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Delgado gave me the side eyes. "Have you been drinking, Sir?"
I shook my head but of course, I had two beers at Dana's. "I had two beers with my supper, but I'm not intoxicated, if that's what you mean."
The other police officer asked Eric if he had anything to drink that night. He admitted to drinking a glass or two of wine.
Another patrol car pulled up, its lights flashing, and I shook my head, disgusted that it had come to this.
"We're taking you both in," Delgado said. "It appears that you were both equal combatants, and so you'll both likely be charged but we'll leave that up to the prosecutors. Either way, you'll both be spending the night in jail until your arraignment."
"I shouldn't be charged," Eric called out. "He had his hand on my vehicle's door, preventing me from getting inside."
"Is that true?" Delgado asked, writing notes in his little police notebook.
I nodded. "I just wanted to talk."
"You were preventing him from leaving the scene?"
"I never touched him," I said and shrugged. "He threw the first punch."
"And instead of leaving at that point, you reciprocated. You punched your brother-in-law."
"I did," I said. "It was stupid of me. I was angry when I saw him leaving with the woman. My sister just had a baby and was home alone, thinking her husband was in Chicago on a business trip."
Delgado pursed his lips but didn't otherwise comment. He helped me up and led me to the other patrol car, opening the door and helping me inside.
I exhaled, angry with myself that I didn't just let Eric leave. I shouldn't have put my hand on his window. I should have stood off to the side and told him I was going to tell Dana if he didn't.
Still, he did attack me first, and I was only defending myself.
I knew enough about the law to know it didn't matter, if the police and prosecutors determined that I was, as Delgado said, an equal combatant. We could both end up being charged.
Stupid.
Chapter Seventeen
Alexa
I barely slept that night.
I woke up at three in the morning and my mind went immediately to Luke in a cell at the courthouse, awaiting his hearing and what he must be feeling. He would be so angry with himself for getting into a fight with Eric. He'd be so mad at Eric for cheating on Dana once again.
Luke was the least violent and aggressive person I knew so if it came to blows, it had to be Eric who threw the first punch.
I wasn't mad with him — he'd done everything possible to avoid a family feud, but it had backfired on him. His intentions were noble, but the results were still bad. I hoped and prayed that he didn't get charged with anything.
The last thing he needed was a police record for assault…
I sat up in bed and pulled my laptop onto my lap, searching for information on what happened when two people got into a fight so I had an idea of what he could be charged with. According to a legal advisor page, if both men were equal combatants, they could both be charged with disorderly conduct and or disturbing the peace. Depending on the severity of the fight and the injuries, they could be fined and put in jail for up to fifteen days, but that was unlikely.
Given the circumstances, I hoped the judge would give them both a reprimand and agree to drop the charges. They were brothers-in-law, even if there would soon be a divorce to end the relationship.
I
laid back down in bed, my eyes open wide in the darkness, and tried to fall asleep but sleep was a long time in coming.
The next morning, I received a call from Luke's attorney, Peter Moran.
"I've spoken with the prosecutor and he's going to recommend that charges are dropped against both men, considering that neither has a criminal record," he said matter-of-fact. "So, what will likely happen is that after their court appearance, they will both be released. The arraignment will be at four-thirty this afternoon, so if you want to come to court and watch proceedings, that's the time."
