, no matter the consequences, and now it’s putting us in a huge f-__-king bind.
“Depending on the judge,” Tillie says, “he might throw the case out before it even goes to trial. Most cases of self-defense are ruled justified homicide if there’s a witness to corroborate the defendant’s story.”
“There’s no one to corroborate his story, though” I say.
Both Ryan and Tillie look at Sloan. Ryan nudges his head at her. “Sloan’s story will most likely corroborate his claim of self-defense.”
“How?” Sloan says, flabbergasted.
Ryan stands up and walks around the bed, leaning against the wall nearest Sloan.
“Was the victim attacking you?” he asks.
Sloan nods.
“Was he holding a gun?”
Sloan nods again.
“Was he impersonating an officer?”
Another nod.
“Did you scream for help?”
She doesn’t nod this time. A tear just pours down her cheek. “Twice,” she whispers.
“And how did you feel when Asa walked into the room?” Ryan asks. “A jury is going to ask you these questions under oath.”
A sob breaks from her chest. “Relieved,” she whispers through tears. “Terrified. And relieved.”
Ryan nods. “That’s enough to back up his claims, Sloan. He rescued you from an attacker. That’s hardly murder in the eyes of a jury, no matter how evil we all know he is. His whole character isn’t what will be on trial. Only that one action.”
“But…” Sloan wipes tears from her eyes. “He didn’t have to $h00t him. He could have stopped him without ki||ing him.”
Ryan nods in agreement. “I know he could have. We all do. But the jury won’t know Asa like we do. And they’ll put you up on the stand and tear you apart, Sloan. They’ll make Asa look like the victim, because you’re his fiancé. Yet you were knowingly having an affair with the undercover cop who was developing a case against him. That will lend sympathy to Asa’s case and your testimony against Asa will lose any and all credibility in the eyes of the jury.”
“But,” she stands up, wiping at her eyes. “What about your case against Asa? Won’t that back up my claims? Won’t that have any bearing on the potential murder charge?”
Ryan’s eyes meet mine. He releases a rush of air and then walks back to the couch. “That’s another reason why we’re here,” he says. “Young doesn’t want to move forward with any charges in our investigation. None of our reports were complete because our investigation was still ongoing. Young is afraid if we press charges and this goes to trial, the department will be ripped to shreds in the press. It doesn’t look good that one of our cops was involved in an affair with our main subject’s fiancé. The fact that we broke cover to fake agents. They’re afraid the chances of Asa actually being charged with anything are far less than the chances of us ruining the department’s reputation. Young is requesting the case be closed and no charges be filed. He says it’s not worth the risk.”
……….
Oh my God,” Sloan says, taking a seat on the bed. She drops her elbows to her knees and holds her head in her hands. “This is all my fault,” she whispers.
I reach over and pull her hand to mine. “Sloan, it’s not your fault. It’s my fault. I was the one on duty.” I look up at Ryan. “What about the fact that he tried to ki|| me? He shot me in the chest and that wasn’t self-defense. He’ll be charged with that, right?”
I can see the roll of Ryan’s throat as he swallows.
“You have to be f-__-king kidding me,” I whisper, dropping my head against the headboard.
“He’s claiming self-defense in that case, too,” Ryan says. “You both shot each other. Sloan was the only witness in the room. I can only testify to what I heard from outside the door.”
“He almost ki||ed me, Ryan!”
Ryan and Tillie both glance at each other. Tillie clears her throat and then says, “The thing is, Luke…with the $h|t storm of that whole day, if the DA charges him with anything, chances are, you’ll be charged, too. And you’ll both go to trial.”
“I’ll be charged? What the f-__-k will I be charged with?”
“It depends on the judge. Felony assault…attempted murder. And without the department taking the case to court…it will look like you and Asa just had a standoff in a bedroom. The result of a love triangle gone wrong.”
I can hear Sloan crying now.
I can’t even force another question; my mind is going in all f-__-king directions now. “So you’re telling me that not only does this sick f-__-ker have a chance at getting away with everything he did…I’m looking at facing charges?”
Ryan nods, slowly. “Unless…we work out some sort of a plea deal. His lawyers are pushing for it. They want us to agree to drop the charges in exchange for information on Jon and Kevin and a few other people in the investigation. Like I said, Luke. It all depends on the judge. And the District Attorney, of course. That’s a good thing, because the DA likes you. I don’t see him pushing for anything when it comes to charges against you, but if we push for charges to be brought against Asa, his lawyers are going to push back. So you need to think about that long and hard.”
I can’t even believe what I’m hearing right now.
“What about everything else he’s done?” Sloan asks. “All the times he forced himself on me? Can I not press charges against him for that?”
Tillie nods. “You can, but what exactly are you claiming? R@P£? Did he rape you?”
Sloan glances at me, then back at Tillie. She shrugs. “I don’t even know,” she says quietly. “There were several times I…I was terrified he would hurt me so…I just let him.”
Tillie stands up and walks over to the bed, sitting next to Sloan. “Did you ever tell him no? Did you ever ask him to stop and he refused?”
Sloan pauses in thought, and then shakes her head. “No, I was too scared to say no. I pretended I was okay with it every time.”
Tillie tilts her head in sympathy and squeezes Sloan’s hand. “I’m afraid that won’t hold up in court,” she says. “All he has to do is claim he wasn’t aware that you didn’t want to have segz with him. If the accused is never told no and assumes you’re willing based on your actions…”
Sloan’s head falls back into her hands. Then she just leans toward me and collapses against my chest. I wrap my arms around her and press my lips to her head.
“I’m sorry,” Tillie says. “There were several things that could have been handled differently to prepare for a solid case against him. Several things that prevent us from pursuing Asa like we wish we could.”
“You mean several things I messed up,” I interject.
Ryan stands. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Luke. I encouraged several of those mistakes. Sometimes cases are cut and dry. Sometimes we get everything we need before the end of an investigation. Unfortunately, this isn’t one of those. This one was messy from beginning to end, and there isn’t much we can work with at this point. They found nothing in his house after Jon and Kevin cleared out with wh@ťěver would enable us to file charges. All they found was some unexplained cash and a stash of prescription pills. It’s not enough to go after him-not with the way Asa and his lawyers are going to fire back at us. Sometimes it’s just not worth the fight.”
I feel Sloan tense against me. She lifts up and glares at Ryan. “Not worth the fight?” she says. “He murdered someone! And he would have ki||ed Luke if it weren’t for six f-__-king centimeters! Now you’re saying he’ll likely walk free? He’s going to be able to find me? To find Luke? Because he’s not giving up, Ryan! He won’t give up until Luke is dead and you know that!”
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T..B..C