They head downstairs in silence. Crossing the parking lot to the truck, Steve notices the men are no longer hanging out near the doorway, but he feels like they're being watched.
Once they're all settled in the truck, Steve backs out. He drives to the end of the lot, making a left U-turn to drive back toward the street.
"You'll drive down to 4th Avenue and make another right," Aurie instructs him when he turns right onto Old Benson Hwy.
Sitting in the backseat, Chuy leans forward.
"Aurie, I forgot to tell you, but I stopped by to also tell you I heard one of the agencies is gonna try arresting the dealers."
"Who? The South Tucson police?" Aurie asks, twisting in her seat to look at him.
"I think the sheriffs. Been seeing a lot of their cruisers buzzing around."
"Why would seeing cruisers mean there's going to be a drug raid?" Steve asks in confusion.
"Because the Pima County sheriffs don't usually work within city limits," Aurie explains. "But they've been trying to up their drug arrests lately. They're the ones who got in the shootout with one of those pushers I was telling you about. We kept seeing a lot of sheriff's units rolling around right before that happened."
"I've heard the South Tucson PD are really annoyed with them about that," Chuy chimes in.
"Well, one of them is pulling me over," Steve sighs in exasperation.
As he pulls into a convenience store parking lot, Aurie and Chuy look out the back window and see the sheriff's cruiser right behind them. After putting the truck in park, Steve lowers his window and then cuts the engine.
"Oh great, it's God's curse to law enforcement," Chuy declares.
Twisting around to look, Aurie groans.
"This guy is such a pain in the ass."
Before Steve can ask, the deputy is at the window. He looks more like a typical military recruit with his square jaw and a buzz cut.
"Good morning."
"Good morning, officer," Steve replies. "How can I help you, Deputy, uh," he pauses to look at the name badge. "Borden."
"I noticed you pulled out of the Coronado Trails," Borden replies. "There's been a lot of trouble with drugs in that location. I don't recognize your vehicle as ever having been there before."
"Doesn't sound like much of an issue since it's my first time visiting with my daughter," Steve explains, matching the false friendliness of Deputy Borden's. "She needed to retrieve something from her apartment."
"What caught my eye is your plates are from out of state."
"Yes, I know. I'm from California," Steve smiles insincerely.
Deputy Borden looks past him to Aurie before looking at Steve again.
"You're saying Orayah Aseeveedees is your daughter?"
"Yes," Steve nods. "And her name is Auralia Acevedes," he corrects, even more annoyed at how he's butchering Aurie's name.
"I understood she had no parents," Borden comments, ignoring the correction.
"She does now. We got it confirmed earlier this week by a paternity test and I've been granted legal custody of her, which has been acknowledged by the state of Arizona," Steve explains with stiff politeness, getting increasingly annoyed by Borden's antics.
"That's interesting," Borden replies in a flat tone. "Orayah, step out of the truck for a minute.
"Why?" Aurie arches a brow.
"I want to talk to you."
"About what?" Chuy asks from the backseat.
"Step out of the truck and join me by my cruiser," Borden repeats to Aurie.
"Like Chuy said, about what?" Aurie challenges. "And why can't we talk here?"
"Because you don't want to get arrested for failure to comply, which is a misdemeanor," Borden answers with false cheer.
"She's not resisting your orders," Steve interjects. "If all you want to do is talk, she just wants to know why not here where she's more comfortable?"
"And why are you threatening to arrest her over nothing instead of doing your job right?" Chuy asks.
"It's regarding official business that's only related to her," Borden tersely informs Steve. Looking in through the now open back window at Chuy, he snaps, "And you should know better and keep your mouth shut you little retard."
"I'm not retarded, but you act more retarded than I ever could and that's saying a lot," Chuy grins.
"Chuy, don't," Aurie warns when they see Borden taking a deep breath and looking like he's going to explode. Looking at the deputy, she growls, "Fine. Let's talk."
