by H K Christie
The background check had come back for Detective Grayson, San Francisco University alumni and member of Delta Kappa Alpha. Go figure. Apparently, once a DKA brother, you’re a DKA brother for life. It was clear to her that he was protecting DKA because they were his fraternity brothers, despite the oath he took as a police officer to serve and protect. But was he in on the crimes or just covering them up?
The camera inside the house showed a very intoxicated woman going upstairs with one of the frat brothers. It made her stomach flip. She wanted to scream, “Don’t go up there!” But it would’ve been useless. Selena now realized the hallway and staircase footage wasn’t that useful other than if evidence was needed to corroborate that certain persons had gone upstairs. Hopefully, it didn’t come to that. She had regretted installing the inside camera after taking a closer look at the laws around surveillance. If the authorities found out she’d placed cameras inside the house, she could get into a lot of trouble. It was one of the reasons she’d decided against bringing Martina into the operation. It would implicate her in these crimes, not to mention Selena was sure Martina would be disappointed. She convinced herself the cameras outside were in more of a gray area.
Two hours later, camera one, on the side of the house was triggered on. It was the first time all evening. On the screen appeared a woman wearing far too little for the temperature outside, and a tall, burly man with shoulder-length hair. Was the side yard the hotspot for these guys? The couple on the screen began to kiss rather aggressively. Selena felt a bit dirty watching two people make out when they didn’t know they were being watched. But she supposed it was one of those things she’d have to get used to if she became a detective or private investigator. She still needed another year and a half at Drakos Monroe before she could apply for her PI license, if she decided that route over going into law enforcement. After watching Detective Grayson, she was leaning toward private investigator. She didn’t think she could handle working for or with a crooked cop.
She continued to watch the gross make-out. Everything seemed to be on the up-and-up so far. The girl certainly wasn’t fighting back. She had her fingers in his hair as if she was enjoying the action. She watched the man’s hands as they slipped down the woman’s body until he reached the hem of her mini dress. He slid it underneath and the woman batted at his hand in what looked like an attempt for him to remove his hand. It didn’t appear to be working. He became more aggressive lifting up the dress, now fully exposing the bottom half of her body. The woman struggled against him while simultaneously trying to push down her dress.
Selena’s heart raced as she dialed 9-1-1 on the burner phone she purchased for the occasion. “Hi, yes, I’m calling to report an assault outside the Delta Kappa Alpha house. Please come right away. It’s still in progress.” She hung up the line and returned her attention to the screen. She watched the woman continuing to try to fight off the man.
Selena’s heart pounded and sweat trickled on her for head. There was no way the police would get there in time. What had she been thinking? She couldn’t stand by and watch. She just couldn’t. She laced up her Nikes, threw on her puffy jacket, and ran out of the dorm. As she sprinted across campus to the fraternity house, she now understood why Martina had pushed her to be in top physical condition.
Selena ran toward the fence line at the Delta Kappa Alpha house when she looked left and saw another figure speedwalking the same way. She recognized the mustache. Detective Grayson. She stopped in her tracks in an attempt to look a bit more inconspicuous in front of the plainclothes detective. Something in his eyes seemed to register that this wasn’t her first time at the house. He sped toward her, pointing his finger. “It was you.”
Selena reached for her baton, but before she could pull it out of her pocket, he had her pinned sideways against the fence, no more than twenty feet from where the woman was hopefully still fighting off her attacker. Inches from her face, Grayson spat at her. “What were you doing here Monday night?”
Selena wasn’t sure how to play the situation. Should she fight back immediately or try to convince him that it wasn’t her on Monday night? She struggled to free her arms. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Let me go.”
“Oh, I think you do, young lady. What were you doing here? I will only ask you nicely once. I’d hate to have to arrest you for trespassing.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I’m not trespassing.”
“It’s my word against yours. He said, she said, but in this case he said is a detective with the police force. Who do you think they’re going to believe, me or some little girl?”
Selena attempted to contort her body against the might of his two hands pressing her against the fence. He stared intently at her. “I’m watching you, Selena—or should I say Tina? Stay away from this house or you will regret it.”
Her eyes locked on Detective Grayson’s and she decided to give him three more seconds before she kneed him in the balls and then delivered a roundhouse kick to the face. He may know she possessed a baton, if he believed she was the person who had hit Tyler, but he wouldn’t expect that she had the skills to take him down. The sound of multiple sets of footsteps seemed to prompt him to release her. She was about to run, when she eyed the source of the footsteps. Her heart sank. Brendon. With Tyler.
Brendon furrowed his brow. “Selena, what are you doing here?”
Standing next to him was Tyler, and his eyes widened. “Selena? I thought your name was Tina. She’s the bitch that broke my wrist.”
Selena couldn’t look at Brendon. She knew she should run, but she also knew she couldn’t run away from him forever.
“What? Is that true? Did you break his wrist? When? How? Why?” Brendon’s eyes begged her for answers.
Detective Grayson said, “Tyler, is this the woman who assaulted you?”
Tyler rubbed the cast on his wrist. “Yep, that’s her.”
