by Karen Rose
“Three are dead,” Daniel corrected. “Alicia, Sheila, and Cindy Bouse, who committed suicide a few years ago. We have three names. Gretchen French is here in Atlanta, Carla Solomon lives in Dutton, and Rita Danner lives in Columbia.”
“These women are all almost thirty now, Daniel,” Talia said. “They may not want to talk about this, especially if they’ve built lives with people who don’t know.”
“I know,” Daniel said. “But we need them to tell us what they know. We need to find out who feels threatened enough by all this to start striking out.”
“You think one of these rapists killed the three women this week?”
“No, but whoever did wants us to look at Alicia’s murder and Alicia’s in the pictures.”
“As is Sheila.” Talia nodded hard. “Then let’s go.”
Wednesday, January 31, 10:00 a.m.
The Jag was waiting as he slowed to a stop and started rolling the window down.
“You’re late,” he snapped before the window fully rolled down. “And you look like shit,” he added with contempt.
I do. Last night he’d drunk himself into a blessed stupor, then fallen facedown in his bed without taking off his pants or shoes. The buzzing of the cell phone in his pocket had woken him. “I didn’t have time to shave.” In reality, he hadn’t wanted to look in the mirror. He couldn’t stand the sight of himself.
“It was an unfortunate miscalculation. Pick yourself up and go on.”
An unfortunate miscalculation. His temper spewed, loosening his tongue. “One of my deputies died. That is not a misfortunate calculation.”
“He was a trigger-happy hick-faced idiot who wanted to play big-city cop.”
“He was twenty-one years old.” His voice broke and he was too angry to care.
“You should have kept more discipline in your ranks.” There was no sympathy. Only contempt. “Next time your boys will listen before they rush in to vanquish a big, bad boy with a bigger, badder gun.”
He said nothing. He could still see the blood. All that blood. He thought he’d see that boy’s blood every time he closed his eyes, maybe for the rest of his life.
“Well?” he barked from the Jag. “Where is it?”
He opened his eyes and wearily pulled a key from his pocket. “Here.”
Dark eyes narrowed. “It’s not the right key.”
He laughed bitterly. “Hell. Even Igor was smart enough not to carry it around with him. That’s likely a key to his safe-deposit box at the bank.”
He handed the key back. “Then go open the damn box,” he said, too softly. “Bring me back the right key.”
“Yeah, sure.” He slipped the key in his pocket. “Why should you take any risk?”
“Excuse me?” he said silkily.
He met the dark eyes without flinching. “I find the girls and bring them to you. I grab Bailey for you. I kill Jared and Rhett for you. Now I go to the bank for you. I take the risks. You get to sit in your fancy car lurking in the shadows like you always do.”
For a moment he only stared, then his mouth curved. “Every now and again, you prove you do have balls after all. Get the correct key and bring it to me.”
“Fine.” He was too weary to argue. He started to put his car in gear.
“I’m not finished yet. I know where Bailey put Wade’s key.”
He dragged in a breath. “Where?”
“She sent it to Alex Fallon. That woman’s had it all the time.”
Fury sputtered, then fanned into a flame. “I’ll find it.”
“See that you do. Oh, and assuming Fallon is a bit smarter than Igor, she probably isn’t carrying it on her person either.” The Jag’s window rolled up and he drove away.
Atlanta , Wednesday, January 31, 11:00 a.m.
Gretchen French was a pretty woman with very careful eyes, Daniel thought. He kept quiet, allowing Talia the lead.
“Please sit down,” Gretchen said. “What can I do for you?”
“Agent Vartanian and I are investigating a series of sexual assaults.”
“Vartanian?” Gretchen’s eyes widened, then narrowed in recognition. “You’re Daniel Vartanian. You’re working on the murders of Claudia Barnes and Janet Bowie.”
Daniel nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I am.”
“But that’s not why we’re here, Miss French,” Talia said. “As we’ve been investigating the recent murders of Claudia Barnes and the others-”
Gretchen held up her hand. “Wait. Others? Besides Janet and Claudia, there are others?”