Opening the door, she gets out and walks back to the cruiser to meet with Deputy Borden.
"What a jerk," Chuy mutters in annoyance.
"Chuy, do you know why he wants to talk to Aurie alone?" Steve asks, watching Deputy Borden talk to Aurie through the reflection of his mirrors.
Chuy thinks about it before answering.
"I heard Borden's in trouble for different things. He's being investigated and a lot of people are being talked to about him."
"What does that have to do with Aurie?"
"I remember Aurie had a friend named Laura she came to Arizona with. I think she had run away from home and met Aurie. Laura decided to come home and Aurie came with her. Laura's dad was also a sheriff's deputy, but he was real mean and hit her and her mom a lot. I think Aurie saw some of that. Deputy Borden was a good friend of Laura's dad and Aurie said he covered for Laura's dad so he wouldn't get into trouble."
"Thanks, Chuy, that explains a lot."
"You're welcome," Chuy replies. He falls silent, watching Steve pull out his cell phone and dialing.
Aurie grudgingly walks back toward Deputy Borden's cruiser.
"So how've you been?" Borden asks conversationally.
"What the fuck do you want?"
"You don't have to be rude. I haven't seen you around in a while."
"I can if I don't like you. Get on with it so you can go away."
Deputy Borden's expression becomes steely as he tries staring down Aurie.
"I've always been nothing but nice to you, so I'm wondering why you lied to kick off a misconduct investigation on me."
Aurie blinks in surprise before arching a brow.
"You've never been nice to me and I wouldn't have to lie. If you're getting investigated, it's 'cause you deserve it. But it wasn't me."
"So you're saying you haven't filed any complaints against me?"
"Duh," she glares at him. "You're delusional to think I'm the only one with a damn good reason to complain on your ass. I bet there are enough people you've screwed over to fill Wildcat Stadium."
"Now you know I'm not a bad person," Borden casually counters. "Don't jump on the bandwagon. It's not fair my career could be ruined by lies."
"You're scared if I do," she sneers at him in dawning realization. "You're nothing but a worthless pile of shit who ruined your own career thanks to your antics, especially with Deputy Novak. He's never going to pay for his sins, but you deserve what's happening and to rot in jail for yours." Taking a deep breath, she adds, "Fuck off."
Turning away, Aurie takes a step when Deputy Borden grabs her left wrist near her injury, causing her to wince.
"I didn't say we were done," he tersely states.
"Let go," Aurie bites out, trying to tug her arm free.
"Not until you tell me if you're planning to lie about me like the others."
"You're the expert at lying. Let go."
When she tries yanking her arm free, Borden painfully tightens his grip causing her to wince again.
"What you're doing falls under unlawful restraint, harassment, and intimidation," Steve casually comments while slowly sauntering over to stand next to Aurie. "And in California, if you bruise her by holding her like that it can be considered assault. So let her go before I make you."
Borden releases Aurie to straighten up and look Steve square in the eye.
"I could arrest you for threatening a law enforcement official and obstruction."
"You could," Steve concedes with a shrug. "But then you'd be digging a chasm instead of the hole you're currently in."
"Are you a hotshot lawyer who thinks he knows Arizona law because he comes from California?"
"Nope. I'm not a lawyer," Steve smiles. "I studied to become one, but it didn't work out. And I don't know Arizona law as well as California, but there's usually a lot of consistency between states. Makes me confident enough to know you're abusing your authority."
They're distracted by a cruiser from the South Tucson Police Department pulling into the parking lot. An officer emerges and walks over to them. He looks to Steve like he may be Hispanic, but when he's close enough he figures the man is more likely Native American.
"Why are you here, Dosela?" Borden demands of the newcomer. "I didn't call in for backup and don't need any help."
"Well, howdy to you too, Izzy," Dosela greets Borden. Steve struggles not to smile at hearing Borden's first name as Dosela speaks again. "A call came into 911 about a possible unlawful traffic stop and possible police harassment claim. The priority increased when dispatch checked and you never called in a traffic stop. Just that you were momentarily out of service at this convenience store."
