3
Little Toy Bikers and a Woman on the Run
"
Chapter 363 What the Hale is Going On?
"
After Tara dropped Scarlett off, she immediately drove straight to Charming PD. For once, her anger was greater than her fear of Kohn. She wasn't just mad at Kohn. She was also furious with Hale for telling her that he was going to take care of Kohn when it looked to her like he hadn't done a damned thing.
She felt some guilt that Kohn had gone after Scarlett. She knew it wasn't her fault, but if she'd kept her mouth shut about Jax, maybe Kohn wouldn't have come after Scarlett. It was a good thing Scarlett had her pepper spray with her and she was close by to help her fight.
Kohn didn't really have any fight in him after Scarlett pepper sprayed him, but the opportunity to get some payback was too hard to resist. Kicking him had felt especially good. Once he'd thrown her against a wall so hard she thought she had a concussion. He was smart about physical abuse. He knew how to not leave a mark. She wondered if they taught that in some black ops ATF class—how to hurt someone without leaving a mark.
"Is Hale around?" Tara asked at the front desk.
Hale saw her through the windows in the administrative area of the department and went out to talk to her.
"I need to talk to you about Kohn."
He took her by the arm and led her into an interview room and closed the door.
"Has something happened?"
'Of course," Tara sputtered angrily. She was too mad to sit down.
"Calm down a little," Hale suggested.
"Scarlett and I ate lunch. He was waiting for us when we came out of Sandwiches A Lot. I got in my car to leave. Scarlett walked from her shop and wanted to walk back. He started to follow her. He tried to attack her and she pepper sprayed him. I ran over and kneed and kicked him. He's going to keep coming after us."
"What's his problem with Scarlett?" Hale asked puzzled.
"She's Jax's old lady."
Hale raised his eyebrows with surprise.
"Since when?"
"It's recent."
"Jax didn't take long to lock her down."
"He's a man of action," Tara said drily. "Speaking of which, you told me you were doing something about Kohn."
"Do you think Scarlett will file charges against him?"
"What good would it do?" Tara asked raising her voice in frustration. "Attempted assault. You haul him in. He says it was a misunderstanding. Maybe he gets arrested, but he's a fed. He'll get no bail or minimum bail. That won't keep him from coming after one or both of us."
"I'll call Stahl at ATF and see what's going on. Wait here. I'll be right back."
Tara gave him a disgusted look and took a seat at the table. She knew she wasn't being fair to Hale. He was handicapped by the law. The truth was scary. The law can't do much about a stalker or someone who is acting in a threatening manner until he's done something to you. If you're lucky you'll live and if you're not and he kills you, he might get locked up for a few years.
Hale returned twenty minutes later and took a seat at the table.
"I called Stahl and explained that the situation was escalating. She called Kohn's boss in Chicago. He is also afraid that Kohn's going to flip out and hurt someone. It wouldn't be the first time. There have been a lot of excessive force complaints against him. He's in the process of firing Kohn, but it takes awhile. He's agreed to email him this afternoon, order him back to Chicago and order him to report to the ATF office on Monday. He needs to have HR approve and send the email, but he has promised Stahl it will go out today. I've issued an ATL (attempt to locate) and I'll talk to him. I will also have patrol do patrols at your house and Scarlett's at least every hour until he's on a plane and out of here. This is the absolute best I can do with the laws as they are written."
Tara sat silently and considered everything he'd said. Hale was doing as much as he could in the circumstances. The deficiencies in the law were not his fault.
"Thank you, Hale. I'm sorry. I don't blame you. I get the law doesn't let you lock him up. Getting him out of Charming would be so amazing."
"Call me anytime."
Tara got up from the table and hugged him.
"Thank you. I'll call Scarlett and let her know."
On the way to her car, she saw Kohn in the parking lot. She called Hale and gave him Kohn's location. She waited in her car a few minutes until two uniformed officers walked up to Kohn's car.
She hoped that the Kohn nightmare would be over soon. It would be, but not by Kohn flying back to Chicago.