by Marti Green
Dani thanked her. Once they hung up, she hit the social-media sites, entering both their names and Princeton University. Within thirty minutes, she had enough information to track down their current homes—one in Connecticut and the other in Wisconsin.
Dani had tried reaching the two women several times during the day, only to get their voice mail. When she was home, after Jonah had gone to sleep, she tried again. The first call was to Karen Ballard, who now answered the phone. After Dani introduced herself, she asked, “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about Max Dolan?”
There was silence on the other end of the phone. Dani could hear raspy breathing, then coughing. “Did I catch you when you’re sick?” she asked.
“No. This happens whenever I think of that bastard. What’s your interest in him?”
“I can’t tell you at this time. But it would be very helpful if you could describe your experience with him.”
“Experience? The jerk raped me. And no one did anything about it.”
Dani was surprised. Rape was a far cry from being manhandled. Perhaps Karen had been too humiliated to tell her friend the extent of the assault. Sadly, Dani knew that it was not uncommon for a victim to feel ashamed, as though she’d brought the attack on herself.
“I’m so sorry. I’d heard that something had happened. I’m trying to see if there’s a pattern of behavior with him. Can you tell me the circumstances?”
Dani heard a deep sigh, and then a rustling movement.
“I needed to sit down for this. Okay, here’s what happened. Max was gorgeous. Big blue eyes and wavy blond hair, great body. All the girls wanted to go out with him. And it seemed he wanted to date everyone—you know, play the field. I was the fourth one in our dorm that he asked out.”
“Had you heard anything about his reputation before you went out with him?”
“You know what it’s like in a dorm. Everybody talks, and it gets passed around like wildfire. So, yeah, I’d heard he was a player. The previous girls didn’t seem to mind. I guess they were more experienced than me.”
“What happened on the date?”
“We went to a frat party. There were lots of kids and plenty of booze. I was okay with it. I was away from home for the first time and wanted to let loose. I guess I had a few drinks—well, quite a few. I started to feel dizzy, so Max took me to a bedroom and said I should lie down. Next thing I knew, he was on top of me. I tried to push him off, but he was too big for me. I’m barely five feet, and back then, I was tiny—a size zero. I was no match for him, but still, I kept struggling. It didn’t matter that I screamed. The noise was so loud in the frat house no one could hear. After a few minutes, he whipped his belt off and used it to tie my hands behind my back. Then he pulled up my skirt and ripped off my panties.”
Karen stopped. Dani could hear soft cries. She waited a few minutes before speaking. “I know this must be difficult for you.”
“It’s been seven years, and it still feels like yesterday. Just give me a moment.”
Dani waited quietly.
After a few minutes, Karen continued. “I left Princeton for a semester. I planned on transferring to another school, but after a while, I started to get angry that what he did was still controlling me. Princeton had always been my dream school. I returned the next semester with an assurance from the dean of students that he wouldn’t be in my dorm or in any of my classes.”
“Is there anything else you can tell me about the rape?”
“Let me think. You know, I’ve worked hard to try to wipe it from my memory.”
“I wouldn’t ask you if it weren’t important.”
Once again, she heard a deep sigh, and then Karen continued.
“After my hands were tied and my panties torn off, he covered my mouth with one hand and put the other around my throat. He entered me and squeezed my throat tighter. I couldn’t breathe—I thought I would die. When it was over, he untied me and was all smiles, like nothing had happened. He even had the gall to ask me how I liked it. I was too stunned to move or say anything. I was terrified of him. All I could think about was getting back to the dorm. He told me to get dressed, and after I did, he took my hand and led me back to the party. I could barely speak, my voice was so hoarse, but I managed to communicate that I wanted to go home.
“As we walked there, he asked me how I liked the choking. I just looked at him, stunned. He laughed and said it was supposed to increase sexual arousal, that the next time I should do it to him. We were close to the dorm then, and I just ran away from him, as fast as I could. I pounded on the door of the RA. Thank goodness, he was in.”
“Why didn’t you press charges?”
“I filed a complaint with the school, and they supposedly investigated. Max said I wanted it, and there were plenty of witnesses who saw me drinking a lot, and holding Max’s hand as we walked to the bedroom. The school felt there was insufficient evidence to expel him.”
“You still could have filed criminal charges.”
“No, it was too late for that. I hadn’t gone right away to a hospital so they could examine me. I just wanted to shower his filth off me and crawl into bed. By the time I thought about going to the police, his semen was gone, and the choke marks around my neck had disappeared. It would have been a repeat of his word against mine. I couldn’t bear to go through that again.”
Dani thanked her and hung up. Much of what Karen described mirrored what had happened to Carly: the panties taken off, the hands tied behind the back, the choking. Only with Carly, the choking went too far. It killed her.
Dani called Liz Humphrey next. She, too, was home and agreed to talk to her. She, too, had her hands tied behind her back and her neck choked after Max penetrated her. She had wanted to make love to Max, but when the choking began, she unsuccessfully tried to stop him. She never filed a complaint. And she made sure she was never again alone with Max Dolan.