“We found the body of Gemma Martin this morning,” Daniel said quietly, and Gretchen collapsed back into her chair, her face blank with shock.
“What’s happening here? This is insane.”
“We understand your shock.” Talia’s tone was calm without being condescending. “But as I said, we’re not here to talk about the recent murders. During the course of our investigation, we’ve discovered evidence of a series of sexual assaults.” Talia leaned forward. “Miss French, I wish I knew a way to say this to make it easier to bear, but I don’t. A series of sexual assaults occurred around the time of Alicia Tremaine’s murder. You were the same age as Alicia. You went to her high school.”
Daniel saw a flicker of fear in Gretchen’s eyes. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Talia glanced down, then back up. “We found pictures of girls being raped. Your picture was among them, Miss French. I’m sorry.”
Daniel’s heart squeezed in helpless pity as he watched Gretchen’s expression change. Every drop of color drained from her face until she was ashen. Her lips dropped open and moved, as if she was trying to speak. Then her eyes skittered away, cast down, ashamed. Daniel saw Talia’s expression had also changed. There was acute sympathy, but there was also strength, and Daniel understood why Chase had handpicked her for this interview.
Talia put her hand over Gretchen’s. “I wish I didn’t have to ask you to live that moment again, but I do. Can you tell us what happened?”
“I can’t remember.” Nervously she moistened her lips. Her eyes were conspicuously dry. “I’d tell you if I could. I wanted to tell when it happened. But I couldn’t remember.”
“We think whoever did this to you, drugged you,” Daniel murmured.
Gretchen’s chin jerked up, her eyes devastated, but still dry. “You don’t know who?”
Daniel shook his head. “We’re hoping you can tell us.”
Gretchen sat, barely breathing. “I… I was only sixteen. I remember waking up, in my car. It was dark and I was… so scared. I knew… I mean, I could feel…” Her throat worked convulsively. “It hurt. A lot.”
Talia kept holding Gretchen’s hand. “Had you been with anyone before?”
Gretchen shook her head. “No. Some of the boys tried, but I’d always said no.”
Daniel bit back the fury that exploded within him. And said nothing.
“After that… I never dated. I was so afraid. I didn’t know who…” She closed her eyes. “Or why. If I could have avoided it. I knew I should have been more careful.”
The rage was hot and so hard to control. But control it, he did. “Miss French,” he asked when he could trust his voice, “do you remember where you were coming from, going to, was anyone with you?”
She opened her eyes, a modicum of composure restored. “I was driving home from my job. I washed dishes at the Western Sizzlin’ back then. I was trying to earn money for college. I was by myself. It was late, maybe ten-thirty. I remember being tired, but I was studying all the time and working and helping out on the farm… I was always tired. I remember thinking I’d stop and get out. Get some air, before I fell asleep at the wheel.”
Talia smiled reassurance. “You are doing great,” she said. “Can you remember drinking anything before you left your job or stopping on the way?”
“I worked in the kitchen. We were allowed to drink as much Coke as we wanted. And I washed dishes, so I wasn’t going to mess a glass every time I got
thirsty. I just used the same one.”
“So someone could have put something in your drink,” Talia said quietly.
Gretchen bit the inside of her cheek. “I guess so. That was pretty stupid of me.”
“You had the expectation of being safe at your job,” Daniel said, and the look of gratitude she flashed him made him want to scream. She’d been violated, but she was grateful to be told she wasn’t stupid.
“Agent Vartanian’s right. You did nothing wrong or stupid. When you woke up, what do you remember?”
“I had a headache and I was sick. And sore. I knew… I was bleeding.” She swallowed hard and her lips trembled. “I had these new white pants. I’d saved my money to buy them. They were ruined.” She looked down. “I was ruined.”
“You woke up in your car,” Talia prompted softly, and Gretchen nodded. “Your pants were ruined, so you had your clothes on. All of your clothes?”
Gretchen nodded again, dully. “The pictures you have. Am I…?” Tears filled her eyes and Daniel’s eyes stung. “Oh God.”
