I slid down onto the couch. Todd was right. Ben had been here. He’d said I’d walked him out. I believed him. I didn’t have any reason not to. Ben had never lied to me, that I knew of.
“What did you mean about Gia? What happened between them?”
“She chose me for a reason. Ben was clingy, overprotective, and controlling. She was afraid of him.”
“Really?” I asked because Ben didn’t really seem all that scary. “Todd, let me ask you something. Who is Jamie Phillips to you?”
He tensed noticeably. “Why? Do you know her?”
“Yes, I do,” I lied.
“Where is she?” His tone darkened. “I have to find her.”
“Why, Todd? How do you know Jamie?”
“Have you talked to her?” he asked anxiously. I nodded. “She’s okay then? Is she just avoiding me again? That stuck-up little cunt! I’ve been so worried about her, and she’s just been playing games again!”
I cringed. “What do you mean again?”
“I was so good to her. She’ll never find a man who will treat her as well as I did. Even after everything that happened, I was right there by her side when everyone else had abandoned her.”
“You knew her before she was attacked?”
“We were friends. My aunt and uncle lived in The Village. I used to spend my summers with them.”
Suddenly, I remembered the Higginbothams telling me about the neighbor’s nephew that got a little too attached to Jamie. “You’re the Johnsons’ nephew?”
“How did you know that? Where did you hear that? Jamie told you that?”
I didn’t answer him. He was about to get whacked upside the head. He’d begun pacing and sweating profusely. His behavior was becoming erratic, and it was freaking me out. I felt like I needed to get away from him, but not before I got to the bottom of his thought process on what had happened to me.
“I need you to focus, Todd. Are you implying that Ben raped me?”
“Yeah. Well, I mean, rape is such a strong word. You probably got him all worked up and tried to send him packing. Wouldn’t be the first time, now would it, sugar?”
Sugar…sweet tits. That’s what the women said the rapist called them.
At that, I stood up and slapped him across the face.
“You bitch!”
“You’re the one! You raped Jamie and all those other girls, you limp-dick psycho!”
He snatched me up by my wrist, twisting me around so my back was against his front, and put his other hand over my mouth. Then he whispered in my ear as he pulled me back against his erection, “I don’t have that problem, sugar tits.” He laughed then and slung me back onto the couch. “Now shut up and tell me what Jamie said!”
“You raped her, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t rape her. She wanted it. She loved it. She practically begged for it, the way she carried on parading around with her ass hanging out and her tits propped up. I thought she’d fall over with her legs open, but instead, she started telling tales. She made it sound like I was stalking her when all I was really doing was giving her what she wanted. I even left town for a while, but I just couldn’t get her out of my head. After it was all said and done, she took it all, just like you did.”
I felt my jaw drop.
“Close your mouth, babe. You loved it. You came for me over and over. And I wasn’t lying. You were the best I’ve ever had. The way you teased me and played with me. I thought you could make me forget about Jamie, and maybe you can, but first, we have to straighten some things out.”
Tears rolled down my face, but I knew I had to stay calm. “What things?”
“You need to admit that you loved it. You’ve already admitted that it was consensual. I have that on tape.” He smiled. More tears came, and I shuddered a little. I had said that when he was interviewing me at the hospital. I’d said it to get out of filing a report, but I never expected this. He tricked me.
“Oh, Aubrey, don’t cry. You really did love it. I’m sorry you don’t remember. I do apologize for the drugs that I slipped into your wine bottle. That evening didn’t work out the way I’d planned at all. I just meant to loosen you up with the Rohypnol, but then when I saw you snuggled up with that prick, Ben, I admit I got jealous. I should’ve known that pussy would drink wine.” He rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I’m glad you didn’t sleep with him, but I hated having to wait until he left to have you. No matter, you loved it. I knew you would. From the moment I finger banged you, I knew you would love having me inside you, if you would just give it a chance.”
“You’re disgusting.”
“See, that’s what I’m talking about. You can’t just go around saying things like that. It’s hurtful. I have feelings you know.”
“You raped all those women…” I said, dropping my head into my hands to wipe my face.
“I did not!” he snapped. “First of all, I never raped anyone. I just nudged Jamie and you a little so you would get to experience what you really wanted. Secondly, I’ve been trying to catch The Village Rapist, just like I told you.”
“You’re lying. I know you aren’t a cop anymore, Todd.”
He eyed me carefully for a moment but continued. “That doesn’t mean that I’ve stopped looking. I have a firm lead.”
“You! You’re the lead!”
“Shut up! I told you I didn’t rape anyone. After Jamie told that story to anyone who would listen, I looked for her. I tried to help her remember our moment the way I did, but she just kept saying she’d been raped. She didn’t know that it was me that made love to her, so of course, I couldn’t tell her until she saw things the way I did, but she left before I got the chance.” He shook his head, seemingly saddened. “She never even knew it was me,” he repeated. He suddenly snapped out of it. “Anyway, then all of the sudden, rapes did start happening. A man was actually raping women. He was doing them the same way Jamie had described to the media.”