"That explains why you never asked for my license, registration, and insurance, Deputy Borden," Steve casually states while Borden glares at him.
"Dispatch said the driver being stopped called in, was that you?" Dosela asks Steve.
"Yes," Steve nods.
"May I see your ID?"
"I'm going to reach into my back pocket for it," Steve states.
At Dosela's nod, he pulls it out. Before he hands it over, he flips it open and shows Deputy Borden his badge, enjoying seeing the color drain from his face then hands it over to Dosela.
"You two wait over by the truck while I speak to Deputy Borden," Dosela instructs Steve and Aurie.
Steve nods and places a hand on her shoulder to gently guide her over to the truck.
"Aurie! You didn't tell me your dad is a cop!" Chuy sticks his head out the window to scold her.
"Didn't know I had to," Aurie looks at him in bewilderment.
"It's too cool not to know," Chuy irritably huffs.
Sighing in resignation, Aurie turns to Steve.
"What made you think to call 911?"
"Besides you two being right about him being a jerk, his procedure for a traffic stop was wrong and he's not an investigator," Steve explains with a nod at Dosela listening to Borden. "If he were, he'd handle speaking to anyone in an official capacity differently. That's not done during a traffic stop. You can get brought in officially for questioning from a traffic stop, but depending on the case an investigator is going to want to get a good recording of the interviews they conduct. It helps with building a solid case."
"Glad you called. And perfect timing coming over when you did," Aurie comments, looking over at Borden appearing to argue with Dosela.
"Reminded me of when you had trouble with the Camero driver," Steve observes with a hint of flippancy. "This seems to be a recurring theme for you."
"I'm working on breaking that habit," she smirks back at him.
Their attention is drawn back to Dosela firmly speaking to Borden.
"Your field supervisor is on the way, Borden. You will remain by your squad until they arrive while I interview these people. If you continue being a pain in the ass, I will detain you with handcuffs. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes," Borden growls.
Turning from Borden, Dosela walks over to the truck as another South Tucson officer rolls up. A female officer steps out and walks over to Dosela. After he briefs her on what's going on so far, they approach Steve, Aurie, and Chuy.
"Good morning everyone," he greets them. "I'm Officer Sahale Dosela and this is Officer Claudia Reyes and we're both with the South Tucson Police Department."
"Aurie and I know who you two are," Chuy irritably points out, causing both officers to laugh.
"Yes, Chuy, but Lt. Sloan doesn't know us," Dosela points out while handing Steve back his badge. "Thank you for presenting that, lieutenant."
"It was worth it to see the look on Deputy Borden's face," Steve replies, slipping his badge back into his pocket. "He didn't think I knew what I was talking about when I questioned his procedure and assumed I was a lawyer."
"I wish I had rolled up sooner to see that," Dosela grins, before becoming serious. "So what's going on?"
Knowing Officer Dosela would likely ask, Steve first briefly explains his relationship to Aurie, making sure to point out that Arizona does recognize his custodial rights. Then he explains what happened when Borden pulled him over with input from Chuy and emphasizes the blatant lack of procedure, answering Dosela's clarifying questions as they come up.
While they speak, one more Pima County Sheriff's SUV arrives along with another South Tucson Police cruiser and an Arizona State Trooper SUV.
"It's like a cop fiesta," Chuy comments.
"It's not a fun party for Borden," Dosela grins at Chuy before turning to Officer Reyes. "Go get them up to speed."
She nods and walks over to the newcomers.
"The deputy who just arrived is one of Deputy Borden's supervisors," Dosela explains. "The officer from my department is my supervisor. Deputy Borden pulled you over within our jurisdiction. The Sheriff's Department can conduct official business within South Tucson and the greater Tucson area, but they usually focus on everything outside of city limits, especially in rural areas. If there happens to be any jurisdictional nitpicking, my supervisor will deal with that."
