those functions. “Per protocol, we were called by the staff.”
“Of course. We should’ve called, but it’s been a little crazy,” I agree.
My mind has been focused solely on Simone and what she said, so much so that until Colton arrived, I’d honestly forgotten about the dead husband.
How messed up is that? I’m trained to keep my head at all times, and all it takes to throw me completely off is the mention of a baby. My gut clenches again with the thought. Simone took one hell of a beating tonight, and there’s the possibility that there is no longer a baby. I don’t want children. It may not even be mine, but the thought that something may have happened to it due to violence makes me want to vomit.
“So tell me what happened tonight,” he urges as he takes a step back, pulling a small notebook from his back pocket and unclipping the pen from the front of his shirt.
“Simone,” Jinx begins when my mouth once again refuses to work.
“Last name?” He looks up from his tablet.
All eyes turn to me, and I immediately hate the attention. I may have been the one to spend the most time with her, but I don’t really know much. I feel like the biggest asshole right now.
“Murphy,” I answer.
“You were dating her?”
I swallow. Matthews isn’t married, unless he just doesn’t wear his ring to work, but I know just giving him a look to convey my connection to Simone isn’t going to be enough. The man is working a possible murder case, and assumptions aren’t going to work.
“We’ve hooked up a few times.”
“When was the last time you saw her?”
My mind runs through the last couple of days in order to answer his question. “Four days ago? Maybe five? She was at work.”
“Did you go home with her?”
“Just had a couple of beers and then went home.”
“When was the last time you were intimate with her?”
Tension swarms through my muscles as my agitation grows. I know this man is just doing his job, and no detail is too small, but I’m beginning to feel interrogated.
“Several weeks ago,” I answer instead of cracking my knuckles.
“And what happened tonight?” Thankfully, Detective Matthews turns his attention to Grinch whose clothing is marked with blood from carrying her and holding her in the SUV on the drive to the hospital.
“She showed up at the clubhouse, beaten and covered in blood.”
“What did she say?”
Grinch looks in my direction, and I can see by the concern in his eyes that he’s unsure of mentioning her exact words. She’s being treated for her injuries, but technically we’re witnesses since she spoke to us about the incident before collapsing.
“Who beat her?” Matthews amends when no one speaks up.
“She said her husband did it,” Jinx answers as he takes a step forward.
“His name?”
We all shrug and tell him we don’t know, but then the detective’s eyes meet mine.
“Do you know her address?”
I give it to him, adding, “I didn’t know she was married. I’ve been to her place several times, and he didn’t live there with her. Maybe they’re separated?”
Without emotion, he looks back down as he writes on his notepad before pulling out his phone and shooting off a text.
“Did she say anything else?” His eyes dart toward each one of us. “If she’s murdered someone—”
“Murder?” I sputter. “Wait until you see her, Colton. He beat the shit out of her. If anything, it was self-defense.”
“She collapsed in the doorway of the clubhouse,” Grinch adds. “I don’t know how she made it to us without driving her car off the road.”
“Her vehicle is still on Cerberus property?” Grinch nods. “Is it going to take a warrant to get that?”
There’s challenge in the detective’s eyes, but Grinch doesn’t seem fazed. “You’ll have to talk to the owner of the property. I don’t have the authority to answer that question.”
Kincaid, the club president and our boss, always has our backs, and it’s smart for Grinch to defer to him. Most of our jobs are international, and the rules are much different from any domestic situation. Kincaid will know how to handle the situation.
It’s not that we’re trying to keep information from Detective Matthews, but this is a sensitive matter. Yeah, we’ve interacted with this man before, but we don’t know how he plans to handle this incident, and the last thing Simone needs is someone working against her.
Matthews asks what seems like a million more questions, more than half we’re unable to answer,