“Do you want to press charges?”
Selena stood staring at the three men with her hand firmly planted on her baton. The weapon in question. But she knew, and he didn’t, that she had the whole interaction on video—not that she wanted it to go that far. It would blow her whole operation, not to mention maybe her relationship with Brendon.
Brendon cocked his head toward her. “Selena, what are they talking about? I thought you were at home studying.”
She glanced over at him, looking defeated. “I’ll explain everything later. I have to go. It was self-defense. He tried to do to me what he did to Dee.”
His chin scrunched back to his neck. “What are you talking about? What happened to Dee?”
“Brendon, I’m sorry, I have to go.”
Brendon stared at her dumbfounded.
She squeezed her eyes shut and then reopened them. “I have to go.”
Tyler baited Detective Grayson. “You just gonna let her go?”
Detective Grayson glared at him. “I’m off duty. Let it go—for now.”
She shook her head in disbelief before running back to the dorm, tears streaming down her cheeks.
17
Selena stood in her bathroom. Hands on thighs, bent over, heaving in and out as she tried to catch her breath. She had evidence, but she’d also been found out. Would they find her cameras too? She suddenly felt so very alone and wasn’t sure what to do next. Her cell phone continued to buzz with calls and texts from Brendon. She hadn’t answered. She couldn’t. Who could she trust? She couldn’t go to campus police, she knew that for sure. She could go to the San Francisco Police Department. The tiny sense of hope washed away. No, she knew who she needed to call.
Her breathing slowed. She turned on the sink faucet and splashed water on her face. She grabbed the towel and wiped off her face. She picked up her cell and dialed. Martina picked up on the first ring. “Is everything okay?”
“I need your help.” She went on to explain to Martina everything that had happened with Dee, the support group, and the Delta Kappa A
lpha house. Her investigation. The cameras. The evidence she had against the frat and that Detective Grayson was actually a member of the fraternity and was likely covering up the DKA assaults. After Selena described everything in detail, Martina simply said, “I’ll be there in thirty minutes. Don’t open the door for anyone but me.”
Selena pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at the screen. Martina had ended the call.
She had feared Martina would give her a lecture, but she hadn’t, at least not yet. The phone buzzed again. Another text from Brendon. Why are avoiding my calls?
Selena took a few breaths and tapped a message back. I can’t talk right now. She put her phone down and let out one last good cry before stepping into the shower.
Fresh and clean, Selena sat at the dining table staring at the screen while waiting for Martina. At the sound of the knock at the door, Selena ran to the door. Rushing to open it, she almost forgotten to look through the peephole.
She stood back, opening it. Martina entered and shut the door quickly behind her. She put her arms around Selena in a warm, tight hug.
Martina studied Selena’s face. “Are you okay?”
“I guess. I just feel stupid.”
Martina raked her fingers through her short dark hair. “What you did was brave, but not necessarily the smartest thing to do, Selena. We’ll talk about that later, but for now show me what you have. Can you do that?”
Selena nodded and brought Martina over to the dining table where she had her laptop open. She played back the footage, wincing at the sight of the woman’s attack—the woman had not been able to stop the larger man, but it had been over before Selena even reached the house—and then her own episode with Detective Grayson. Martina sat back, hand covering her mouth. She placed it in her lap. “You say the older man with the mustache is a detective?”
“Yes, he’s the one Dee and I went to, to report her assault. He’s the one who said he talked to Tyler and Tyler said that Dee had initiated the whole thing and she wanted it and it was consensual.”
“Do you know the other two guys that are there?”
“The one with the cast is Tyler. The other is … Brendon. He’s kind of my boyfriend. Well, we’re dating. He didn’t know about any of this stuff.”
Martina’s eyes were wide. “You’re dating someone who hangs around with crooked cops and rapists?”
Selena shook her head. “No, he’s not like that. At least, I don’t think so. He’s not in the frat. He told me he met Tyler during rush week. He said they’re just friends, someone to hang out with, but he’s how I got into the frat in the first place. That’s how I was able to plant the first camera.”
Martina went pale. “In the house?”
“In a hallway … in the house.”
Martina rested her forehead on her palm.
Not a good sign.
Martina sat up straight. “Selena, if the authorities find out about this, you could be in a lot of trouble. Do you realize that?”
“I do now. I just, I don’t know what I was thinking. I just really want to get them shut down. I personally know five—now six—women who were assaulted there. There’s likely tons more who were too afraid to report it.”
Martina put her hand on her shoulder. “We’ll get through this. It’ll be okay. I promise.”
Selena glanced up at Martina and wondered who she was trying to convince—herself or Selena. She knew she had disappointed Martina with her reckless actions, but she was grateful that her stepmom was still here for her and hopefully would help her take down the frat. “What do we do?”
“I still have contacts at the SFPD. We could bring them the footage of the outside—not any surveillance from the inside. Maybe they’ll be able to at least shut down the party tonight. I’ll make some calls. The footage is in the Cloud?”
“Yes.”
