by Ravenna Tate
Frat party… A bruise on his cheek from a backpack… Found four days later in a snow-covered field.
Yep. Affirmative, there, Rosanna. It was the description of the victim that had set her off. But why?
Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she gazed toward Houston’s sleeping form once more. This man was perfect, as far as she was concerned. Something about him called to her. Did it matter why? She knew it was real, and now she knew he loved her, too. She should be deliriously happy, not fighting with images she couldn’t fully visualize, or memories she couldn’t quite recall.
Rosanna sat there, wiping her face, trying to calm down so her soft crying wouldn’t wake him. She should leave the room, but she was afraid climbing out of bed might rouse him, and she wanted him to sleep. He needed it.
The room smelled of sex and sweat, but to her, it was the sweetest scent in the world. It meant Houston was here, and he’d fucked her six ways to Sunday only moments ago. She had no idea why his marriages had broken up, other than he worked all the time and his hours were irregular as hell. She only knew that when she was with him, she felt whole. The demons stayed away, and everything was easier.
Until tonight.
When the clock chimed one, she lay back down and snuggled up next to his warm body. It was already Sunday. He tried to take that day off each week. She’d rest for a while, and maybe when she woke to share breakfast with him, she’d have dreamed a solution to this. That hope filled her mind as she finally drifted down into sleep.
Chapter Four
It took Houston four days to track down the user behind the Twitter name. Jessica Eberle, who had been Jessica Gaughan at the time of Brian Wayside’s death, now lived in Solon but worked downtown. Houston and Annie made arrangements to speak with Jessica on Friday during her lunch break.
Annie had been Houston’s partner off and on several times during his career. She was currently his partner again, which came in handy now because she had worked with him on the original case. Houston preferred to work alone, but department regulations wouldn’t allow it.
Today, he was glad to have Annie with him. She knew this case as well as he did, and it was thanks to her obsession with social media that they now waited outside Potbelly Sandwich Shop on Euclid. Jessica was ten minutes late, and Houston told Annie she wasn’t going to show.
“She’ll be here. She even tweeted about it this morning.”
“Oh great.”
“Don’t worry. No details.”
“I thought you told her to keep her damn mouth shut until after we talk to her and tell her what she can and can’t say?”
“I did. Relax.” Annie narrowed her eyes as she scanned the crowd. “Here she comes. Purple scarf, gray coat, black boots.”
Houston followed Annie’s gaze. “How the fuck do you know what she looks like?”
“I’m a wizard.”
Between the answer and Annie’s deadpan delivery, Houston couldn’t help laughing. The woman Annie swore was Jessica spotted them and quickened her pace. “How does she know it’s us?”
“We look like cops.”
“I’m in the fucking Twilight Zone.”
Annie gave him her best sarcastic grin. “Took you this long to figure that out?” She walked toward Jessica and Houston followed, feeling like a rookie all over again. If he did this job for one hundred years he’d never have Annie’s instincts. She’d been born with them.
“Jessica?”
The woman stuck out her hand. “Yes. Are you Annie Walters?”
“Yep. This is my partner, Houston Cassidy.”
“Hi there.”
As Jessica shook his hand, Houston caught the admiration in her eyes. He was used to that, and put on his best “this is only business” smile. “Thanks for meeting us.”
Jessica eyed the sandwich shop. “Are we going to talk inside there? It’ll be crowded.”
“Best place to talk,” said Annie. “No one will hear us. Come on.”
Once they each had their lunch and were seated, Annie got right down to it. “Tell us why you changed your mind about speaking up.”
“I can’t get it out of my head, even twelve years later.”
“Is that the only reason?” asked Houston. He couldn’t get some things out of his head, either, but he didn’t tweet about them.
She glanced away for a second. Houston didn’t need to cut his gaze toward Annie to see the gleam in her eyes. He felt it. Early in his career as a detective, she’d told him people always had a reason they finally came forward, and it was never as simple as a wish to do the right thing.
“Two of my friends from college died this past month. One was killed in a bad car accident, and the other died of a drug overdose. Both of them received texts from me the night of the party.”
They hadn’t known she’d sent texts to two people. Only one had come forth and said she received a text message the night of the party from someone who was there.
“Keep going,” said Annie, in a voice that screamed support and encouragement. Houston always marveled how she could do that with witnesses, victims, and perps, when she barely spoke a civil word to any of them at the station.
“Their funerals brought back memories.” Jessica put down her sandwich and wiped a hand across her mouth. “Look, I know I should have talked to you both after I sent the texts. I know you tried to find me. I was just a kid. I was scared.”
Annie placed her hand on the woman’s arm in a gesture of protectiveness that had Houston wishing he could figure out how to do that. He was too gruff with witnesses, and he knew it. “It’s all right. We all do things when we’re young that we wish we hadn’t done, once we grow up a bit and starting thinking about them.”
The relieved smile Jessica gave Annie was one she might give her best friend, right after that friend said the perfect thing at the perfect time.
