This doesn’t feel right. I scroll through the comments. “Yes, but everyone is going after the woman. They need to be going after Tyler.”
“Give it time. They will. First, they have to figure out who he is.”
“So, we wait for someone to post his identity? That might not happen,” I say.
She quickly types something. “Done. And don’t worry, I didn’t use my real name.” She walks to the bathroom. “After breakfast, we’ll stop by the police station with the other videos. We can probably fly home later today, or we could do some touristy things and stay another night.”
Without waiting for my response, she closes the bathroom door and the shower turns on. I grab my phone and search first for the influencer. Ten articles come up repeating what Samantha showed me. Then I search for Tyler.
There are zero hits. It’s too soon for anything to have really spread yet. But why isn’t there any kind of hit?
My phone buzzes. I discover that I have three missed messages from Piper since yesterday. She wants to go out for dinner while Durango is gone. I can’t leave her hanging, so I write her back, letting her know I’m out of town and not sure when I’m returning.
I turn on some music and try to focus on anything other than my ex as I wait for my friend to get ready.
Samantha steps out of the bathroom and spots my phone on the dresser. “You’re not monitoring what’s going on?”
“No, and I want to go to the police and get this over with. I’m tired of Tyler taking up space in my head and my life.”
She sits on my bed next to me. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m getting too caught up in him getting what he deserves. Give me ten minutes and I’ll be ready to go.”
Shortly after, we are on the road to the local police station. It comes into view, and the station building is new, with a large parking lot. Inside, there is an area you enter that is separated from the rest of the building by a wall with a door. On one end is an officer behind what appears to be bulletproof glass sitting at a desk.
“Can I help you?” the officer asks.
“Yes, we want to report a crime,” Samantha says.
“What nature?” the woman asks without even looking up from her computer screen.
“A man shot videos having sex with women, and none of the women consented to it,” Samantha says.
The woman stops typing and glances up. “Women? How many are you talking about?”
Samantha shrugs. “I’m not sure because I didn’t watch all the videos. But I have them all here.” She holds up the USB stick.
“Are you one of the women?” she asks Samantha.
“No.”
She turns to me. “Are you?”
“No,” I say.
The officer stares at us. “How can you be sure they didn’t consent to being taped?”
“Because it’s obvious if you watch the videos!” Samantha yells.
The officer arches a brow. “It might be their kink.”
I step in front of Samantha before she loses it and gets arrested or something. The officer is wearing a badge. Officer Swanson.
“This guy is an asshole. Trust me, these women do not know,” I say.
Swanson crosses her arms. “You know the guy? Is this some kind of revenge thing?”
This is not going at all like I thought it would. “No, not at all. This man is a predator, and I guarantee if you contact any of these women, they will tell you they didn’t consent to being recorded,” I say.
“Look, you’re probably right, but I can’t file a case with what you are bringing me. It will just look like a file of sex videos. This guy could be filming porn, for all we know. Unless one of the women in those videos comes forward and claims she didn’t consent, there isn’t much we can do for you.”
