Page 104 of Rigid
“Uh huh.”
He sat down. “Explain what happened. Can you do that?”
“Can I tell you the truth?”
He nodded. “Please do.”
“A man was uhhm. He was beating on Eddie. And I uhhm. I shot him.”
“Who is Eddie?”
“My uhhm. She’s. She’s my boyfriend’s daughter.”
“Live in boyfriend?”
“Yes. And, my baby’s father.”
Taking notes as we spoke, he looked up. “A different child?”
“The one in my tummy.”
“You’re pregnant?”
“Uh huh.”
“By Eddie’s father?”
“Uh huh.”
“Continue.”
“That’s it. I shot him. Then, I called the police.”
“Where did you get the gun?”
I’d already considered that I would be asked the question, and considering what Smokey said about the gun not being able to be traced to him, I decided to tell another small lie.
“It was beside the man who attacked her. It must have been his.”
He nodded. “And you picked it up?”
“I did.”
“Did you command that he stop assaulting her?”
I shook my head. “He wasn’t assaulting her. He was beating her with his fists. And bashing her head on the concrete.”
“The report states that you commanded that he stop. Is that correct?”
“I did.”
“And, when he didn’t, you feared for your life, your unborn baby’s life, and the life of your step-daughter? Correct?”
I liked him already. “Yes, Sir.”
He looked at his notes, and then some printed reports. “At what point did he brandish the knife?”
“Knife?”