“Selena, this is what I’ll say right now. You did fairly decent work here. It makes me think you’d be a great investigator, but what you did was far too dangerous. When we run an investigation, surveillance and stake outs, we have backup on call, we have people who always know where everyone else is supposed to be. It protects us in the case an operation goes sideways, but even then, it’s dangerous. You were all by yourself, Selena. Please promise me you’ll never do anything like this, ever again. It would break not only my heart but your dad’s if something happened to you.”
Selena felt tears welling up in her eyes once again. She never wanted to disappoint her dad or Martina. She blinked back the tears. “I promise.”
“Okay, let me make some calls. Sit tight you and get ready to go with me to the station.”
Selena nodded.
Selena watched as Martina took control of the situation. She’d been lucky to get out of this unharmed. She needed to be more careful next time.
A knock on the front door startled both Martina and Selena. Martina put a finger to her lips and motioned for Selena to stay seated. She slowly crept up to the door, hand on her gun holster. She peeked into the hole and then stepped back. She eyed Selena. “I think it’s Brendon.”
Selena lowered her eyes. She didn’t want to see him or talk to him. She wasn’t sure how to tell him what had happened. She didn’t think he’d be very happy with her. Selena glanced back up at Martina and shook her head.
Martina gave a quick nod and she opened the door. “Hi, Brendon, my name is Martina.”
“Oh, hi, is Selena here?”
“Selena is here, but she’s not able to speak with you right now. I’m going to need for you to give her some space. She’ll call you tomorrow when everything is settled.”
“Is she okay?”
Martina glanced over her shoulder, back at Selena. “Selena’s okay. I’m her stepmother. I’ll have her give you a call tomorrow. Okay?”
“All right. You’ll tell her I came by?”
Martina nodded before shutting the door. Martina glanced back at Selena. “You heard all that?”
Selena whispered, “Yeah.”
“He seems nice.”
“I think he is.” He is. It was Selena who wasn’t a very good girlfriend. Not that they’d had the relationship talk. Now they may never.
Martina gave her a sheepish grin. “You ready?”
“I’m ready.”
She was ready—to shut Delta Kappa Alpha down.
Selena followed Martina into the San Francisco Police Department headquarters. Martina strutted up to reception. “I’m here to see Lieutenant Tippin.”
“And who may I tell him is here?”
“Martina Monroe. I called earlier, he’s expecting me.”
“All right, I’ll let him know you’re here. You can take a seat.”
“Thank you.”
Seated in the chairs, Martina turned and faced Selena. “Tippin and I go way back. I’m hoping he will go to the frat tonight and at a minimum close down the party. He should be able to prosecute the man who attacked the woman, if we can identify them both. As for Grayson, it may be a bit tricky. In the video, he is clearly assaulting you, but he’s also in law enforcement, so I’m not so sure. And one other thing: I will answer all the questions in there. You don’t say a peep. It’s for your own protection.”
“What if he asks me a direct question?”
“I will answer for you. You told me everything, absolutely everything?”
“Yes.” It had been a long ride down to the police station. Martina didn’t scold her beyond her initial concerns, but her body language told Selena everything.
It was only a minute or two before the detective walked out. He approached, wide smile on his face. “Martina Monroe, great to see you. This must be Selena.”
Martina spoke for her. “Yes, this is my stepdaughter, Selena Bailey. She is a student at San Francisco University.”
“Okay, great, why don’t you both follow me back.”
Selena did as she was told, but the walk back to the detective’s office gave her a sinking feeling, just as it h
ad the first time she had gone down to the police department in Grapton Hill after her mother’s death. She wondered if she’d ever escape those awful memories. The police department didn’t look much different than the one in Grapton Hill. A bunch of cubicles and offices, people working and looking busy at their computers.
It was nice to be on the other side, this time. Not a victim.
Lieutenant Tippin opened the door to his office and sat himself behind the large desk. Martina and Selena sat across from him in two plastic office chairs. Lieutenant Tippin said, “Based on our phone conversation, it sounds like you’ve got a fraternity down at SFU that is known for assaulting women and getting away with it. You say campus police may be covering it up?”
Selena was about to speak when Martina put her hand on Selena’s arm. Martina said, “Yes. My stepdaughter is in a sexual assault support group where nearly half of the women in that support group were raped at the Delta Kappa Alpha house. One being my stepdaughter’s roommate. All of the young woman had reported incidents, but all were told they couldn’t be prosecuted because of the whole he said, she said thing and that the members of the frat claimed that all of their encounters had been consensual. There is one detective who was handling all of these investigations, Detective Grayson. Who we now know was actually a member of the Delta Kappa Alpha fraternity. We have obtained some video surveillance showing an assault on a young woman by one of the frat house members as well as an assault on my stepdaughter by Detective Grayson.”
Lieutenant Tippin sat back in his chair and rubbed his shiny, bald head. He studied Selena and then Martina.
Martina spoke. “You watched the videos that I sent you?”
“I have. We’ll need to identify the victim in the video as well as the perpetrator. And, Selena, I’ll need you to explain what happened in the altercation between you and Detective Grayson where he is holding you up against the fence.”