"And the state trooper?" Steve asks.
"I'm not sure about that. He might've just been passing through and is being nosy," Dosela shrugs.
"Jurisdictional battles are never fun," Steve comments with a sigh.
"No they're not and thankfully my boss can do the battling today if need be," Dosela grins.
"Hey, Officer Dosela," Chuy calls out to him while slipping out of the truck. "I'm supposed to meet up with my new boss Mrs. Martinez so we can go back to her ranch in Sonoita. She's waiting for me up the street at the market. I don't want her waiting all day. Can I go?"
"I don't see why not. I've got your info if we have any more questions for you."
"Can I borrow a phone to call her to pick me up?"
"There's a lot of squad cars here, Chuy. It'll be hard for her to get in here."
"I'll start walking then," Chuy states as Reyes steps over to them.
"I can drop him off," she offers. "They're up to speed and are talking to Borden right now. I should be back in fifteen minutes."
Dosela considers it before nodding.
"If you don't mind, do that."
"Yay!" Chuy cheers to the other's amusement. "Can I run the siren?" he asks, climbing out of the truck.
Officer Reyes laughs but shakes her head.
"No, Chuy, not today," she informs the disappointed young man.
"That sucks," Chuy grouses before turning to Aurie. "I'm going to call and write you. So you better do the same."
"I will," Aurie smiles while embracing him. "You better take care of yourself."
"You too," Chuy agrees as he pulls back to look at Steve. Without warning, he embraces Steve. "It was nice meeting you!"
"It's nice meeting you too, Chuy," Steve chuckles, hugging him back.
Releasing Steve, Chuy waves at them while walking with Officer Reyes over to her squad car.
"See you guys later," he calls out before Reyes seats him inside.
The South Tucson supervisor and the state trooper join them as she gives Chuy a ride up the street. They introduce themselves as Sergeant Ben Thompson and Trooper Leonard Black. Once introductions are made, Dosela continues.
"And why did you decide to call 911?"
"I didn't want to risk escalating the situation," Steve replies. "Deputy Borden clearly wasn't following procedure and I didn't believe he would call for a supervisor if asked. I requested your agency specifically to objectively check his behavior."
"Did Deputy Borden ever state the reason for pulling you over?" Sgt. Thompson asks.
"No," Steve replies with a shake of his head. "He never stated it was a detention and for what reason. And his insistence on speaking with Aurie separately was unusual, especially when he threatened to arrest her for failure to comply. She wasn't resisting. She clearly expressed discomfort and preferred if she remained in the truck while he spoke to her."
"And did he state why he needed to speak with her?" Sgt. Thompson prods.
"No. He said it was related to official business only related to her and didn't elaborate further," Steve states as the supervisor from the Sheriff's department joins them.
"What did you talk about?" he demands of Aurie while stepping closer to her, causing Steve to tense.
"South Tucson PD is in charge of the investigation, Sergeant Lewis. This is an interview, not an interrogation," Sgt Thompson firmly points out.
"It's an appropriate question," Sgt Lewis angrily counters.
"Asked in an intimidating manner," Sgt Thompson fires back. "Your man has already been interviewed. Stop interfering with us interviewing Lt. Sloan and his daughter or I'm slapping cuffs on you and slamming you in the back of a squad until you calm the hell down and keep your mouth shut. Is that understood?"
"I'm just trying to keep things fair for a good officer," Sgt. Lewis snaps back.
"Bullshit he's a good officer," Aurie snaps, surprising everyone except Steve who sighs in resignation, but also understands where she's coming from. "He's a shitty excuse for a human being and officer and a complete asshole."
"Watch your mouth or you'll end up in cuffs, little girl," Sgt. Lewis growls, stepping closer.
The other officers present, including Steve tense up and are about to intervene when Aurie immediately meets his challenge.
