“How?” I gasped, looking to my chief, the man who ran a tight ship that I never stepped out of line on. At all. Not ever. “What’s going on?”
“You’ve been named as a primary suspect in multiple open cases of property damage in Cedar Bluff in the last few months.” Chief Weller went on.
“That can’t be true.” I shook my head in disbelief. “What cases?”
“The flooding at Honey & Hearth, the fire at the hardware store, the ice rink MVC and the property damage to the old garage off Main.”
My heart sank into my stomach as a red flush heated my face. “I didn’t do anything to those properties!” Again, I turned to my chief, a man I respected and a man I thought knew better. “I didn’t do anything to those properties!” I repeated louder this time.
“Easy now,” Chief Weller said condescendingly, “Don’t get all emotional on us about this.”
My. Blood. Fucking. Boiled.
Of course he’d say that. To the only woman in the room. The one who was having her reputation and career ripped to shreds by three men who knew me better than that.
“Effective immediately,” Chief Tolbert, my boss, cut in, “You’re being placed on unpaid administrative leave while the investigation is underway.”
“You have to be kidding me.” I shook my head in absolute despair. “Don’t do this.”
“I have no choice,” Tolbert said, rising from his desk. “You can’t be employed by the district when charged with these kinds of crimes.”
“Charged?” I gasped, turning back to the Chief of Police. “What evidence do you have against me?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Chief Weller said as he stood up, putting his hand on the leather case holding his handcuffs on his duty belt. “The DA’s office will handle the evidence; we act only on the part of arresting you and taking you before the judge.”
“Oh, my God.” I cried, feeling like I was going to pass out as they all rose and faced me.
“As your union rep, Ms. Dalton. I recommend you remain silent until appropriate representation can be acquired during questioning.” The third man said, offering no other assistance.
“Turn around and place your hands behind your back, Rhea.” Chief Weller said, and the words felt like a physical nail being hammered into my chest.
There was no way to come back from this. The saying of innocent until proven guilty never worked for people like me. Women like me.
In towns like this.
Small talk was law, and gossip was proof.
And I was ruined.
Turning with what little dignity I had left, I put my hands behind my back and complied. I refused to make anything worse for myself by fighting the inevitable. The cold iron of the handcuffs bit into my flesh with a finality to my life as it was, with each tooth of the metal locking tighter and tighter.
“You have the right to remain silent,” Weller started as my boss opened the door to his office, ushering me out with nothing more than a nod of his head. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
My ears rang with loud, painful screams of injustice blaring inside my head as they forced me out the door and into the bay where my entire crew lingered, waiting to see what was happening in the office.
Shame like I’d never felt before, burned in my gut with every step I took. Shackles of guilt that weren’t mine weighed me down into the cement beneath my feet.
“What the fuck is going on?” Elliot Hayes snapped, shoving his way through the crowd. “What are you doing, Weller?”
“You have the right to an attorney,” Weller continued, ignoring Eli, which was a task in itself given how hot he was as he stomped his way through the bay to my side. “If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you.”
“Talk to me, Dalton.” Eli said, changing tactics as the men I served with every single day watched on. More than one of them looked a little unsurprised by the chaos unfolding. And that hurt.
“They’re charging me with all the incidents.” I said, closing my eyes as tears burned. “The bakery, the hardware store.” I shuddered, “The rink.”
“How?” Eli barked.
“Someone named me.” I replied, trying to shrug as a feeling of ice settled in my chest.