by Brenda Novak
“Those people work here, too?” Kalyna asked.
“They started the charity.” Ava had worked at The Last Stand for two years, but Skye, Sheridan and a woman named Jasmine Fornier were the ones who’d conceived of the idea and gotten it up and running. An excellent forensic profiler, Jasmine still did some consulting—for them and for others—but she’d since married and moved to Louisiana, which was why there’d been a job opening for Ava.
“So it’s just the three of you?”
“Yes, plus a bevy of professionals from psychologists to bodyguards, most of whom donate their time. In addition, we have a handful of volunteers.”
“I didn’t know that. When I called, I was simply given an appointment with you.”
“I’m single, so I put in a few more hours each week. And I focus mostly on casework and less on administration and fundraising.”
“I see.”
In an attempt to guide the conversation back to where they’d left off, Ava looked at her notes. “So…you were saying something about the civilian police.”
“I was saying they could prosecute, too,” Kalyna responded. “But they don’t want to get involved. They don’t think it’s necessary to spend taxpayers’ money to prosecute the captain twice, so they’ve decided to let the military handle it.”
“You don’t want the military to handle it?”
“I don’t trust the air force. They’d do anything to avoid a scandal, even if it means letting Luke off. He’s one of their best pilots, an officer. That’s quite an investment. I’m just an enlisted airman—and a woman at that.”
Ava could easily believe the military would rather keep this quiet. But would they really investigate less thoroughly than they should?
As she deliberated, fresh tears welled up in Kalyna’s eyes. “That’s what you’re here for, isn’t it? To help people like me—people who have all the cards stacked against them and can’t get justice?”
“That’s what we’re here for.” Ava used the same soothing voice she’d used before, but there were a couple of things that bothered her about this case. The air force wouldn’t be happy to have a civilian organization looking over their shoulder. Even the prosecutors she’d be trying to assist would probably stonewall her. Maybe that wouldn’t be so much of a problem if she knew how the military worked or had any contacts there, but she didn’t. And neither did the others at TLS. She had to be careful where she allocated the charity’s assets, had to make sure that she didn’t waste any of the money they so painstakingly raised. There were far more people needing help than they had the resources to cover. With the economic downturn, she and Skye and Sheridan had decided they could get involved only in instances of dire need or potential threat. Otherwise, they’d put themselves out of business and wouldn’t be able to do anything for anyone.
But this case was a classic David versus Goliath. Always a sucker for the underdog, Ava felt tempted to accept the assignment. Maybe it was the sight of this woman wearing battle fatigues—knowing she had to compete in a uniquely male world. Or maybe it was the memory of Bella Fitzgerald, her very first client, which haunted Ava to this day….
“So you’ll help me?” Kalyna clarified.
Kalyna’s situation qualified under both the need and threat tenets. But Ava still wasn’t convinced The Last Stand could make a difference. Would it merely drain her time and TLS funds, resulting in no better outcome than if she hadn’t jumped in? She had to be sensible, couldn’t let what’d happened to Bella provoke her into taking every rape case, regardless of practical considerations.
After removing some pictures from her purse, Kalyna shoved them across the desk. “Look what he did to me.”
The photographs showed Kalyna beneath harsh white lights, wearing a hospital gown. Several bruises darkened her face, her eye was swollen almost shut and she had a fat lip. At that moment, Ava saw Bella, not Kalyna—Bella in a similar environment, lying pale and lifeless beneath a sheet.
“How did you get these?”
“There are several of each in my file. I insisted the E.R. doctor give me a set. She leaned forward. “Will you help me? Please, help me.”
Ava swore, but only to herself. She couldn’t say no, refused to risk letting another woman die the way Bella had. “I’ll do what I can,” she promised, then spoke up to counter Kalyna’s immediate relief. “But you have to understand that I’ve never worked with anyone in the military before. I have no idea what we might encounter, but I’m sure the rules are different than I’ve dealt with in the past. The military is a whole other world.”
“Just knowing you’ve got my back should keep them honest,” Kalyna said. “You’re always in the paper, and they’re afraid of the media.”
“That’s how you found us?” Ava asked. “You read about us in the paper?”
“And I’ve heard you mentioned on the news.”
That explained it. Sacramento had shut down its two air force bases years ago, and Travis was an hour’s drive to the west, in Fairfield. Although Ava rarely even saw an airman, at least in uniform, she and her partners had worked some pretty high-profile cases. The publicity increased donations, as well as notoriety. But, if the air force intended to protect their captain, they’d be a formidable foe, especially if the civilian police declined to get involved.
It would all depend on the evidence, Ava decided. If she could gather enough evidence—a witness who saw Luke leave just before Kalyna called for help, proof of injuries on him that Kalyna had inflicted while defending herself, a past history of date rape or other problems—no one could save Luke Trussell.
“Give me the spelling of his last name and anything else you know about him,” she said, “right down to the color of his underwear.”
