Chain Reaction

by Diane Fanning

  Lucinda stopped the tape and asked, ‘Do you remember that night, Jimmy?’

  Jimmy’s jaw was slack, his eyes unfocused and his hands shook. He looked at Lucinda with an expression that screamed, ‘Why?’

  ‘Jimmy, answer me. Do you remember that night?’

  Jimmy’s head slowly moved from one side to another.

  ‘Maybe a little more will freshen your memory,’ Lucinda said and pressed the button.

  Brittany’s story started again. ‘He punched me in the face. He pounded on my body. And then he raped me. Cruelly, savagely. He called me a bitch and a whore. He told me I belonged to him and I had no right to speak to any other man. Then he left. I took a long shower and cried myself to sleep.’

  ‘I didn’t. I swear I didn’t,’ Jimmy said, his voice sounding weak and far away.

  ‘Why did you kill David, Jimmy? Was it because he was sleeping with Brittany?’

  ‘No, no.’

  ‘You want to know what she said when I asked her about why she allowed you to use her workbench in the garage?’

  Jimmy shook his head.

  Lucinda cued it up to the right spot and pressed play anyway.

  Brittany said, ‘He came to my house with a drawing of a tattoo that I have in a private place. He said that if I didn’t let him use my garage to work on his project, he would pass copies of it all over the school.’

  Lucinda’s voice spoke from the recorder. ‘I thought you said you were facing him when he raped you. So, how did he see your tramp stamp?’

  ‘That is such vulgar slang, Lieutenant,’ Rita remonstrated.

  ‘Everybody calls it that,’ Brittany said with a sigh. ‘I just didn’t tell it all. It was too embarrassing. But after Jimmy Van Dyke raped me vaginally the first time, he flipped me over and took me the other way. It was so horrible.’

  ‘No, no, no!’ Jimmy shouted and pounded on the table.

  Brittany continued. ‘If he distributed that at the school, my career would be over. I couldn’t explain it away. So I let him and that other boy work in the garage. I didn’t know what he was doing. And poor little David Baynes. I was trying to help him with composition because he’d fallen behind in class and somehow, in his sick little mind, Jimmy decided that David and I were lovers. I think that’s why he killed him. I should have reported Jimmy to the authorities immediately. But I didn’t want to ruin his life.’

  Lucinda stopped the tape again. ‘She’s throwing you under the bus, feeding you to the lions, sacrificing you on the altar – whatever cliché you want to use, Jimmy. Are you going to let her get away with it? Are you going to let her use and manipulate more boys? Or are you going to tell me the whole story? All of it?’

  For a long time, Lucinda sat and waited while Jimmy sat stone-faced, staring at the wall.

  Lucinda interrupted his contemplation once. ‘Jimmy, you killed David and there will be consequences for that. Brittany Schaffer’s manipulation will provide your attorney with a strong mitigation case and I will do everything I can to get your sentence minimized, maybe down to as little as twenty years. But I need to know everything and I will need you to testify against her in court when she goes to trial.’

  Jimmy sighed. ‘If I tell you everything, do you promise she’ll be charged?’

  ‘Yes, Jimmy, with everything I can think of.’

  He stared back at the wall for another couple of minutes. Then he turned to her and said, ‘OK. Where do you want me to start?’

  ‘At the beginning, Jimmy. Tell me how it all began.’

  SIXTY-NINE

  Lucinda left her interview with Jimmy Van Dyke stunned by his revelations. On the one hand, it was nothing more than the age-old story of a lovers’ triangle but, on the other, it was flat-out bizarre.

  Brittany Schaffer was a garden-variety sexual predator, using and discarding the adolescent boys who gratified her ego and did her dirty work. Unlike any similar case of an authority figure taking advantage of their position to manipulate their charges, Brittany set off a chain reaction that led to homicide, suicide and a federal terrorism investigation.

  The time was now here for the climactic closing of the law enforcement case. After the next step was accomplished, she would turn the responsibility for justice over to the prosecutor’s office – always a bittersweet moment.

