“Let’s do this.”
He grabbed my hand, and we walked out to the car together. It was a scene right out of any number of crime shows I had watched over the years. We were turning ourselves in and hoping the police could keep us safe. It really was our only hope.
As we arrived at the police station, I kept myself tucked in behind Chase. I had watched so many shows, but I had never been in an actual police station. It was extremely intimidating.
“We are here for Officer Reyes,” Chase said as we stood at the front desk.
“Can I ask what this is regarding?” the woman said without looking up at us.
“Yes, I stole a book of contact names from Jose Escabar, and he’s going to kill me.”
The officer at the front desk suddenly seemed much more interested in talking to us. She looked at Chase and then at me before picking up the phone and dialing a number.
“I’ve got a young couple up here I think you’ll want to speak with.”
Chase and I just looked at each other with wide eyes. It was real. We were there. We had spent the last twenty minutes driving in circles to make sure we had not been followed. As we stood there waiting for the officer to come and speak with us, I couldn’t help but think that we might be doing the wrong thing.
What if the police just took the black book from us and didn’t offer us any real protection? What if they weren’t able to protect us? It was entirely possible we were still going to have to deal with Escabar on our own, but I hoped that the police would be able to help us out of the mess in some way.
“I’m Officer Reyes. How can I help you?” the tall, tan officer said to us as he reached his hand out and shook hands with Chase.
“My friend Carlos said you could help us,” Chase said as he pulled the black book out of his back pocket.
Officer Reyes took the book and thumbed through it for about
two seconds.
“Is this legit, kid?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Robin, book us in room two and get the Captain down here as soon as possible,” he said to the woman at the front desk. “You two are in some serious shit.”
“Yes, sir. That’s why my wife and I came to you.”
Chase squeezed my hand and my heart fluttered. It was the first time I had been called his wife in public. It threw me off at first, but it was the truth. He and I were husband and wife now, and I was pretty damn excited about it.
“Follow me,” Officer Reyes said as he opened the door and walked into the back office area of the police station.
We walked past a group of desks and then down a long hallway. I didn’t know what exactly I had expected, but it seemed so uneventful at the police station that morning. Maybe I have watched one too many crime dramas, I thought as we made our way down a well-lit hallway with several doors on either side of us.
“It’s standard procedure, but I’m going to need to talk to each of you separately,” Officer Reyes said.
“Okay, sure. I’m happy to come in and talk with you,” Chase said as he let go of my hand.
“Actually, I’d like to talk with your wife first, if you don’t mind.”
It was the first feeling of things being out of control that I had in the police station. We certainly were not in charge, at all. Officer Reyes and the other officers were going to be in charge through the entire process.
“That’s fine,” I said as I kissed Chase on the cheek. “I’ve probably got a lot less to say than you do, honey.”
“Great, come this way, miss…”
“Mrs. Foster,” Chase interrupted.
“Yes, Mrs. Foster. Wait, are you Reynold Foster’s son?” the officer asked as he paused.
“Yes, sir. Chase Foster.”