Page 64 of Contentious

“Anyone hurt?”

“Just shaken up,” Carson said.

The police officer handed him a paper napkin. “You’re bleeding.”

“I’m okay.”

The woman in the car who’d hit him in the intersection said she was uninjured, too.

“I saw it happen,” a younger man said. “A black Honda Ridgeline hit the Range Rover, then did a U-turn and headed back up the hill right after.”

“Son of a bitch,” Carson said to the cops. “I know who it was. My friend, who’s with me, is being harassed by an ex. He’s shaking her down for money in exchange for dropping a custody matter. He’s under an RO and required to stay a thousand feet from her and her son, but he was seen in her backyard last night. You guys responded, and crime scene detectives took a footprint from the garden.”

“What’s his name?”

“Marlon Beckett.”

“Do you know where he lives?”

Carson recited the last known address he had for Beckett in Century City. “He’s escalating because she refuses to cede to his blackmail. I’m a legal investigator for Remington Family Law, and we’ve had eyes on him. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen him dealing, which I reported to the LAPD a couple of weeks ago.”

The officers took notes and statements from others who’d witnessed the accident.

“Is your vehicle drivable?” one of them asked.

“I’ll have to check.”

“Go ahead and do that. We’ll call a tow if you need it.”

Carson grimaced at the sight of the Rover’s smashed-in front and back ends and the broken glass on the pavement. With the police directing him, he got into the SUV and backed away from the crash scene, then moved to park at the curb near where Cresley waited for him.

“I’m good to go,” he said to the officer.

He handed Carson a card. “There’s a link to where you can access the report within twenty-four hours and add any details we might’ve missed.”

“What are you doing about Beckett?”

“I’ll put out a BOLO to Patrol,” the officer said, which meant be on the lookout.

Carson handed him a business card. “Can you let me know if you locate him? My friend is scared of what he might do next.”

“I’ll call you if there’re any updates.”

“Thank you.”

Carson went to collect Cresley. He extended his hand to help her up, steadying her when she would’ve stumbled again. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

“Yeah, just shaken up. What did they say?”

“There was a witness who said we were hit by a black Honda Ridgeline.”

Cresley gasped. “Marlon? He’s the one who hit us?”

“I think so, and then he hightailed it back up the hill.”

“Are they going to arrest him?”

“If they can find him.”