Chapter 8 - The Arrest
Two officers entered through my front door.
Raymond was sitting on the floor.
I was bleeding from the cheek.
Perfect picture.
He pointed at me.
“He attacked me.”
Sabrina shouted, “No!”
Officer Blake raised a hand.
“Everybody stop talking.”
Raymond immediately became calm.
That scared me more than his anger.
“He’s unstable,” Raymond said. “He’s been threatening us over the wedding.”
“That’s a lie,” Sabrina said.
Blake looked at her.
“Ma’am, step outside with Officer Ruiz.”
Raymond smiled at me.
Small.
Satisfied.
They separated us.
I told Blake exactly what happened.
He listened.
Then asked, “Any cameras inside?”
“No.”
“Outside?”
“Yes.”
“Any recording of the incident?”
“Not inside.”
Raymond had one.
Of course he did.
He showed the officer a video beginning exactly when I grabbed him.
Not when he shoved me.
Not when he grabbed Sabrina.
Just me pushing him into the wall.
Smart.
Dirty.
Effective.
Blake looked at me.
“Mr. Fletcher, I need you to come with us.”
Sabrina ran back inside.
“No! He didn’t start it.”
“Sabrina,” I said.
She looked at me.
“Call Martin.”
“What?”
“Martin Cole. My lawyer. Number’s in my phone.”
Raymond laughed softly.
I stared at him.
Then I noticed something.
The broken family photo on the floor.
Behind it.
Near the ceiling.
A tiny black circle.
The old motion camera.
I had forgotten about it.
Installed years ago when we had a contractor stealing small tools.
I looked at Sabrina.
“Tell Martin to check the workshop server.”
She understood.
Raymond didn’t.
Not yet.
At the police station, I sat in a gray room for forty-seven minutes.
Then Martin walked in.
He looked furious.
Not at me.
At everyone.
“You have the footage?” I asked.
He smiled.
“All of it.”
Twenty minutes later, I was released without charges.
Raymond was not.
The hidden camera showed him entering without permission.
Shoving me.
Grabbing Sabrina.
Throwing the first punch.
His video became worthless.
But that wasn’t the best part.
The audio was clear too.
Including one sentence Raymond shouted while getting up from the floor.
“You ruin this, and none of us get paid!”
Martin replayed it three times.
Officer Blake noticed.
“So what exactly are they supposed to get paid for?”
Raymond stopped talking.
By 8:00 p.m., the detective unit had copies of the forged loan documents.
The fraudulent venue requests.
The bank transfers.
The business credit records.
Everything.
They didn’t arrest Denise or Sabrina that night.
Not yet.
But the investigation was open.
And the wedding was less than twenty-four hours away.
I found Sabrina waiting outside the station.
She looked exhausted.
“Is he arrested?”
“For assault tonight. The financial stuff will take longer.”
She nodded.
Then whispered, “Dad.”
I waited.
“I’m sorry.”
I wanted those words to fix something.
They didn’t.
Maybe nothing could.
“Where’s your mother?”
“She won’t answer me.”
“Where’s your fiancé?”
Sabrina froze.
That told me everything.
“He doesn’t know?”
She shook her head.
“Know what?”
She looked at the ground.
“Any of it.”
I sighed.
“Then you need to tell him.”
“I can’t.”
“You’re getting married tomorrow.”
“I know.”
“You can’t walk into a marriage carrying this.”
She started crying again.
Then my phone rang.
Carol.
The venue manager.
“Mr. Fletcher?”
“What is it?”
Her voice shook.
“There’s a problem at the venue.”
“What problem?”
“Mrs. Fletcher is here.”
I looked at Sabrina.
“What is she doing?”
Carol swallowed.
May you like
“She’s trying to remove the cash gifts from the bridal safe.”
And this time, Denise wasn’t alone.
