Chapter Seven

Trinity

After the hearing yesterday, we decided to invite Benji over for dinner. He couldn’t make it due to a prior commitment and a meeting with another client, so we rescheduled for tonight. We invited everyone involved in this mess over for dinner, hoping that Benji would have more information by then.

It was mid-afternoon and the kids had just woken up from their nap. Stephen was bringing the twins downstairs while I was feeding Jay. Stephen glanced at the clock.

“Babe, it’s three o’clock,” Stephen said. “We should head to the store after you finish feeding him so we can get everything for dinner.”

“Sure thing, babe,” I replied. “We should be done in about ten minutes. He’s just finished eating, so I want to burp him and change his diaper before we go.”

“Alright, love,” Stephen said. “You do that and get the shopping list. I’ll get these two little peas into the car and give them some water and biscuits.”

“Just the milk arrowroot, please, baby,” I said. “Otherwise, little miss will be bouncing off the walls all night.”

“We can’t have that, can we?” Stephen winked at me.

I quickly took care of Jay and headed downstairs. Stephen had the car packed and the twins ready to go. He took Jay from me and strapped him in the middle seat between the twins while I got in the passenger seat.

“Okay, Livy and Nate, you look after Jay for Daddy and Mommy, okay?” Stephen said.

“Yes, Daddy, I got my brother,” Nathaniel said.

“Yes, Daddy,” Olivia echoed.

I turned around and saw the twins each holding one of Jay’s hands. I smiled at my kids and husband, placing my hand on his thigh and stroking it lightly as we headed off to the store.

“You nervous about tonight, babe?” I asked.

“More curious, momma,” Stephen replied. “I’m interested to see what they think they have to escalate the charges to murder and proceed this time.”

“Do you remember a few weeks ago, babe, before we went to Barcelona, when you asked me if I would consider moving?” I asked.

“Of course, babe,” Stephen said. “I didn’t mean we had to. I was just thinking about what would be best for you and the kids.”

“I understand, baby,” I said. “And I’ve been giving it some thou—”

“Hold that thought, babe,” Stephen interrupted.

“What’s wrong, baby?” I asked.

“We’re being pulled over by a squad car,” Stephen said.

I turned to look and sure enough, there was a cop car with two officers in it, their lights flashing, signaling us to pull over.

“Baby, don’t say anything, okay?” Stephen said. “Let me handle it. I just want you to focus on our kids and call Benji right now.”

I quickly pulled out my phone and dialed Benji. As I did, I noticed Stephen turn on the recording on the in-car dash cam.

“Babe, I’m worried,” I said. “Why would they be pulling us over now? Who are they?”

“I know, baby,” Stephen said. “But try not to stress. It could be nothing. Let’s just do as they say and—”

“Hold on, babe,” I interrupted as my phone connected. “Benji, it’s Trinity. Can you call me back as soon as possible, please?”

Stephen had now pulled over and we were waiting for the police to approach our car when my phone rang.

“Benji, hey, thanks for calling back,” I said.

“What’s up? You sound stressed,” Benji said.

“The police have pulled us over,” I said.

“Why? Where? What for?” Benji asked.

“We don’t know yet,” I said. “We’re waiting for them to approach the car now. Stephen has the dash cam recording.”

Before I could finish my sentence, there was a loud crash that made Livy and Nate scream in fright.

“What’s going on there, Trinity?” Benji asked.

“Babe, put it on speaker now,” Stephen said.

“Mate, what’s going on?” Benji asked.

I was trying to comfort my kids as Stephen took the phone from me.

“Benj, they just smashed one of my lights. That’s what the bang was,” Stephen said. “It’s okay, I have the cameras recording and I’ll keep you on the phone as a witness.”

“I’ll talk to them if need be,” Benji said.

The officers approached the car and knocked on the window with their batons. Stephen and I both rolled down our windows.

“Officer, how can I help you?” Stephen asked.

“Did you know your back tail light is out, sir? That’s a vehicle violation,” the first officer said.

“I can assure you it wasn’t out until you hit it just now, officer,” Stephen said.

“And what are you accusing me of?” the first officer asked.

“No accusation, officer,” Stephen said. “We saw you do it. Plus, my attorney is on the phone and he heard it too. I also have my dash cam recording, which is linked to my home security system. It’ll show that your baton caused the breakage.”

“So you want to be smart today,” the second officer said. “I could take you in right now, Mr. Gotti.”

“Benji Ramirez, officer,” Benji said over the phone. “Mr. and Mrs. Gotti’s attorney. First of all, it’s interesting that you knew my client’s name before asking for his license and registration. Duly noted.”

“Secondly,” Benji continued, “I can assure you that if you did arrest my client, I would have the dash cam footage and this voice recording on the evening news faster than you can blink. I would also be screaming bloody murder to any jurisdiction that would listen, highlighting this police harassment and intentional damage. So, I’ll ask you once: why exactly did you pull my clients over? Other than to scare and intimidate them and their young children?”

Neither of them spoke, but I saw them motioning to each other outside the car.

“You’re free to go, Mr. and Mrs. Gotti,” the first officer said. “Be sure to get that light fixed. We’ll let you go with a warning this time.”

“For the record,” Benji said, “you can expect a bill for the damage you caused. Which precinct should I send it to?”

“Precinct 7, Mr. Ramirez,” the second officer said.

“Very good,” Benji said. “You can leave now, officers.”

I watched as they walked back to their car and drove off.

“All clear, Benj. They’ve gone,” Stephen said.

“Okay,” Benji said. “You guys get home. Dinner’s on me tonight. We can order in. There are some things we need to discuss about the case.”

“Okay, mate. Everything good?” Stephen asked.

“Not great, mate, I won’t lie to you,” Benji said. “They have a smoking gun.”

Stephen’s voice came through the phone, sounding confused. “Really? What’s that?”

Benji’s voice was calm and matter-of-fact as he explained. “Decay. It’s a DNA fragment from a dead person. They found it in a utility truck that was seen on your property. They got it from the surveillance footage.”

Stephen’s voice was filled with disbelief. “What??”

Trinity couldn’t help but gasp. “Oh my God!” she exclaimed.