“Marianne Wancho, the woman who died of the drug overdose, is one of the friends I sent a text message to the night of the party. I know Marianne came to you after Brian’s death because she told me had. At her funeral, it got me thinking about that night and how I never came forward. I don’t even know if this will help, all these years later…”
“But you thought you’d try,” said Houston. Annie shot him a nasty look for his sarcastic tone, but he ignored it.
“Yes. That’s exactly it. I thought I’d try.”
“How well did you know Brian?”
“Only by reputation. Everyone did.”
“What kind of reputation did he have?”
“Drug pusher and player, mostly.” She sighed softly. “Everyone in my school talked about him a lot.”
“Which school was that?”
“Lincoln-West.”
“That’s quite a trek to the CWRU campus.”
“It’s where we hung out.”
“Tell us what you remember from that night,” said Annie. “The night of the party.”
Jessica picked up her sandwich again and took a bite before speaking. “There were a lot of high school kids there. I was only seventeen.”
Houston wished there was a way to outlaw high school kids attending frat parties. Not that it would matter. When high school kids wanted to drink and get high, they always found a way.
“Did you know any of them?” asked Annie.
“No. They weren’t from my school, but I could tell they weren’t college kids.”
“How could you tell?” asked Houston.
“The boys in the fraternity were talking about the girls there. Saying they’d be easy ‘cause they were at a frat house, and they were all in awe of them. The high school girls were in awe of the college boys, that is.”
Appetite … gone. Houston put down his sandwich. “Did you drive there alone that night?”
She nodded.
“You said you hung out there a lot. Why weren’t you with friends that particular night?”
“I don’t remember. They couldn’t go, I guess.”
&n
bsp; Annie shot him a dangerous look. “Tell us what happened at the party, Jessica. Be as specific as you can.”
“There was a lot of drinking, including among the high school kids.”
So far, she hadn’t told them anything they didn’t already know, except that she sent a second text, and where she had graduated from high school. But Houston kept his mouth shut. Annie knew what she was doing with this one.
“But it wasn’t the drinking that freaked me out. Or the drugs. It was this one girl who got into a fight with her boyfriend.”
“Do you recall her name?” asked Annie.
Jessica shook her head while she chewed another bite of her sandwich. “No. I didn’t know her. He was in the frat, but she went to a school in Akron, I think.”
“How do you know that?” asked Houston.
“I heard someone say her parents taught at a university, but not one near here. They thought it might be in Akron. Her boyfriend was a couple years older, but he was from her home town and she was at the party to be with him.”
“What was her boyfriend’s name?”
“I don’t remember. Something short and common. Mark, or Don, maybe? A name like that.”
“Do you recall the name of the person who told you this?” asked Annie.
“No. I didn’t know her either. We were watching the two yell at each other, and it was just something she said in passing, that she’d heard from someone else.”
“Do you know how old this girl was who had a boyfriend at the party?”
“No, but she was still in high school. I remember someone else saying she’d snuck out of the house and driven up here to come to the party.”
Houston made a noise of disgust and once again ignored the look Annie shot him.
“Why were they yelling at each other?” she asked. “Do you recall?”
When Jessica averted her gaze again, and her lower lip quivered slightly, he and Annie exchanged a knowing glance. Whatever she’d seen or done that night, this woman was still afraid of it. Houston would bet his next paycheck on it.
“It’s all right.” Annie’s voice was soft and gentle. “You’re not in trouble, but what you tell us might help find Brian’s killer.”
“Brian got what he deserved.” Her voice came out in a whisper, but both he and Annie heard her words, plain as day.
“Why do you say that?” asked Annie, in the same soft, gentle tone.
“This girl from Akron wasn’t fighting with her boyfriend. She was yelling at Brian and at the boyfriend.”
As the questions popped into his mind fast and furious, Houston bit the inside of his cheek. He needed to back off and let her get the story out.
“The guys were really drunk, but not the girl. I’m ashamed to tell you this, but at first I was laughing at the three because the guys were so wasted. But once I realized why she was yelling at them, it wasn’t funny anymore.”
Jessica sipped the last of her soft drink. “She kept telling them she wasn’t going to play their stupid games, and they both told her she had to because that’s what girls did at a frat party.”
“Did she elaborate on what the games were?”
“No, but it didn’t take long for me to figure out what she meant. The boys pulled her into one of the bedrooms off the upstairs hall where I was. There were people partying all over the house, and I was up there. They left the door open, but not all the way. I was wishing I hadn’t come by that time. I was scared to drive home so I didn’t leave, but I didn’t want to be there.”
“It’s okay,” said Annie. “Just tell us what you remember.”
“I’m pretty sure she was being raped in that room. The girl from Akron. By more than one guy. Her boyfriend and Brian were first, but then others went in and came out after a while.”
Of all the things Jessica could have told him about that frat party, that was one theory that Houston had to admit neither he nor Annie had ever entertained. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled as he slowly realized this case had just become way more complicated.