  Lucinda spent the rest of the day meeting and making plans with Lieutenant Barry Washington of the sex crimes division. They decided to serve the arrest warrant on Brittany Schaffer and execute the search warrant for her home at the same time, but they did not want her in the house when they did it. They decided upon ten a.m. the next morning and arranged for two uniformed back-up teams and a team of techs led by Marguerite Spellman.

  ‘You want me to take care of the house?’ Lucinda asked.

  ‘Absolutely not,’ Barry said. ‘It may not be a homicide but this is your collar. I would not think of depriving you of handcuffing that Schaffer woman.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Lucinda asked as she felt a jolt of adrenaline speeding through her system at the excitement of publicly arresting a woman who had lied to her and violated the public trust.

  ‘I should be at the house, anyway. I have more experience with evidence collection in sex crimes. It makes sense.’

  The next morning, Lucinda drove up to Woodrow Wilson High School, followed by two marked patrol cars containing four uniformed officers. She stopped first in the main office and requested that Principal Rose Johnson accompany her.

  Rose was full of questions but Lucinda didn’t say a word. She just handed her the arrest warrant to read as they walked the halls to Brittany Schaffer’s classroom. At the door, Rose raised her hand to knock. Lucinda wrapped her fingers around Rose’s fist and pulled it away with a shake of her head.

  Lucinda opened the door and entered the classroom followed by the patrolmen.

  ‘Well, class,’ Brittany said, ‘It appears as if we have visitors this morning.’ Turning to Lucinda, she added, ‘There are a few seats in the back of the room. Feel free to join in our discussion.’

  Lucinda was not amused. ‘Brittany Schaffer, you are under arrest for the sexual exploitation of minor students and for your involvement in the bombing at this school. Please face the wall and put your hands behind your back.’

  ‘I will not,’ Brittany said. ‘I’m not going anywhere without my attorney.’ She pulled out her cell.

  Lucinda plucked the phone from Brittany’s hand. One of the uniformed men grabbed Brittany’s shoulder, spun her around and pressed her face into the wall. It took two officers to secure her flailing arms and make them accessible for Lucinda to snap on the cuffs.

  A man on either side of Brittany grabbed her elbows and led her out of the room. As Brittany passed Rose, she shouted, ‘Ms Johnson, you need to call my attorney. Rita Younger. Tell her what happened here. Hurry.’

  ‘I don’t think so, Ms Schaffer,’ Rose said.

  Lucinda walked into the hallway realizing the classroom behind her was in uproar. Students were standing, shouting questions, sending texts, making calls and milling in clumps for whispered conversations. She heard Rose raise her voice to speak over the hubbub, ‘Class, everyone, please take your seats and I will answer your questions the best I can.’

  Epilogue

  The following Sunday, at Evan’s invitation and Charley’s insistence, Lucinda and Jake went to the Spencer home to say goodbye to Amber and Andy Culvert and meet their new guardians, Aunt Livie and Uncle Zach, and their two children. As she drove, her mind wandered to the resolution of the mystery behind the explosion at the high school.

  The aftermath of a case always left Lucinda in a pensive mood. She was pleased that Brittany’s predation and manipulation of high school boys was at an end and that, unlike many other cases, Brittany couldn’t use her good looks and gender stereotypes to squeak out of the situation with a mild rebuke from a judge. The cost of that, however, was high. Two people – David Baynes and Fred Garcia – were dead as a di
rect result of her instigation. Another boy – Todd Matthews – died by his own hand, indirectly driven to his suicide by Brittany Schaffer.

  The parents of David and Todd would carry an unnatural burden of pain for the rest of their lives – outliving one of your children furrows deep rows of unending sorrow. And Fred Garcia’s children would grow up without a father. She vowed to remember those kids every year at Christmas – a small gesture, but she remembered how the tiniest gestures had meant so much to her after her parents died.