It all added up to Dani. Max Dolan had been at the dance. He’d left the gym, and when he saw Win exit the woods alone, he quietly slipped in there himself. Maybe he hadn’t intended to kill Carly; maybe he had. It didn’t matter. Dolan belonged in prison.
While Dani was making her phone calls, Tommy had one more avenue to explore. Amelia Melton had said the killer had proof of her fraud. On a hunch, he called the hacker who’d discovered the payment to Letitia Sanders.
“Do you know what financial institution the half million came from?” Tommy asked him.
“I don’t, but I can find out.”
“Do that, please. As soon as you can.”
The hacker agreed to call him back when he had the information. Two hours later, Tommy’s phone rang.
“I got it. It was wired from the account of Independence Enterprises at the investment firm Dolan and Mahoney.”
Naturally, Tommy thought. It was where Max Dolan worked. He had the records showing the trail of money. If Amelia tried to deny it, he had the proof to hand over to the police.
They had enough to confront Max Dolan. And that’s just what Tommy planned to do.
CHAPTER
44
Dani cradled her head in her hands as she struggled to find a way to use the information she’d learned. Dolan, of course, would deny he’d killed Carly. And the testimony of the other women probably wouldn’t even be admissible. A judge would likely rule that prior bad acts didn’t necessarily prove the commission of the current act, and it would be too prejudicial for a jury to hear their statements. Just then, Tommy burst into her office.
“We got him. The money to Letitia went through Dolan’s company.”
“It’s not enough,” Dani said. “He’ll claim he was just processing a client’s request. That he had no idea what it was for.”
Dani watched Tommy march back and forth in her small space, as though he were a tiger pacing its cage, smelling the red meat on the other side
of the bars.
“Not if I tell him Amelia Melton spilled.”
“You can’t do that. It’s not true, and it’ll only put her in jeopardy. Win wouldn’t want that.”
“I was wrong about Kincaid. I’m positive that we’re right about Dolan. And it’s time to do something about it.”
Tommy flopped down on the chair in Dani’s office. “What if I can get inside Dolan’s apartment and search for the corsage? It has to be there.”
“How are you going to get invited to his apartment? I don’t want you breaking in.”
“Couldn’t even if I wanted to. He’s in one of those luxury high-rises in Fort Lee, complete with two doormen and a concierge.”
“So, what are you thinking?”
“We need to enlist Win’s help.”
Dani looked at him blankly.
“Win can get into Dolan’s apartment. He can search for the corsage.”
“Oh, Tommy, it’s too dangerous for Win.”
“Not if we set it up right.”
“No. Absolutely not. But we do have to warn Win. He needs to know what we’ve discovered about his best friend.”
Once again, Dani went back to the Melton home, Tommy at her side. This time, they were there to see Win. She’d called the night before and said they’d like to stop by, see how Win was doing. Once again, the butler led them inside. When they entered the family room, Win was sitting on the couch, game console in hand, busily working his way through a jungle on the television screen, fighting off predators as he used a machete to pave a way through the thick foliage. He looked up briefly and smiled at them.
“Be with you in one moment. Got to finish this game.”
Dani and Tommy sat down on chairs adjacent to the couch and waited. Jonah loved video games. Dani had rules, though. Only after homework was completed. Never more than one hour at a time, unless it was the weekend and he was playing it with a friend. Then it could be two hours. Never during family time, which was always the half hour before dinner and the half hour after. Dani wondered if Win imposed any rules on himself, or if he played the games day and night, helping fuel his self-imposed exile from life.
“Damn!” Win screamed as the game came to an end. He turned to Dani. “I was on track for my high score, then blew it.”
“How’s it going?” Dani asked. “You getting out at all?”
Win yawned. “I see my therapist twice a week. Once in a while, Max comes over. Last week, I went to a movie with him.”
“Really? What did you see?”
Win gave her the name of a foreign film she’d never heard of.
“Do you ever go to Max’s place?” Tommy asked.
Win shook his head. “Too soon.”
“Do you think you could? If I told you it was important?”
“Tommy, stop it,” Dani said. “I told you, it’s too dangerous.”
Win looked back and forth between Dani and Tommy with a quizzical expression. “What’s going on?”
“We believe that Max murdered Carly Sobol,” Dani said.
Win stared at her. “You’re joking, right?”
She shook her head, then watched as the color drained from Win’s face.
“You’re wrong. He couldn’t have done that.” Win’s voice was hoarse.
“I’m sorry. I know this is hard for you.”
Win stood up and paced the perimeter of the room, not saying a word. When he finally came to a stop, he stood over Dani, his hands on his waist. “Max would never have let me take the blame for something he’d done. Never.”
“Think back to Princeton. Did you know some girls accused him of rape?”
“Sure, they made claims, but they were all bogus. You know, after-sex regrets.”
“Maybe if it was one girl. But two? And that’s just in your dorm.”
“Still, they talked to each other. Maybe they were in cahoots. Thought it’d knock him down a peg.”