"For what?" she scoffs. "Stating my opinion?" When he opens his mouth, she cuts across him with a growl. "Cállate tu boca. No one said I'm detained or arrested so I don't have to say jack shit. Not to you or Lizzy's bastard hellspawn over there with an axe to grind."
She gestures at Deputy Borden. Sgt. Lewis only grits his teeth, feeling the eyes of everyone on him as she continues.
"But I'll tell you. That cabron thought I filed a complaint on his ass, claiming I lied. I honestly told him I didn't file one. Then he said I should make sure I don't. That it's not fair his career gets ruined by lies."
"And it shouldn't," Sgt. Lewis interrupts. "Doesn't sound like he was threatening you, which wouldn't warrant a complaint."
"Interesting you'd say that when no one has said anything about Deputy Borden making threats," Steve points out.
"It certainly is," Sgt. Thompson nods.
"And my complaint would've been about something else, pendejo," Aurie snaps at Sgt. Lewis before he can respond. "And you're the ones lying. This is exactly why I didn't file one before. It would've been ignored. Just like the shit Deputy Novak used to pull. Remember him?"
Her challenge brings Sgt. Lewis up short and piques the interest of the other officers present.
"His daughter Laura was a friend of mine. Sometimes she asked me to stay over, but a couple of times Deputy Novak lost his shit and would beat the hell out of whoever was unlucky to be in his reach. That even included me."
Her voice is shaking with emotion and she pauses to take a deep, calming breath.
"I called 911 a couple of times because Novak was so bad I thought he was going to really hurt or kill one of us and Laura and her mom were too scared to do it. Since they lived in Tucson city limits, Tucson cops would be sent over. But then," she points accusingly at Deputy Borden. "That worthless piece of shit conveniently happened to be passing by. He'd talk to the officers, saying it was nothing and he'd calm things down."
"Were you standing close enough to hear when Deputy Borden supposedly spoke with the TPD officers?" Sgt. Lewis challenges.
"Nope," she shakes her head. "Afterwards, he laughed about it with Novak as they parked their asses on the sofa and had a few beers." She nods at Sgt. Lewis' shocked expression. "Oh yeah. While on duty. In full uniform too. Your golden boy and Novak would go through about six or more beers each for a good hour or so. Novak bitched about his family and Borden joked he's glad he's single because having a wife and kids is such a pain in the ass."
Aurie pauses to take another deep breath before continuing.
"Then he'd take off. Never bothered checking if Mrs. Novak, Laura or I were okay. And it wasn't okay afterward. Novak took his anger and embarrassment out on us. That was until he finally murdered Mrs. Novak and Laura before being a coward and offing himself."
Looking over at a silent Borden, Aurie narrows her eyes at him.
"You're delusional to think the poor soul is being persecuted." Looking back at Sgt. Lewis, she sneers, "Why would anyone complain about such a nice, good cop?"
Unable to hold her gaze, Sgt. Lewis' eyes briefly drop to the ground. Aurie rolls her eyes at him.
"So if I had filed a complaint, it would've been on that. And like I told Borden, his ass deserves to be in jail because he's no better than his best buddy Novak. Then I told him to fuck off and tried going back to the truck. He grabbed my arm and wouldn't let go until Steve came over." She shows them the finger pattern now clearly visible on her left wrist near the wrapped wound. "And now I've got another reason to complain about Borden."
"And if she doesn't," Trooper Black interjects for the first time, looking specifically at Sgt. Lewis. "I will initiate an investigation on our end."
"Why are you getting involved?" Sgt. Lewis objects. "We're already investigating Deputy Borden."
"Then you should've had him on desk duty and not on the streets pulling this shit," Trooper Black sternly points out. "I'm letting South Tucson PD handle this, but if I don't see a proper investigation being done on this young lady's claim, I will make sure to contact the Department of Justice and the FBI. These two," he gestures at Steve and Aurie. "Are on a very high, gilded pedestal with our department. In case you've been hiding under a rock and haven't watched the news, yesterday Lt. Sloan saved one of ours from being shot during a pursuit gone bad and Miss Acevedes saved a baby from the burning wreckage."
