“The games end right fucking now, Mr. Hazard. Do you hear me? Right fucking now. I understand you have some kind of history with this force, so I’m going to put all my cards on the table: we’ve got your boyfriend with possession and intent to distribute. Cocaine and heroin. Those are felony charges, all right? Whatever else happens, he’s going down for those two. We’ve got everything we need. That’s what you’ve got to understand right now; there’s nothing you can do about it. What you can do, though, is save yourself. You want to raise that little girl? This is your chance to get your ass on the right side of the line. You help yourself, right now, and you’ve still got a shot at that.”

“Not boyfriend,” Hazard said.

“My client has no knowledge of any criminal activity on Mr. Somerset’s part,” Thompson said. “There’s nothing he can do to help with your investigation.”

“No knowledge?” Riggle waved a hand in disgust. “Wahredua’s best fucking detective, and he has no knowledge that his boyfriend is sneaking around, doing coke and blow, selling it to hookers and dumbass college kids and whoever else he can get to buy it? Give me a fucking break.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Hazard said, gripping the edge of the table so hard that his knuckles turned white. “He’s my fiancé.”

“Big fucking difference,” Riggle said. “If you think you can sit here and blow smoke up my ass, you’re in for a surprise. You think I haven’t heard the rumors about you? You think I didn’t hear all the stories when I took this job? The brilliant fucking detective who scored drugs while he was on the force, had his fucking orgies right here in the station while he was on the force. Everybody knows the stories. Cravens might have been a dirty little cunt willing to make a deal, but not me. You fight me on this, you do anything less than say yes fucking sir right now, and I will tear your life apart. You think I can’t go back and find what I need? You think I can’t dig up dirt from when you were a cop, an embarrassment to this fucking force, and bury you with it? If that’s what you think, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“This conversation is over,” Thompson said, touching Hazard’s arm as she stood. “My client is cooperating fully with this investigation, but he has no knowledge about any alleged criminal activity by Mr. Somerset and he has no knowledge of Mr. Somerset’s whereabouts.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Riggle roared, shooting out of his seat. “Sit your nigger ass down before I slap you back into that seat. This faggot isn’t going anywhere until I say so.”

Thompson’s braids clicked as she swiveled toward Park. “Special Agent Park, as a federal law enforcement officer, you are now a witness to Chief Riggle’s hate speech. You’re also witness to his attempts to unlawfully imprison me and Mr. Hazard in this interview room. We will be filing an official complaint with the mayor, the civilian review board, the state attorney general’s office, and federal law—”