“Nobody will see the pictures,” Daniel said. “No newspapers will get them.”
She blinked sending tears down her cheeks. “Thank you,” she whispered. “And there was the bottle.”
“What bottle?” Talia asked, slipping a tissue into Gretchen’s hand.
“A bottle of whiskey. Empty. There was whiskey on my clothes and in my hair. And I knew if I went to the sheriff it would look like I’d been drinking. That I’d asked for it.”
Talia’s jaw tightened. “You didn’t.”
“I know. If it happened today, I’d call the police so fast… But that was then and I was sixteen and scared.” She lifted her chin, making Daniel think of Alex in so many ways. “You’re saying this happened to more than just me?”
Daniel nodded. “We can’t tell you how many. But it was more than just you.”
Her lips turned up, so sadly. “And if you catch them you can’t do anything, right?”
“Why?” Talia asked.
“It’s been thirteen years. Hasn’t the statute of limitations long since run out?”
Daniel shook his head. “The clock doesn’t start until we file charges.”
Gretchen’s eyes hardened. “So if you catch them, you can prosecute?”
“To the fullest extent of the law,” Talia said fiercely. “You have our word.”
“Then put me on your list of witnesses. I want my day in court.”
Talia’s smile was sharp. “And we’ll do our damndest to give it to you.”
“Miss French,” Daniel said. “You mentioned some of the boys trying things and you saying no. Do you remember who you refused?”
“I didn’t have that many boyfriends. My mother made me wait until I was sixteen to date and that had only been a few months before. The boy I remember was Rhett Porter. I thought maybe he’d done it, but…”
Finally. But it was a connection one day too late. “But what?” he asked gently.
“But he ran with a mean crowd. I was afraid if I said anything…”
“You thought they’d hurt you?” Daniel asked.
“No.” She laughed bitterly. “He would have told everyone I asked for it and people would have believed him. So I kept my mouth shut and was grateful I wasn’t pregnant.”
“One more question,” Daniel said. “When was this?”
“May. The year before Alicia Tremaine was killed.”
Daniel and Talia stood up. “Thank you for your time, Miss French,” Talia said. “And your candor. I know this was difficult.”
“At least now I know I didn’t imagine it. And maybe whoever did it will be caught.” She frowned. “Are you going to talk to Rhett Porter?”
Daniel cleared his throat. “Probably not.”
Talia’s eyes grew huge with question.
Gretchen drew herself rigid. “I see.”
“No, Miss French,” Daniel said, “I don’t think you do. Rhett Porter’s car ran off the road last night. He’s believed to be dead.”
“Oh. I guess I do see. You’ve got yourself one hell of a mess, Agent Vartanian.”
Daniel nearly laughed at the understatement. “Yes, ma’am. I do at that.”
“You might have told me about Porter,” Talia said when they got to his car.
“I’m sorry. I thought I’d told you everything.”
“Well, as Gretchen French said, you have one hell of a mess. I suppose leaving out one thing is to be expected.”
They buckled up and Daniel started the car, then met her eyes. “You were good in there. I hate interviewing the rape victims. I never know what to say, but you did.”
“You do a lot of homicides. That can’t be easy either.”
Daniel winced as he pulled into traffic. “I wouldn’t say I do a lot of homicides.”
She grimaced. “Sorry. Bad choice of words.”
“Recently, especially.”
“Daniel, do you think your brother killed Alicia Tremaine thirteen years ago?”
“I’ve done nothing but wonder about that. But they arrested someone else, some drugged-out drifter. They found Alicia’s ring in his pocket and her blood on his clothing and the tire iron he was brandishing when they caught up with him.”
“So what are you thinking, then? Did this rape happen at the same time she was murdered or another time?”
Daniel tapped the steering wheel in an even rhythm as he pondered. “I don’t know.” But now, something else was bothering him. Something he should have considered before, but hadn’t. Something he’d pushed aside, until the pain and fear in Gretchen French’s eyes dragged it front and center.