"I thought their names sounded familiar," Sgt. Thompson comments.
"That's why I'm here," Trooper Black smirks. "I heard the call on the radio. I wasn't sure from the limited information, but I'm glad I followed up on my suspicions." He glares at Sgt. Lewis. "I wanted to make sure they weren't subjected to PCSO's political bullshit."
"You said you were abused by Novak too," Officer Dosela looks at Aurie. "Did you go to the ER? Are there any medical records?"
"No," Aurie shakes her head. "The first time he beat me, he wouldn't let me leave. Not that I could move much for a couple of days. It was pretty bad. But when I got back to school, the nurse saw me and dragged me into her office. Had me tell her what happened. She took pictures of my fading bruises and said she was going to file a complaint for me, but nothing ever happened. Happened a couple more times, but not as bad because he focused more on Laura and her mom. The last time it happened, I escaped when he started in on me and they were all dead the next day."
Sgt. Thompson glares at Sgt Lewis.
"Take whatever gear belongs to PCSO off of Borden because his ass is going to jail. And don't even think of trying to keep Officer Dosela and Reyes from cuffing him because I will arrest you for obstruction."
"I don't plan on it," Sgt Lewis resignedly concedes. "I'll get his gear now."
He turns and walks back to Deputy Borden, followed by Dosela and Reyes.
"Since you guys got this, I'm heading out," Trooper Black informs Sgt. Thompson and hands him a business card. "I'm going to let my bosses know what happened here, but if PCSO tries giving you guys shit, let me know so we can help you out."
"Usually the boys and girls from PCSO are great," Sgt Lewis states. "But lately, they've had some really bad apples polluting the ranks and making everyone there look bad. I'm going to goose my boss into giving the sheriff a call. I think that should make them clean up that crap."
"Good to hear," Trooper Black nods. Turning to Aurie and Steve, he shakes their hands. "Everything should be good from here on out." Looking at Aurie, he adds, "Please file that complaint. What you described was inexcusable and it will hold TPD accountable too because their officers should've never let Borden interfere with a call like that."
"Yeah, 'cause I'm pissed now."
Trooper Black joins Steve and Sgt Thompson in laughing before continuing.
"Give them hell then. You two take care."
Steve and Aurie wave as he returns to his unit.
"We're filing the charges against Borden," Sgt. Thompson informs them. "He's going to get locked up at the county jail."
"Is that wise considering the allegations?" Steve questions in surprise.
"They handle our prisoners," Sgt Thompson explains. "But since we're doing the arresting, they can't cut him loose. It will look a lot worse for them if they try. He's going to have to appear before a judge." Looking at Aurie, he adds, "You should've tried filing a complaint sooner, but I understand why and I don't blame you for it. It's good you plan on doing so now."
Before Aurie can reply, their attention is drawn to Officers Dosela and Reyes walking a handcuffed Borden over to Dosela's cruiser and loading him inside. Sgt. Lewis is busy on the radio calling for a tow truck for Borden's cruiser.
"Do you need us anymore?" Steve asks Sgt. Thompson. "Sgt. Lewis might be sufficiently chastised, but I don't want him anywhere near my daughter right now or you might have to arrest me for assault on a law enforcement officer."
"I'd say it's justified," Sgt. Thompson smiles. "But he's calmed down, so we'll leave things be. You two can get on your way. Officer Dosela has your info, so he'll keep you up to date on what's happening."
Steve shakes Sgt. Thompson's hand.
"Thank you."
Guiding Aurie around to the passenger door, he helps her inside before returning to the driver's side. He's pulling back onto the street moments later.
Cállate tu boca- Shut your mouth. Pronounced kai-ya-teh too bo-kah
Pendejo- stupid, idiot, moron, etc. Pronounced pen-deh-ho
Cabron- bastard. Pronounced ka-brohn