The Soderbergs were rich. If they wanted to fight and wanted the police present, NYPD could only obediently send someone to the scene.
Otherwise, the family would rather give their donation to dogs next year than to NYPD.
For other police officers, it wasn’t worth it to be blacklisted by such a rich family for something like this. They would go to the scene just to skive off.
Some would take it as a family drama to watch for free.
Arrest? Of course, that had already happened.
The parents got Monroe arrested, but the daughter bailed him out.
Since both parties didn’t lack money for lawyer fees and it was very hard to file a case, Monroe was released very quickly.
Ever since the first police officer who had been too obedient to the Soderberg couple had been forced to take a long break, NYPD had become wary of the messy business with this family. Nobody wanted to be the second fool.
Now, any police officers who were at the scene were determined to stay out of the argument, for fear of being strung up by Miss Lindsay’s lawyer.
There were no police officers who dared to open their mouths and step in directly.
Looking at the astonished trio, Luke said unhurriedly, “Legally speaking, Miss Lindsay Soderberg is an independent adult who has the right to use her assets however she wants.”
The couple’s expressions turned ugly when they heard that.
As if she had gotten support, Lindsay waved her hand at Luke, as if to say, “Listen to him.”
Luke, however, changed the topic. “But when it comes to family matters, Miss Soderberg, you should understand your parents’ concerns. If the law can be used for everything, then what is family for? Wouldn’t it be better for everyone to send their children to welfare homes?”
Aurora’s ugly expression froze for a moment, before it smoothed out. She immediately waved at Luke, as if to say, “Listen to him.”
Luke wasn’t too bothered by the silent confrontation between the mother and daughter. He continued, “The problem isn’t money, but Mr. Monroe Peterson. But he should go see a psychiatrist first, not be sent to prison right away.”
This time, neither side looked happy.
Aurora felt that sending Monroe to a mental hospital or prison was the best choice.
Lindsay felt that Monroe was just immersed in his own world. After seeing a psychiatrist, he might end up in a mental hospital.
This was the most awkward thing to say when both parties weren’t in favor, and they weren’t grateful for it.
Thankfully, Luke didn’t need their gratitude. He simply continued, “In any case, Mr. Peterson won’t be able to enter our detention center or prison in his current state.” He looked at Aurora as he spoke.
“But you definitely don’t want him to be sent to a mental hospital.” He looked at Lindsay when he said that.
The mother and daughter were about to explode with anger, but they couldn’t accept either outcome.
Luke turned to look at Jeffrey. “What do you think?”
What would happen in the end depended on the decision of the head of the family.
Jeffrey was the calmest of the three, even if there was a limit to his composure. He also held the most authority in the family, and his indecisiveness was the main reason for this ongoing conflict.
Jeffrey fell silent.
His thoughts were even more complicated.
Whether Monroe was released or sent to a mental hospital or prison, neither outcome met his expectations.
This was reality.
There would always be instances where you couldn’t satisfy everyone, no matter how you dealt with it.
For a moment, the interrogation room fell silent.
Beckett subconsciously raised the cupcake and took another bite. She was quite engrossed in this family drama as she pondered Luke’s actions.
Was he brilliant? Not necessarily.
Was he terrible? That didn’t seem to be the case.
But his expression was calm, without panic or fear. That was the most important thing.
Most of the time, the solution didn’t depend on who was right or wrong, but on whether the overseer could keep the situation under control.
Luke wasn’t acting very imposing right now, but he had restrained this troublesome family for the time being.
Frowning and thinking for a long moment, Jeffrey’s heart softened every time he looked at his daughter.
But when he saw the middle-aged man behind her, he was vexed again.
Why did such trash appear? Why did such trash attract his daughter’s attention? Why was his family quarreling over such trash?
After thinking for a moment, he still couldn’t make a decision.
He could remain calm in the face of hundreds of millions of dollars, but he couldn’t do anything about his precious daughter.
She was too outstanding.
If it wasn’t for this Monroe incident, his daughter would be perfect.
Finally, he looked at Luke. “What do you think?”
Jeffrey finally focused on the young detective.
It wasn’t rare for a detective to be able to be frank or indifferent with him; there had been that half-balding detective a few days ago, who was even more unbridled than this young man.
But that person was clearly more used to solving a problem with a gun.
How could a detective who had just gotten a divorce and taken off his wedding ring be good at dealing with family disputes?
Although this young detective wasn’t married, he was about the same age as his daughter, and might be able to give a reasonable suggestion from that perspective.
Of course, Jeffrey didn’t have much hope.
Family disputes were the classic example of internal conflict, and one of the most difficult to resolve.
That was because the cause of many such conflicts always made people feel helpless.
Luke said, “In my opinion, Mr. Monroe Peterson needs to be examined by a proper psychiatrist.”
Seeing that Lindsay was about to speak, he raised his hand to stop her. “We’re not sending him to a mental hospital, but we can at least verify his condition for Mr. and Mrs. Soderberg. From what I can tell, it would be very difficult for him to commit fraud in his mental state.”
He looked at the couple and said, “If Mr. Peterson is mentally ill, he should be undergoing treatment instead of fighting a lawsuit with you. Miss Lindsay can look for the treatment center herself, and hire a guard and private doctor to take care of and treat him.”
After he said that, the family of three fell silent, but their eyes flickered as they clearly mulled over the feasibility of this plan.
This way, Lindsay would be able to protect Monroe, and the Soderbergs would be able to separate Monroe and their daughter. It was the perfect plan for the time being.
After a long while, Jeffrey and Lindsay looked at each other at almost the same time.
In just an instant, they reached a compromise.
Jeffrey nodded slowly. “I’ll give him a chance, but you have to come home.”
After hesitating for a moment, Lindsay finally nodded. “I’ll go home, but you have to promise me that you won’t do anything in private without my knowing.”
When she said that, she subconsciously glanced at her mother.
Clearly, Aurora was much less trustworthy than Jeffrey.