Nussbaum flips to the front page of the Case Report.
“You’re Boyle? The OIC? Officer in Charge?”
“If I need to leave the room because of any conflict of interest …”
Nussbaum holds up his hand. “Not yet. We’re gonna be subpoenaing you … for the hearing …”
“Yes, sir.”
“Of course, I have to wonder why you didn’t arrest Mrs. Oppenheimer for assault and battery when you saw those ligature marks on Ms. Lemonopolous’s neck. Why you checked ‘Review Only’ down here instead of ‘Arrest Warrant.’”
“She claimed self-defense,” says Ceepak, jumping to my defense.
“Come on, boys, don’t piss on my boot and tell me it’s raining. You two have been around the block. You both know your Forensics one-oh-one. So, Officer In Charge Boyle, since when are strangulation marks a sign of self-defense?”
I clear my throat. Nervously. “Mrs. Oppenheimer claimed that she had to hold Christine by the neck to stave off her kicks and punches.”
“What? She couldn’t do what most people do when someone’s whaling on them?” The lawyer holds up both his arms to block his face and body. “How come she didn’t pull a rope-a-dope like Muhammad Ali against George Foreman? Nineteen-seventy-four. The Rumble In The Jungle?”
Okay. I’m feeling pretty dumb. Like maybe I should’ve slapped the cuffs on Mrs. Oppenheimer and dragged her off to jail when we caught that 911 call.
“Is any of this relevant at this juncture?” asks Ceepak.
“Officer Boyle’s incredible SNAFU on the night of the inciting incident?” Nussbaum shrugs. “Nah. You were in a she said/she said situation. The only independent witness was a scared kid, the son of the Sea Haven Strangler. I probably would’ve done the same thing. Break ’em up, send them to separate corners, call it a night. But now that Oppenheimer is coming after Ms. Lemonopolous with the full fury of the law instead of her two fists, now we fight back.”
I nod. “Yes, sir.”
“Okay, Christine. Why’d Mrs. Oppenheimer want to wring your neck?”
Christine takes a moment. Smooths out her pants legs. “We had a disagreement.”
“Yeah, yeah. And you tried to ‘defuse the situation by walking out of the room.’ I read your statement. Nice. Very sweet.”
He makes a “gimme, gimme” gesture with one hand.
“I need more.”
“Well,” says Christine, “I don’t want to cause Shona any trouble …”
“What?” Nussbaum is livid. “This Oppenheimer woman and her high-priced attorney are trying to screw you for life and you don’t want to cause her ‘any trouble’? They got a judge to issue this exparte order, meaning the restraining order is already in effect, because you were going to cause ‘irreparable injury, loss, or damage’ between the time the thing was filed and a hearing. They’re saying just seeing this sheet of paper would make you attack her again.”
“Still …”