The Men Next Door

Ch 34 - Brooks

"Look, man," officer Thompson told Luca in our local precinct's substation. "I know you're trying to play knight in shining armor, but it's his word versus yours. No D.A. is going to pick up this case. And if you start a personal injury lawsuit, he's just going to claim self-defense. It'll be a waste of time and money for both of you."

"I was on the phone with them, though," Luca argued. "A video call. When it all started. Can't we check the phone records or something? Listen to what he was shouting through the door?"

Thompson raised his hands in a noncommittal shrug. "The prosecutor would have to disprove his defense beyond a reasonable doubt, and you have no real evidence of who initiated the violence. That's going to be the kicker in all of this."

Luca shook his head, still unwilling to admit defeat. "I'm sure the whole damn borough heard him tell me that I better pray I'm not alone in there with her. He freaked the fuck out the second that I asked Addy if he was supposed to be there. You can ask anybody who lives within a mile of her apartment."

"Listen," the officer sighed. "The only reason I even brought him in was because you claimed he was trespassing, and he was too out of it to tell me he was a tenant until we got to the station. I've done all I can unless you want to be arrested too. I don't know what else to tell you."

"You can tell us what to do to help her case," I pointed out, nodding over to the chairs where Addy and Campbell were huddled up together. "You told her to fill out a Family Offense Petition, but there's no guarantee she'll get a restraining order out of it. I don't want to see you again in a few weeks when something worse happens."

Thompson swung his key ring around one finger like he was bored with the conversation. "Honestly, dude? Based on the statement she gave, she has no leg to stand on. She might get a temporary Order when she files, but he'll deny the allegations in the court case, and the whole thing will be dismissed."

I bit my tongue to keep from saying something I might regret. Whether I was satisfied with the outcome or not, I knew the guy was right. There wasn't much we could do apart from staying by Addy's side in the aftermath, assuming her official statement was anything close to the tearful spiel she'd given us on the way over.

From what I'd gathered through her sniffles, Walker really did only hit her once. It was the week of Thanksgiving, they were fighting a lot, and she canceled their flight to Connecticut because she didn't want to go home and put on a show for their families.

That was the first domino to fall.

Walker was pissed off when he found out they were staying in New York, and after a few too many drinks, he revealed that Addy had 'ruined' the proposal he'd been planning for months. Both of their families were in on it, he felt like a fool, and instead of using his words to communicate that... well, he acted like one too.

Addy didn't need any more prompting to leave him, but she wasn't sure how to go about it. Asking Walker to move out was suddenly a scary task. Finding a new apartment in Manhattan wouldn't happen overnight. Staying with one of us would've brought out the truth sooner than she was ready to tell it. There were seemingly no good options, so she played it cool while she tried to figure out a solid plan. Unfortunately — or maybe fortunately, since it sent him packing — Walker took her calculated nonchalance as forgiveness and went through with his proposal just a week later.

I was glad she was brave enough to say no in that moment.

And now, it was Luca's turn to take 'no' for an answer.

"You should head home and rest up, man," I told him, nodding half-heartedly at Thompson so he and his clanky key ring would walk away. The officer hadn't been the most helpful person in the world, but he did put up with two high-strung, unpredictable men without too much grumbling, so I was at least a little bit grateful for his presence. "Me and Cam will take it from here."