Chapter 2 - THE BROTHER’S BETRAYALThe rain outside had turned into a relentless, freezing deluge, hammering the metal roof of the Westbridge station as I walked out to my car to retrieve my federal field kit. When I returned, the atmosphere inside the lobby had completely fractured.
Arthur was standing by the glass doors, desperately trying to block my path. His designer jacket was damp, and his hands trembled as he jammed them deep into his pockets.
"Clara, stop this," Arthur hissed, his voice pitched high with hysteria. "You’re destroying our family over a misunderstanding. Brooke was defending herself!"
I stopped dead in my tracks, staring at the man who used to be my protector when we were kids. "Defending herself? With a baseball bat against a seventy-two-year-old woman with osteoporosis? Are you out of your mind, Arthur?"
"Mom has been slipping!" he shouted, his voice echoing off the concrete walls. Several desk officers turned away, pretending not to listen. "She forgets things, she flies into rages, she threatened Brooke’s unborn child!"
The world seemed to tilt on its axis. I stepped closer, my eyes narrowing into slits. "Unborn child? Brooke is pregnant?"
Arthur hesitated, a flicker of guilt crossing his face before he locked his jaw back into stubborn defiance. "Yes. And Mom came over tonight screaming that Brooke didn't deserve to be a mother. Things escalated. Brooke picked up the bat in self-defense. It was an accident!"
"An accident," I repeated, my voice dangerously soft. "And that's why you coached the police to arrest Mom? That's why you watched her get hauled away in handcuffs while your wife played the victim? How much did Landry promise you, Arthur? Or is this all to protect your name in the local country club?"
Before Arthur could stammer out a defense, the inner office door clicked open. Officer Miller—the rookie who had initially tried to claim there was no weapon—stepped out, holding a yellow evidence bag. Inside it was a scarred aluminum Louisville Slugger, wiped clean of prints except for a messy, panicked smudge near the grip.
"Captain," Miller called out, sweating profusely. "We found it. It was tossed behind the spare patrol cruisers in the back lot."
I looked from the bat to Arthur, then straight at Miller. "Logged with a timestamp?"
Miller froze, looking like a deer caught in high-beam headlights. "We... we were just logging it now."
"Too late," I said, pulling out my tactical dash-cam unit and setting it to record. "Chain of custody is broken. That bat has now been contaminated by officers attempting to hide evidence of a felony assault. Every single person who touched it without gloves is facing obstruction charges."
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"You can't do this to us!" Brooke shrieked, finally snapping as she stormed out of the holding area. Her mascara was smeared, revealing the cold, calculating fury underneath. "We own this town! Your little federal badge doesn't mean a damn thing here. Landry will protect us!"
I turned slowly to face my sister-in-law, a chilling calm washing over me. "Brooke, sweetie... you have no idea what kind of monster you just woke up."