“No, Win,” Dani said, her voice soft. “I spoke to them. He did things to them that matched what happened to Carly. He tied their hands behind their backs. He forced them to have sex. He wrapped his hands around their necks and choked them during it. Only with Carly, he didn’t stop until she died.”
Win sunk down into the couch and buried his head in his hands. “No, no, no, no,” he kept saying, over and over. Finally, he lifted his head, and his cheeks were smeared with tears. He wiped them away with the back of his hand. “What should I do now?” he asked in a monotone. “He can’t get away with this.”
“I have an idea,” Tommy said.
“No, Tommy,” Dani said, a sharp tone to her voice. She moved over to the couch and sat next to Win. “I know some New Jersey prosecutors. I’ll try to convince one to get a search warrant for his apartment.”
“Do you think you can?”
Dani shook her head slowly. “It’ll be difficult. The only thing we have are his past rapes, and those are probably not admissible.”
“I need to do something. He took away seven years of my life.”
Dani picked up Win’s hand and held it. “Win, I’m sorry. There’s nothing you can do.”
CHAPTER
45
Win had been in a state of fury ever since Dani told him her theory. If it were true, his best friend had betrayed him beyond anything he could have imagined. He felt a murderous rage toward him that wouldn’t go away. He had to do something. He needed to know with certainty if Dani was right.
The next day, he gave Tommy a call. “What was it that Dani didn’t want you to say?” he asked.
Tommy told him about his plan. Get inside Max’s apartment. Tommy would create a distraction to get Max out. Search for the carnation.
The following Saturday, the chauffeur, Burt, drove Win to Max Dolan’s condo building in Fort Lee. The anger he’d felt the past few days was held in check. He was just here to be with an old friend. Win felt remarkably calm as he walked into the building and announced his presence to the concierge. He’d told Max that his therapist thought this was the next step for him, and Max had readily agreed. He rode the elevator up to the twenty-first floor and, when he got out, made his way to Apartment 2112. The door was open, and Max already had a beer in his hand for Win.
“Here,” Dolan said as he handed Win the bottle. “Let’s get the party started.”
Win froze momentarily, afraid that Dolan had invited others, but as he looked around, he saw that they were alone. “Nice digs. Your own bachelor pad. We used to talk about what it’d be like, living on our own. Is it what we expected?”
“Even better. You’ll see. Before you know it, you’ll be back on your feet.”
“How about a tour?”
Dolan led him through the living room, past the kitchen and dinette, and down a corridor to two bedrooms, one of which had been turned into a study. Back in the living room, he pointed out the sixty-inch flat-screen TV on the wall, and four different gaming consoles on the cocktail table in front of the leather couch.
“So, what’ll it be? Wii, PlayStation, Xbox, or OUYA?”
“You choose.”
Most of the games and the consoles were new to Win. Most technology was new to him. Dolan had already introduced him to Xbox and taught him some games. Playing a game with a stranger located in the ether seemed otherworldly. His mother had to explain to him what a smartphone and an iPad were, and how to read books on a screen instead of holding the bound pages in his hand. YouTube and Facebook had begun while he was still in school, but the mass usage of those websites astounded him. Instagram and Pinterest were completely foreign to him.
Dolan chose an Xbox game, then showed Win how to play it. Midway into their third soccer game, Dolan’s cell phone rang.
“Shouldn’t you get that?” Win asked.
“Just ignore it. It’ll go to voice mail.”
“What the hell?” said Dolan as he answered the call. He wrinkled his brow, kept biting his lip as he listened silently to the voice on the other end, then said, “I’ll get there as soon as I can,” before hanging up.
His face ashen, he turned to Win. “My parents were in a car accident. They’re at the hospital. They’re both in surgery right now. I’m sorry, I’ve got to leave.”
Win reached his hand out to touch Dolan’s shoulder. “Go. I’ll buzz Burt to come pick me up now. He was staying nearby.”
As Dolan rushed out the door, Win shouted out to him, “Call and let me know how they are!”
The front door slammed shut, leaving Win alone in the apartment, as planned. He stood by the living-room window, looking out over the street, waiting to see Dolan’s blue BMW convertible pull out of the underground garage. Three minutes later, he spotted it. Now he had to get to work.
Dani phoned Win’s home to check up on him. She’d given him devastating news the other day and wanted to see how he was handling it. Thankfully, he had a therapist. Dani hoped he could work out his feelings over it with her.
“I’m sorry, Master Winston isn’t here,” the butler said when he answered the phone.
Dani was surprised. He wouldn’t be seeing his therapist on a Saturday, and Max had been the only one who’d gotten him to leave his house. But how could he see Max after what she’d revealed about him?
“Did he go someplace with Max?”
“He’s at Mr. Dolan’s apartment. I suspect he’ll be there a few hours.”
Dani froze. It couldn’t be. Tommy wouldn’t have done it. She quickly thanked him, hung up, and then went looking for Tommy. He wasn’t at his desk. She ran back to her office and dialed Tommy’s cell phone.