2
It wasn’t a mistake. After three weeks of spending long hours being interrogated by the police or meeting with the defense attorney he’d hired—the best civilian attorney he could find—Luke had come to the realization that the trouble Kalyna Harter had caused him wasn’t going to go away without a bitter, drawn-out fight. It didn’t matter that he was innocent. The Office of Special Investigations planned to prosecute, which meant he’d actually sit in a court-martial accused of raping a woman. It was so unreal, he couldn’t believe it.
And he still hadn’t told his family.
Determined to get off the couch, where he’d been busy kicking himself for going home with Kalyna in the first place, he prowled around his apartment. As much as he preferred to keep his folks ignorant of his predicament, he had to call them before they heard the news from someone else. So far, he hadn’t seen a report of his “crime” in the paper, but his father was retired military, and military circles were tight-knit. It was only a matter of time. Judging by the number of questions and comments he was getting on base, word was spreading fast.
With a sigh, Luke checked the clock hanging on the wall. It was after eleven on a Monday night. Too late; his parents would be in bed. But suddenly he couldn’t put off contacting them any longer. He needed their support—even more than he loathed admitting that he’d gone home with Kalyna Harter. That he’d made what she was doing possible.
He wished he could speak to them face-to-face. His folks lived in San Diego—only a seven-hour drive away. He could be there by morning. But he wasn’t allowed to leave town. He was lucky E. Golnick hadn’t locked him up in the Solano County jail. If not for his commanding officer, she would’ve tried. As it was, Luke had been grounded from flying, pending resolution of the case. He currently had a desk job, which he hated.
A phone call was the best he could do. And he needed to make that call sooner rather than later. He’d put it off too long already.
Taking a deep breath, he picked up the phone and dialed.
His mother answered almost immediately. “Hello?”
“Hey, Mom.”
“Luke?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“You scared me. Getting a call at this hour, I thought you
r sister might’ve caused another fender bender.”
“What’s Jenny doing out so late on a weeknight?”
“It’s not her curfew yet. Besides, it’s summer and she only went to the movies. How are you?”
His mother’s genuine concern made him choke up. Frustrated by his weakness, he swiped impatiently at his watery eyes. “I’ve been better. Is Dad around?”
“He’s here with me, watching TV. Why? Is everything okay?”
Luke swallowed hard. “Any chance you could get him on the extension? I need to speak to both of you.”
He felt his mother’s trepidation. “You haven’t been hurt….”
“No, it’s something else.” To him, something worse, because it defamed his character. He knew they’d feel the same way.
“Oh, no…” she mumbled. Then he heard her ask his father to get on the line. “It’s Luke. Something’s wrong.”
“Luke?” His father’s voice boomed in his ear, filled with protective anger, even though Ed had no idea—could probably never guess—what was wrong.
“Hi, Dad.”
“You okay, son?”
The lump in Luke’s throat grew larger, adding embarrassment to a list of other emotions. He had to wrestle with himself just to gain control of his voice. “I’m okay,” he managed to say.
“Tell me what’s wrong.”
“There’s a woman here, at Travis, a sergeant. She’s actually my crew chief,” he said with a disbelieving laugh. “She’s claiming—”
“You haven’t gotten her pregnant!”
“No, it’s not that.” He prayed it wasn’t, anyway. As far as he was concerned, that was about the only way his situation could get worse. He’d worn a condom, although Kalyna had insisted she was clean and on the pill. But a condom seemed like meager protection now. They’d found his semen in her body. What would he do if she wound up pregnant? “This woman’s telling the police I raped her.”
His mother gasped, but his father met his announcement with stunned silence.
“Dad?” Luke said.
“What do you have to say about that?” Edward finally asked.
“I didn’t do it.”
“You’re one hundred percent certain?”
“Of course!”
“I raised you to be a man, Luke. To take responsibility for your actions. If you’re guilty, I expect you to admit it and pay the price, even if it means prison.”
Edward’s code of ethics demanded he be sure before throwing his support behind anyone. That included his son. Luke understood it, so his father’s words didn’t hurt. They offered him the opportunity to tell someone the truth—someone who might actually believe him. “I swear it on my life, Dad.”
“Then that’s all that matters.”
Luke laughed without mirth. “To you, maybe. But it’s not all that matters to me. She’s already reported it. OSI is handling it.”
“They’re charging you?” his mother said.
“Yes.”
She made a strangled sound. “What happened?”
Luke dropped his head into his hands. “I was an idiot.”
His father responded before his mother could. “You need to expand on that answer.”
“I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“Why not?”
He remembered the call he’d received from Lilly Hughes, his best friend’s mother. Because his parents were no longer at Hill Air Force Base in Utah—they’d left when Ed retired—they probably hadn’t heard the news he was about to impart. “Phil was killed in Iraq.”
“No!” his mother cried.
Luke sat on the edge of the couch and stared glumly at the floor. “I’m afraid so.”
“That’s terrible!”
It was worse than terrible, so terrible Luke couldn’t accept it. He stared at the shoes he was supposed to mail to the cousins who’d used his apartment. They’d left them and a few other things behind. But he’d been caught up in this mess and hadn’t made it to the post office yet.
“I’m sorry, honey,” his mother was saying. “I know how much you loved Phil.”
