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“Excuse me, are you Hunter Perrin?”
Hunter turned to the officer asking him the question and nodded.
“We need to speak with you. We need to take a statement, and we may have a few questions.”
“Where’s Opal?” Hunter asked.
“She’s with another paramedic, being treated.”
The officer pointed and once Hunter saw her, he gave his attention the man in uniform.
“Can you tell me exactly what happened in there?”
The cop wrote as Hunter spoke. He started at the beginning, explaining how Jeremy had hired him, how he’d discovered the truth, but then CPS had come. He told them about the set up and how things had started to go wrong. Then he gave them as many details as possible about the day. Finding Mari’s parents and the Kevlar vest, killing the thugs there, who had pulled guns on him and tried to kill him—even if that part was a slight exaggeration since he’d fired first.
He described in the most detail the scene that had taken place upstairs in the hotel, since it was the freshest in his mind. He didn’t leave out killing Jeremy, how he’d tried to kill him and Vanessa and had hired people to come after them. He had to make it clear that this was all self-defense.
“And the best part is,” Hunter said. “There are hidden cameras all over that captured most of this.”
“You set up cameras?”
“Nicholas, the man from CPS, and I set them up in the hotel room where I was staying, where Jeremy confessed to hiring me; where I shot him. Though he was wearing the vest and didn’t die.”
The officer reviewed his notes. “Looks like that matches up with what Nicholas Johnson said in his statement.”
“Yeah, it matches because that’s the truth.” Hunter had to remind himself to be polite, that he was on the same side as the cops right now. He was a good citizen, doing his duty, and acting as protector. At least, he needed it to come across that way. He couldn’t afford to get rude or lose his temper.
The officer gave him a look that warned he might be pushing it. Hunter changed his tone.
“I want you to have the complete truth so that you can let justice prevail. A very bad man was taken down today, along with many of his hired guns. There may be more out there, though. I don’t know for sure, but I’d guess.”
“If only you’d left one alive to talk to us.”
Hunter thought he was being sarcastic, but it wasn’t too obvious. “Well, I couldn’t take the chance that one would be alive to kill us. And the video should help.”
“Those and the video from the hotel here should give us a clear picture.”
So there was surveillance in this hotel, too. Hunter nodded. “Good.” But it was anything but good. It would show him killing the thugs, sure. At least then, they had pulled their guns first. That was self-defense, easy. But when it came to Jeremy, it was less obvious. Time to make a calculated move. “I’ll tell you right now that I might have taken things further than I needed to with Jeremy. It was certainly self-defense when I killed him, but I drew it out longer than I needed to. I’ll admit it. I just want you to know that upfront, before you even review the footage.”
The officer inspected him for a moment. Hunter tried to look innocent, whatever that looked like. He hoped this was the right move. They’d see on the video what he’d done. There was no talking his way out of it. He’d shot Jeremy many times in places that wouldn’t kill him, then slashed him up and beat him. It might be harder to prove self-defense. But admitting to it should make him seem more trustworthy and honorable. He hoped.
“You’re free to go,” the officer said. “We’ll ask you to stay in the area the next few days. There’ll be a massive investigation, and we may need to get more details from you.”
Hunter nodded. He wasn’t about to leave with Vanessa in the hospital. He needed to take care of Opal now. He would step up and do whatever he had to.
“I won’t be going anywhere. I’m going to make sure Opal is okay and take her to see her mother before we get home and try to get some rest.”
“Umm, hang on a minute, there.” The officer flipped through some papers. “You’re not the parent or guardian of Opal. I can’t let you take her off the property.”
“What do you mean? I’m her mother’s boyfriend. I’ve been staying with them for days. I’m going to take her to her mother.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t allow that to happen.”
“Her father is dead and her mother is in the hospital. I’m the closest thing she has to a guardian or parent right now.”
“I’m sorry. I know it’s difficult, but especially with an ongoing CPS investigation, I can’t let her go with someone who has no legal right. She’ll have to spend the night in CPS custody.”
“No, no, she’s been through too much for that to happen. Hang on.” Hunter pulled out his phone. There was one person he could think of that might be able to help him.