“A copycat…” I whispered. It was plausible. Todd said, “Sugar tits”, The Village Rapist said, “Sweet tits”. Subtle but distinct difference.
“Whatever. Someone started raping women, but it wasn’t me.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Then we have a real problem, Jamie.”
“I’m Aubrey.”
“Yeah, Aubrey. That’s what I said.”
I saw an opportunity to meet his crazy with a little bit of my own and jumped on it. I leapt up and began yelling, all the while creeping toward the door. “You don’t get to call me by your ex-girlfriend’s name! You still love her, don’t you?”
“Oh, babe. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”
“I mean, why even go to all this trouble for me if you still love Jamie?” I backed closer to the door, but he pursued me, holding his hands out, open, just like we were a couple having an argument.
“I do love her, Aubrey. I’m not going to lie. I think you can help me let her go, though. You’ve changed me so much just over the past week. I only had Jamie once. I had you day and night for three days.” He let out a satisfied hum, letting his eyelids flutter closed for a second. It was truly disturbing. “I tasted you. You teased me. We made love over and over. Now, I love you too, Aubrey. I never thought I would feel this for anyone again.” He made a large step unexpectedly, taking me into his arms. “I love you. Tell me you love me.”
“Tell me about the other women.”
He let me go, angrily pushing me back toward the couch. “I told you. It wasn’t me! Think about it. How could I possibly have done all of that, searched daily for Jamie, played detective, and worked? It was that construction guy, Fowler. Fowler is the one who can’t get it up.”
“Fowler?”
“Yeah, Fowler. He was pissed about The Village douchebags shutting down his mega-millions construction project, so he took Jamie’s story and used it to run that place into the ground. Then Higginbotham started making money off of it; he convinced everyone that he could stop the crimes without having to
involve the cops or the media. He said if they would let his private security handle it, they could preserve their privacy and property values. But he couldn’t stop it. Fowler has an insatiable desire to shut that place down. I went undercover, taking a job with Higgins Security. That’s how I figured it out.”
“So Fowler is The Village Rapist?” Of course. If I believed anything Todd said, it would be this. It made perfect sense that Mr. Fowler’s brother would be involved. “Why haven’t you gone to the police?”
He laughed. “If I gave it to them, then I wouldn’t have any leverage to get my job back. No, I have to make a scene about bringing him in. Then they’ll have no choice but to rehire the detective who single-handedly brought down The Village Rapist.”
The man was a psycho.
“How do you know for sure it’s him?”
“I have it on tape.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I said in shock. “You have the rapes on tape? You didn’t try to stop them?”
“It’s not my business. Those bitches are the ones who refused police involvement.”
It took all I had to keep my composure. “And you’re just sitting on that? You could’ve gone to the police and stopped this, Todd.”
“I’m waiting for the right time.”
“I get that. Timing is everything,” I said, pulling the gun from my pocket and pointing it at him.
“Whoa, babe, what’s with the hostility? You want to play cops and robbers?”
“I’m done playing.”
“You know what they say. You should never pull a gun unless you have the balls to use it.”
I looked at the pink bracelet on my wrist, then back down the barrel. “You don’t know me very well.”
“Don’t I? I thought we got to know each other pretty well. You wouldn’t shoot anyone. You’re a doctor.”
“Allow me to let you in on a little something. You won’t be my first.”
His brows tightened. A touch of fear showed through for the first time. “You’re lying.”
“Am I? I thought you knew me. Don’t worry though. I would rather see you in jail.” I fumbled to grab my phone without looking away. Looking away was the mistake they always made in movies. They talked too much, or looked away, and the bad guy got the best of them, but I wasn’t having it.
“If you call the police, I will tell them what you just said.”
I laughed. “No one will believe you. You’re a delusional lunatic,” I said, dialing 911. “Police, it’s an emergency! I have The Village Rapist trapped in my apartment! Come quickly!” I shouted the address then hung up.
“I told you, I’m not the one who has been raping those women!”
“Prove it with your tapes. You raped Jamie and me. You’ll go to prison a long time for that.” And while he was trying to prove it, Fowler’s brother’s ass was mine.
“You think you can just go around saying whatever you want? No one will believe you, bitch. You’re just like Jamie. No one believed her either. You’ll end up just like her: gone.”
Before I could delve into that, there was a knock on the door. Todd was closest. I heard Ben’s muffled voice shout my name through the door. Todd smiled a crooked, vile grin with one brow raised. “He’s probably come to save the day. Should we invite him in?”
“Don’t move!” I said, but he reached behind him and flung the door open.
Sure enough, Ben stood there, taking in the scene. “Ben! Help me, man! She’s lost it!” Todd yelped like one of those little terrier dogs.
“Shut up. Don’t listen to him. He just admitted that he raped Jamie Phillips and me.”
“If that were true, don’t you think she would be a little more emotional? Look at her! She just admitted to a murder. Help me, Ben,” he begged.
“Aubrey, put the gun down so we can talk about this,” Ben said.