It was Phil who’d first befriended him when they moved to Ogden, Utah, halfway through Luke’s sophomore year. Phil who’d convinced him to play football their junior year. Phil with whom he’d double-dated and competed for valedictorian. Phil with whom he’d gotten into trouble for starting a food fight the day of graduation, after which he’d been barred from speaking at the commencement exercises. He and Phil had even loved the same girl—but Phil had declared himself first, so Luke had said nothing. He stood as best man and watched Phil marry Marissa. Then Phil had gone into the marines and Luke had followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the air force.
“When’s the funeral?” his mother asked.
“It’s over. He died five weeks ago. Lilly was so grief-stricken she didn’t think to call me. She apologized profusely, but…”
“Why didn’t Phil’s wife get in touch? She had to realize you’d want to know. The three of you were inseparable in high school.”
He was the last person Marissa would call. About a year after she married Phil, she’d told Luke she’d made a mistake, that he was the one she really wanted. It had nearly killed him to do it, but he’d turned her away and insisted she never contact him again—for any reason. He wasn’t about to let their love triangle end in tragedy, the way so many did. As much as he cared about her, as tormented with jealousy as he’d been every time he saw them together, he’d wanted them to be happy. Phil had gotten with Marissa first; Luke was the one who had to suck it up and move on. “I guess she didn’t think of it, either.”
“So you didn’t get a chance to say goodbye,” his mother said.
“No.” Even worse, he and Phil had argued the last time they’d talked. About Marissa. As usual. Phil shouldn’t have volunteered for that second tour. Luke had tried to tell him to go home and take care of his family. That Marissa needed a husband and their son needed a father, but Phil wouldn’t hear of it. He was too pumped up on the war and patriotism. Before slamming down the phone, Luke had told his friend that he didn’t deserve Marissa. But he hadn’t meant it. He regretted that statement even more than he regretted going home with Kalyna.
“How does his death relate to this…Sergeant—what’s her name?” his dad asked.
“Kalyna Harter. I went to a local bar that night to get my mind off the fact that I’ll never see Phil again, and she showed up.”
“Go on…”
“She kept hitting on me and…” Guilt bit deep. He hadn’t raped Kalyna, but he’d made himself vulnerable to her. Now her accusations would reflect on his entire family. “I…It was a mistake.”
“So you slept with her,” his father said.
“I slept with her, but I didn’t force her.”
“Why would she lie?”
“That’s what I can’t figure out. I mean, I know she was angry that I wouldn’t stay the whole night. When I left, she made some pretty ugly statements, but—”
“For example…”
Luke didn’t want to repeat them. He hadn’t been with her because he wanted to pursue a relationship, which was the only honorable reason to get that intimate with a woman. But then, he’d thought she understood it was strictly casual. If he’d been interested in her, he would’ve asked her out on one of the many occasions she’d hinted that she wanted him to do so. “She accused me of using her, that sort of thing.”
Edward sighed loudly. “Sex means something to a woman. You can’t sleep with her and expect it to be taken in stride. I taught you better than that.”
His mother rushed to his defense. “Ed, he’d just heard about Phil! He was grieving, looking for a diversion.”
“That doesn’t give him the right to hurt others.”
“This is the first call we’ve ever received like this!” she argued. “You know Luke’s not a womanizer.”
The last thing Luke wanted was for his mother to fight his battles. “
Dad, I didn’t think it would hurt anything, least of all her. She was the aggressor. Once we got to her place, she offered to…” He considered trying to explain what a three-way was and decided against it. Old-fashioned, religious and disciplined, his father would never understand a woman like Kalyna. “Never mind. She’s unbalanced, okay? That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”
“You’re going to need a top-notch lawyer,” he said.
“I already have one.”
“What can we do to help?” his mother chimed in. “Would you like us to come up there and be with you?”
“No, Mom. This is Jenny’s last summer at home. She’ll be miserable if you pull her away from her friends, and Lord knows you can’t leave her there alone.” Jenny hadn’t been hanging with the best crowd. Beach bums, all of them, his father said. Luke thought she was too pretty for her own good.
“It might not be convenient, but we can make arrangements,” his mother insisted. “We’re your family. We’ll do whatever it takes.”
Luke leaned his head back. He was still in trouble, but his parents were standing behind him. For now, the moral support was enough. “Don’t do it yet. It helps just to have you believe me.”
“Of course we believe you!”
“I hate the thought of Jenny hearing about this,” he grumbled.
“We won’t tell her.” It was his mother who made this promise.
“Someone else could. It’ll humiliate all of you.”
“No, it won’t.”
“I’m sure some of our friends will wonder if it’s true.”
“The only ones who’ll wonder are the ones who don’t know you very well,” his father said.
Luke gazed up at the ceiling. “I think most people try to give the woman the benefit of the doubt. I always have.”
“That shows you’re a good man,” his mother said. “What does this Kalyna look like, anyway?”
His stomach churned as he pictured her, naked and in bed, glowering up at him as he dressed. She’d been unhappy in the end. But she’d been very vocal about letting him know she liked everything before that point. And he hadn’t used her. He’d been sincere in his desire to please her during the time they were together. He’d thought it was a give-and-take, a mutual escape from regular life.
