-[Ramon]-
"Hold on, what do you mean, eliminate from a pool of suspects?" Megan suddenly interjected as she stepped in front of me and stared Jenny down, "You're not about to treat him like some criminal after someone tried to kill him!"
"That's exactly why we're treating him this way," Joe spoke up, ignoring Jenny's warning glare as he stared at Ramon, "Samson told us about the history between you and Northwest, you threatened him in his home."
I crossed my arms and nodded, "I did, after he had a metric fuck ton of salt dumped onto some farmland of a good friend of mine, who I was investing in. Did Samson mention that little fact in his confession?"
"Yes, in fact, he did," Jenny replied before Joe could speak up again, "And before that, he threw a brick through your front window, also on the orders of Northwest. It's very clear to us who the antagonist in the situation is; you coming down to the station is more of a formality than anything. We can't arrest you without proof, but submitting yourself willingly shows that you have nothing to hide and helps us narrow down our list of actual suspects."
"Now, that sounds far more reasonable," I replied with a small smile, "And of course I would be willing to cooperate, but I'll say this now, you're only going to get an hour, hour of my time. There's a little to my cooperativeness, I've still got a business to run."
"Of course, we understand completely, isn't that right, Joe?" Jenny quickly agreed and prompted her partner, but the miserable cop only let out a gruff grunt as he continued to give me the stink eye.
"Then I'll meet both of you down at the station," I replied as I took off my apron and put it in Megan's eyes, who regarded me with a concerned look, "I don't like this."
"I know, but something is happening, and I can't just ignore it," I muttered before leaning in for a quick kiss that I planted on her cheek before standing back up.
"Great, now that you've said your goodbyes, let's get going, the squad car is out front," Joe grunted with an unimpressed facade.
"Glad you know where your car is, Joe. Mine is parked on the other side, so let me just pull around, and then I can follow you to the station," I replied and watched Joe frown, "It'll be faster if you ride with us in the squadron."
"Yeah, but I assume if I do that I'll be sitting in the back behind bulletproof glass and bars looking like I am actually getting arrested, and I can tell you right now with certainty that's not going to happen," I replied sternly making it clear where I stood, "Now are you going to continue your little power trip or move this shit along, because my hour started the moment I agreed to go with you."
Joe opened his mouth to say something, but Jenny quickly put a hand on his shoulder, "Please just stop."
"Fine, let's just get this whole ordeal over with," Joe muttered angrily.
---
"Could you please tell us about your whereabouts since the home invasion?" Jenny prompted as she sat across from me, a notepad in hand.
I stared at the pen and paper, a little surprised, "That's a rather old-fashioned way of doing things, don't you have computers or cameras that can record everything?"
Jenny nodded, "Yes, but I prefer to take notes by hand, something about it helps the details of a case stick in my head."
"Very thorough of you, Office Jenny." I smiled at her, and she smiled back.
"Just answer the question," Joe interjected, sitting next to Jenny with his arms crossed, making his displeasure clear.
"Alright then, let's see, after the break-in, I've been going about my normal routine. I get to the restaurant around nine in the morning, and I'm there until 11 when we close after the dinner service." I summarized with a shrug, "And that's about it."
"Really, that's it?" Joe asked suspiciously.
"Yeah, it's been a busy week. We just got the restaurant renovated, more than tripled our seating," I explained with a proud smile, "You two should join us for a night, my treat."
"While that is a very nice offer, I'm afraid we'll be busy with our own work. Not every day that a multimillionaire goes missing," Jenny answered with an apologetic smile. "Now, back to the issue at hand, is there any way you can confirm your whereabouts?"
"Confirm my whereabouts?" I repeated, raising a brow, "This is feeling a lot more than just a courtesy all of a sudden."
"Well, obviously, we need to make sure you're not lying," Joe said gruffly as he narrowed his eyes at me, "That isn't going to be a problem, is it?"
"I mean a little, I don't know how I could give you hard proof, I mean, maybe the complex I live in has some cameras in the garage where I park, that should show you when I leave and get back every day," I offered with a shrug, not sure of what else I could do.
"That still leaves the entire day where you're unaccounted for." Joe pointed out.
"Look, if there was something I could do just to bury this whole issue, I could, but I didn't plan my routine around its ability to be confirmed by the police. I've got a life that I should be living and a dinner service I should be preparing for." I stressed with a frustrated sigh, "Now if we keep going in circles, I'm just going to claim the rest of my time and leave."
"Please stay, we'll do our own work in confirming your whereabouts, but we do have some other questions for you, if that's alright," Jenny jumped in once more, trying to mediate the situation.
After a second, I let out a sigh and gestured for Jenny to continue.
"Now we know about your history with Mr. Northwest, but what about your interactions with Mrs. Northwest. Samson suggested that the two of youhad spent some time alone together." Jenny asked pointedly.
"Yes, that was when I told Preston that I would release the dirt I had on him unless he gave me 15 million dollars or let me sleep with his wife," I answered plainly, though the reactions my admission garnered were anything but.
"Is breaking up marriages some kind of sick thrill for you?" Joe muttered with a disapproving, venomous glare.
"Not by itself, but certainly when someone decides to mess with my life," I replied with a small smile before glancing at Joe's wedding ring, "But don't worry, Officer Swanson, I know you're just doing your job."
"You son of a bitch!" Joe leaned forward in his wheelchair, looking like he was ready to leap across the table and strangle me, "You think this is funny?!"
"Enough! Joe out!" Jenny commanded her voice, bearing no room for argument.
Joe glared at me for a second longer before rolling away from the table and out the door, slamming it behind him.
"You shouldn't have antagonized him," Jenny muttered disapprovingly.
"He's the professional in the situation, I'm just some random guy," I countered without a hint of guilt in my voice, "Besides, there's very little I could do to change how he sees me, nor do I want to invest the time and effort it would take to do so."
Jenny sighed, "Fair enough, but back to the question. You blackmailed Northwest into sleeping with his wife."
"That's what I told him, in reality I didn't plan on sleeping with her." I clarified, "I just wanted her to see that her husband would rather pimp her out than give up fifteen million dollars. I then told her about my plan to expose Preston's dirty laundry and informed her that it would be best to get out before it was too late."
Jenny looked at me wearily, "You managed to convince her to leave Preston, her husband and father of their child, within hours of meeting her?"
"People aren't as complex as you would think, if you know what they desire and what they despise you can give them a glimpse of paradise, and who would be foolish enough to refuse such an offer?"