Chapter Five
Houston wished he hadn’t eaten anything at all because now he felt sick to his stomach. He also could no longer hold his tongue. “Once you realized this girl was getting raped, did you go in there to try to stop it? Did you call the police? Did you do anything?”
Annie’s frosty glare didn’t faze him. He kept his attention on Jessica’s face.
“No,” she whispered. “I texted Marianne and my other friend, and told them I was afraid. And then I went into the bathroom, and when I came out, I went downstairs so I couldn’t hear her crying and begging them to stop anymore.”
After placing his tray on one of the empty chairs at the table, Houston took out his note pad. The hell with how frightened this woman still was. She wasn’t the victim here. “How many boys went in there? Any idea?”
“No.”
“Did you know any of them?”
“No.”
“Can you describe any of them?”
“Not really.”
“Can you describe the girl who was gang raped?”
Jessica flinched at his question, but he didn’t care. Who the fuck sees another high school girl at a frat party getting raped and fucking does nothing about it?
“Dark hair. Kind of curly and long. Very pretty. She was exotic looking, like maybe she was a Native American or from the Middle East. I’m sorry. I’m not very good at describing people other than hair or eye color.”
“Do you mean she had darker-toned skin?” said Annie.
“Yes. That’s what I mean.” Jessica touched her face. “And high cheekbones.”
The description caused Rosanna’s face to rise up in Houston’s mind. She had both Turkish and Sioux blood, and the combination gave her an exotic look. He’d told her that once, but in her usual style she’d downplayed her beauty.
“Is there anything else you remember about this girl?” An exotic face and dark hair wasn’t much to go on, especially from this witness.
“No. I’m sorry.” Jessica glanced at her cell phone. “I need to get back to work soon.”
“Just a couple more questions. What did her boyfriend look like?” They already knew what Brian had looked like.
“Um, blond hair, I think. And his eyes were blue. Yes. Pretty sure they were blue.”
“When did you finally leave the party?”
“About thirty minutes after I went downstairs.”
“Did you tell anyone what was going on upstairs?”
“I didn’t need to. Several people were already talking about it, and I thought the other girls there might be next. So I went outside and took deep breaths in the cold air until I felt I could drive home safely.”
Great. Perfect. You’re a real heroine. “Did either of the people you texted send messages back?”
“Only Marianne. She told me to go home.”
“Did you tell Marianne about the gang rape?”
Jessica shook her head.
“Who was the other friend you texted?” asked Annie. “I know you said she died, too, but we need it for our records.”
“It was a boy. His name was Javier Rahal.”
Houston wrote down the name before fishing a business card out of his jacket pocket, and handing it to Jessica. “Call me if any more details come back to you. Even if you think it’s not significant.”
“I will. Promise.”
After Jessica left, he and Annie exchanged a long glance. “Not much to go on, is it?”
“I disagree. We have a pretty good idea how Brian got the bruise on his face. I’m only surprised there weren’t more defensive wounds on him because it sounds like he participated in the rape.”
“Jessica did say all three were drunk. The girl might not have been able to fight back.”
“She might also be our killer.”
A nasty shiver ran down Houston’s spine. He’d thought of that, too. “It might be more complicated than that. There might be more than one
girl who was raped that night. Any one of them could have killed Brian.”
“You’re right.” Annie picked up her sandwich and proceeded to finish it, as if they’d just talked about the weather instead of a twelve-year old gang rape and homicide case.
While Houston watched her, he wondered whether that girl from Akron ever reported the rape. “I’ll check with Sex Crimes and see if they have any unsolved rapes from that time period.”
“And I’ll check out the Akron connection, if that’s really where she’s from. If she reported it, and it’s a big if, she might have done so locally instead of here.”
It still wasn’t much to go on, despite the revelation that they now might have a motive for Brian’s death, but it was more than they’d had last week. And the new light it shed on Brian’s extra-curricular activities made Houston even more determined to solve this one.
No one they’d spoken with twelve years ago had said anything about a gang rape in the frat house. They had told him and Annie about the underage drinking and drugs, but that had been it.
“She wasn’t lying about the gang rape.” He said it out loud more to reaffirm his own belief than anything.
“I agree. I got chills when she said Brian deserved what he got.”
Houston raised his brows. “You got chills? Now I know we’re onto an angle here neither one of us had considered before.”
“It was the tone of her voice. She might not have done or said anything that night, but it frightened her, just the same.”
A horrible thought occurred to him. “She could have killed Brian, you know.”
“Why would she agree to see us, then?”
“We’ve seen it before.” He shrugged. “They want to get caught. The guilt overwhelms them. They’re sick and twisted, and toss us false leads to watch us chase our tails.”
“It’s still shaky, but regardless, she’s not going anywhere. Let’s see if we can’t find more leads from what she told us, and take it from there.”
“Sounds like a solid plan, Annie.”
****
The dark-haired boy chased her in dreams down a long hallway with closed doors on both sides. She could hear his voice, shouting something about parties, but the words were all jumbled and she had trouble understanding his meaning. Each door she tried was locked, so she couldn’t get away from him.