“Daniel? Think out loud, please. And stop tapping. That’s making me crazy.”
Daniel sighed. “Alicia Tremaine has a twin sister. Alex.” He focused on the road to keep the fear from crowding his mind. “Alex has these bad dreams and panic attacks. They’ve gotten worse since she came back to Dutton a few days ago.”
“Oh.” Talia twisted so that she faced him. “You’re wondering which sister got raped.”
“Alex denies anything happened to her.”
“Not unusual. You have anything more than this picture? Any forensics?”
“No. Like I told you, Dutton’s sheriff and his staff have been less than forthcoming.”
“Which makes you wonder about the arrest of this drugged-out drifter.”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“Sounds like you need to pay a visit to the state pen, Daniel.”
“I know. I need to separate out the facts on Alicia’s murder from her rape.”
Talia bit her lip thoughtfully. “I once had a case with identical twins, where one was a rape victim who later died from injuries sustained in the assault. We had her hair in the perp’s apartment, but the asshole’s defense attorney kept throwing out that we couldn’t prove which twin the hair had belonged to. Created one hell of a reasonable doubt.”
“Because DNA on identical twins is identical.”
“In this case genetics was not our friend. It looked really bad for the state until the DA put the surviving twin on the stand. It was like the accused had seen a damn ghost. He went white as a sheet and started shaking so hard his shackles sounded like Jacob Marley haunting Scrooge. It made an impact on the jury and they found him guilty.”
“Alex has been all over Dutton getting double-takes. Hell, I did a double-take when I first saw her. That’s not going to help me figure out who’s involved.”
“No,” she said patiently, “but it could startle the guy who’s sitting in a cell for killing her sister into saying some interesting things. Just a thought.”
It was a damn good thought. Daniel pulled into a side road to turn around. “I have the suspicion that every woman we talk to is going to have a story like Gretchen’s.”
“I’d say you’re probably right. You want to let me take over the interviews? You can get your Alex and take her up to visit the drugged-out drifter, whatever
his name is.”
“Gary Fulmore. You don’t mind finishing the interviews yourself?”
“Daniel, this is what I do. I’ll get another agent to go with me for backup. You need to focus your efforts on what’s important to this case. At this point, unless any of these women remembers a name or a face, you’re not going to get anything new.”
“But they’re all still important,” he protested.
“Of course they are. And each of these women needs to be told she’s not alone, just like Gretchen. But I can do that, just as well as you can.”
“Probably better.” He glanced at her. “My Alex?”
Talia smiled. “It’s written all over your face, honey.”
He felt a trickle of warmth break through the bleakness in his mind. “Good.”
Atlanta , Wednesday, January 31, 12:45 p.m.
Alex leaned against a light post while Agent Hatton talked to Daniel on the phone. They’d only been looking for Bailey’s father for two hours and already Alex was weary, in body, but mostly soul. So many faces with so much pain and too little hope. So much noise in her mind. She’d given up trying to still it, instead keeping Craig’s face at the front of her mind. She tried to imagine him thirteen years older with a soft beard like Hatton’s.
So far no one had seen Craig Crighton, or would admit to it anyway. But they had blocks to cover still. If her knees didn’t give out first. She was still stiff from her fall the day before and standing still wasn’t helping matters.
Finally Hatton hung up and said, “Let’s go.”
She pushed herself away from the light pole. “Where to?”
“My car. Vartanian’s picking you up. You’re going to visit Macon State.”
She frowned. “College?”
“Um, no. Macon State Penitentiary. You’re going to visit Gary Fulmore.”
“Why?” But as soon as the word flew from her mouth she shook her head. “Stupid question. Of course we’d have to see him sooner or later. But why this afternoon?”
“You’ll have to ask Daniel. Don’t worry. I’ll keep looking and I’ll call you if I find him.”
She winced as her knees creaked. “But first I want to stop by Sister Anne’s shelter. I have a package to drop off.” Hatton took her arm, steadying her. “You’re probably glad to get rid of me. I’m just slowing you down.”