  Charlotte Van Dyke lost a child, too, albeit in a very different way. Jimmy would still be alive but he’d be behind bars for a long time to come. Charlotte would suffer a sense of loss that at times would swamp her heart. And what of Tamara? How would she cope with the guilt of what she did that weekend? She had no way of knowing that her action would lead to a fatal conclusion, but still …

  By the time they reached the Spencer home, plans had changed. Evan had suggested that the children might have an easier transition if they stayed with him until the end of the school year. Livie and Zach agreed. The farewell party had evolved into a celebration of justice and the best interests of the children. The kids ran between rooms, drinking soda and stuffing themselves with snacks, and the five adults sat out on the deck, sipping wine and getting to know one another. Jake and Lucinda left feeling very good about the people who would take over responsibility for Amber and Andy once school was out for the year.

  On the ride home, Jake said, ‘All six of those kids are great but, for me, they were a persuasive argument for birth control.’

  ‘Are you saying if you got married, you wouldn’t want children?’

  ‘I don’t think I do, Lucy. What about you?’

  ‘Leaving my job would be like cutting off an important part of my anatomy. Not leaving my job wouldn’t make me a very good mother – running out in the middle of the night, sometimes gone for forty-eight hours at a stretch. I’d have to marry a good candidate for Mr Mom – but, honestly, I’ve never met a man like that. I meet victims who are in a state of shock, criminals who belong in prison and law enforcement types like you. Not much hope there.’

  ‘So, you want children – you just haven’t found the right guy? Is that why you’ve avoided answering me when I’ve suggested marriage?’ Jake asked.

  ‘There was a time when I really wanted kids badly. That’s how I felt the first time I married – but that was a bust. When that happened, I wasn’t able to think about allowing a man into my life again – I didn’t want to take the risk. Instead, I focused on my career and built it – through ups and downs, joy and despair – until it became such an integral of my personality that I can’t imagine me without it. Now, it’s a bit late for me to start a family under any circumstances. But you’re younger. With the right woman, you could have your career and a family. You can have it all – just not with me.’

  ‘It’s not what I want, Lucy. I am not interested in raising children – that’s where the risk lies, in my opinion. There is no risk worth considering in a relationship with the woman I love. And whether you’re comfortable with it or not, you’re it. I’m not going to go away. If you push me away, it won’t change anything in my mind or in my heart. Simply put, I belong to you.’

  ‘You poor thing. I’ve never been good at taking care of my belongings.’

  ‘I’m serious, Lucy. I want to marry you.’

  ‘We’ve only been living together for six months, Jake. By the time a year is up, you could tire of me.’

  ‘So, are you saying that after we’ve lived together for a year, you’ll marry me?’

  Lucinda winced. ‘I can’t say that, Jake.’

  ‘What can you say?’

  ‘I love you. How’s that work for ya?’

  ‘I like that, Lucy, I like that a lot – but it’s a very evasive answer. What can I expect six months from now? What can I expect then?’

  ‘What can any of us expect six months from now? People always make the mistake of thinking they know someone well only to realize they’ve developed a relationship with a monster. This case and Amber’s situation and all the other shattered lives I have encountered have taught me a lot about human motivations and I can’t say I like what I’ve learned. With the experiences I’ve had and the knowledge I’ve gained, how can I pretend to believe two people can live happily ever after till death tears them apart?’

  ‘Stop the car, Lucy, please.’

  Lucinda pulled over into the parking lot of a closed furniture store.

  ‘Look at me.’

  She turned in his direction and he took both of her hands in his. ‘You’ve always believed that the biggest risk in an investigation was not taking any risks. You should give yourself – give us – the same opportunity. No, it won’t come with a guarantee but it does come with a promise. I know you won’t turn into a manipulating fiend like Brittany Schaffer. And I trust that you know I won’t become a child-molesting creep like Amber’s mother’s boyfriend. There’s no good reason for you not to give us a chance – nothing but a weakness buried deep in your heart. I’ve never thought of you as a coward, so please don’t act like one. What will you be willing to tell me in six months?’

  Lucinda chewed on her lower lip and darted glances at Jake. ‘I can say this, Jake. For the next six months, I will think about it a lot – instead of avoiding it as I have been doing. And when the time is up, if you are still interested, I will seriously consider your proposal and try to give you an answer.’

  ‘Thank you, Lucy. It’s not exactly what I wanted but, for now, it’s enough.’