“Are you kidding me? Seriously, you’re kidding, right? He was here, Ben. He was here all night. He was the reason the door was ajar. He watched us while we ate, drank, and even while we slept, just waiting for you to leave so he could drug me over and over. He raped me over and over! Then he came back here to clean up after himself.”
Ben glanced between the two of us. “How much sleep have you had, Aubrey?”
“Ben, ask yourself this: if he really thought The Village Rapist had been here, wouldn’t this place be crawling with cops?” Ben considered me. “He isn’t even a detective anymore. He was fired for stalking Jamie.”
“Okay, okay,” Ben said, still only partially convinced. “We’ll call the police.”
“They’re on the way.”
“Can we wait without a gun in my face?” Todd asked.
“Shut up, limp dick,” I said with a slight smile, knowing how to push his buttons.
“My dick gets hard just fine, you cunt! You know it! You know—”
At that, Ben laid him out. He punched him right between the eyes. Todd lay on the floor moaning while Ben shook out his hand.
“Aubrey, I’m sorry. Just try to put yourself in my shoes. Walking in on this was just very surprising, and the way you were acting seemed a little—”
“Crazy?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Maybe I am a little crazy. So is everyone.”
It was true. Everyone had it in them, I thought. Everyone had the ability to kill whether for self-defense, protection, murder, or vigilante justice; anyone would do it given the right circumstances…whether or not they would admit it to themselves.
Chapter 16
One Week Later
It took two days for me to give my complete statement to the police about Todd. I couldn’t recall most of the events that had taken place between us, but they believed me when I told them he’d admitted to raping me. They also found Rohypnol in the console of his car. Todd’s lack of ability to conceal evidence made it completely obvious to me that he was not The Village Rapist, even if he had started the whole thing by raping Jamie. He wasn’t the one who had raped all of those other women. He would’ve gotten caught way before now.
Ben apologized for doubting me, but I wasn’t sure if I could have him in my life given my current state of mind. I had too much to figure out. Ben was a good guy, and I cared for him deeply, despite only knowing him for such a short time. Though we had an unexplained connection, I wasn’t even sure of my next move, so I couldn’t place Ben in my life. Besides, I had a lot of healing to do before I would be ready for any kind of new relationship.
Fortunately, Todd was in jail. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t discuss the tapes he claimed to have of The Village Rapist. He said he would trade the information for freedom and his job back. He was completely delusional, but I knew that already. That was fine. It worked out well for me. It gave me a chance to continue what I’d started, which seemed more worth the effort than it ever had before, after my own ordeal. I not only sympathized with Larissa Dean, Abigail Lancaster, and the other victims, I empathized with them as well.
After I’d done a little research on the Fowler family, I just had a couple of questions for my employer to help complete the puzzle, before I decided what to do with the information I’d attained. I thought about taking it all to the cops, but I decided to make sure that would be the right thing to do.
I’d found that the police liked the easy truths. The truths that were right in front of them. As of right now, they thought Todd was responsible for all the rapes, but I had to know the truth. The part of me that would always belong to Lou-Lou, and wore her bracelet as an adornment, a symbol of all that was good, had to know the truth.
To initiate contact, I asked for a meeting with Mr. Fowler in order to turn in my resignation. He agreed to meet with me the following day. I had questions, and this would give me the opportunity to get answers, and make an informed decision on what to do with that information. Although, I knew I was kidding myself. I’d already made up my mind.
I walked into his office, my resignation in hand.
“Dr. Drake,” h
e said, extending his hand to shake. I held out my resignation instead. He reluctantly took it. “Can we discuss this? I really feel like you’re an asset to the team here at ATL Regional.”
“A lot has happened,” I told him honestly.
He nodded. “You’ve endured more than any woman should have to, sweet girl. I understand if you want time off. I could grant that request.” The sincerity showing in his eyes was remarkable given all I’d learned about his family.
I considered him, glancing at the foam cup in front of him. “Could I get some coffee too?” I asked.
“Sure. Help yourself.” He motioned to the coffeepot located on a rectangular table against the wall of the office. I did and sat back down, removing some files from my bag.
“I was wondering, Mr. Fowler, how is your brother?”
“Oh, um, he moved recently. Why?”
The rapes had come to an absolute halt since Toddy boy had been in jail. I found it very convenient. A move would explain that.
“Hmm, where to?”
He shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. He’s quite troubled over the divorce and his financial situation, as I told you before. Why the sudden interest?”
“Well, I found this.” I handed him the file folder. “For most men, Jim is short for James, but not you. Your given name is actually Jim, and your brother’s name was Jimmy. Now that’s southern right there.” I let out a giggle.
He opened the folder, flipping through the file I’d put together from things I had found at the library and online. I’d been counting on that distraction. I stirred something special into my coffee, something ordered from his own office computer and slipped in, then switched our foam cups as he read the file.
“What is this?”
“It’s just what it looks like. It’s every piece of public information I could find on your family. Interestingly enough, you only had one sibling, your twin, but he barely made it out of the womb. So, how has he started a construction company, gone bankrupt, gotten divorced, and left town?”
He eyed me carefully. “What are you implying?”
Do No Harm (Dr. Aubrey Drake #1) Page 10
