“Well, I’ve talked to Noah’s grandpa,” Cassie said. “He’d already been in touch with Paige and Amber.”
“Paige may not be able to help,” Diana said. “We need Amber. And God help me, we may need Pamela.”
“What do you need me for?”
Cassie and Diana turned to see Pamela coming toward them. Diana looked into Pamela’s eyes, watched how she walked, and breathed a sigh of relief when she decided the woman had at least shown up sober.
“Walter called me,” Pamela said. “I thought it was to yell at me for what happened the other day. Not that I would blame him, but he said some crazy shit about Noah being arrested.”
“He’s not under arrest,” Diana said. “Yet. The ADA is saying that one of the girls fingered Noah to him before she died. I’m still trying to find out which one.”
Detective Shaw came over.
“Dad?”
“I don’t have much,” Shaw said. “But it’s got to be either Dana Clark or Janelle Stanley. They’re the two that died recently. There are two others still alive. One is still in a coma and they don’t think she’s going to recover. The other one is awake. I sent someone over and they showed her some pictures. She didn’t recognize Noah and she didn’t speak to the ADA at all, which in and of itself is interesting. But either way, we need to establish an alibi for Clark and Stanley.”
Diana looked at her notes. “One of those girls was attacked on the night that Noah was at your place, Pamela.”
Pamela blinked. “When was that?”
“You don’t remember?” Diana asked. “Noah said you called him.”
Pamela thought about it. “I know I saw him. I remember that. Just tell me the date.”
“You need to remember the date,” Detective Shaw said. “You need to be able to say you remember the date.”
Pamela rubbed the top of her head.
“So tell me the date,” Pamela said. “If Noah said he was with me, then he was with me. I just…”
“You can’t remember,” Diana yelled. “Noah might get charged if we can’t get this dealt with now.”
Tears began to show in Pamela’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I was drinking, okay? I admit it. I was drunk. I was probably mean to him, too. I know how I get. I know I’m cruel to him and he lets me be. I’m sorry. Just tell me what I need to say and I’ll say it.”
Diana shook her head. “It doesn’t work that way.”
“Why not?” Pamela said.
Diana ignored her. “We need to go to Amber.”
“It would better if she came here,” Shaw said. “And she may have to testify.”
Diana looked like she wanted to cry. “I’m sure, but that might not be an option.”
“Why not?” Cassie said.
Diana looked at Cassie. It was clearly not something that Noah had gone into with her. “Amber doesn’t like to go outside.”
“But this is Noah,” Cassie said.
Diana nodded. “I’ll call her.”
Diana reached for her cell, but Pamela stopped her with a hand to Diana’s arm. She pointed toward the door of the bullpen.
Diana looked up to see a woman come in wearing a hoody that was pulled over her face. She was being escorted by Noah’s friend, Ben.
“Amber,” Diana said.
The woman came over and stood in front of Diana. Her face was still hidden.
“Where’s Noah?” Amber asked.
“Amber, how did you…?”
“Walter called,” Amber said. “I’ve been following the case. I knew that one of the attacks happened on a night when Noah came to see me. I came for him. Paige is staying with Walter. He’s beside himself. I asked if there was someone who could come get me. He had Ben’s number.”
Ben smiled at the mention of his name.
“Anything I can do, just ask.”
Shaw stepped forward and addressed Amber. “Can you tell us about the night Noah came to see you?”
Amber nodded slightly, keeping her head lowered. “He arrived on the eleventh of September, at about seven forty-five. He was with me well past eleven.”
Shaw looked at his notes. “That’s good. They don’t have the exact time of the attack, but she was last seen at a quarter after seven. It still leaves him a slim window of opportunity before he arrived.”
“He came to my home,” Amber said. “He brought me groceries. He put them away and I could tell that he was happy about something. He wanted to show me a picture on his phone.”
Amber turned to Cassie. “Your picture. He was happy. You make my Noah happy.”
She turned back to Cassie’s father. “He did not hurt anyone. He would never hurt one of those girls. I’ve got no doubt about that.”
Shaw nodded. “I know that. I believe it. I’m on your side. Noah’s side.”
Amber nodded. “He’s mentioned you to me. You’re a very kind man.”
“Amber,” Diana said. “You might need to testify. Can you do that?”
Tears rolled down Amber’s neck. She gripped the sides of the hoody and took a breath before pushing it back and revealing her face.
Amber had been beautiful at one point in time, before Nathaniel had gotten her. She had pretty green eyes and auburn hair. She also had several scars on her face. Some of them looked like she had been sliced, while others were the result of burns. The lobe of her left ear looked chewed off.
“I’ll face anyone for Noah,” she said.
Diana turned to Shaw. “Is it enough?”
Shaw thought about it. “I don’t know. It’s not definitive. It’s unlikely that Noah could have done it during the time unaccounted for, but I can’t rule it out as a detective. I don’t believe it for a second, but I would feel better if we could nail it down one hundred percent.”
Ben stepped forward. “I might know a way to help.”
* * * *
“Tell me about what you did,” Detective Shaw said.
Brady squirmed in his seat. He was facing Cassie’s father in an interrogation room. Ben had called him and said that he needed to get down to the police station right away. That it was important. So he had. He didn’t know what was going on, but he didn’t like it.
“I, uh…”
“Brady,” Detective Shaw said. “You’re not in trouble. Ben already told me, but I need you to tell me. Please, it’s important. On these two nights, did you see Noah?”
Brady nodded. “Yeah. I’m sorry, I know it was stupid. He was just so secretive and I wanted to help Cassie. It was wrong.”
Shaw nodded. “Yes, it was, but it may be of help. Tell me about these dates.”
Brady looked at the dates. “That one, we followed him from his home to a grocery store. Then he went to a home on Hawkins Boulevard. We waited there for a couple of hours, until he came out. Then he went home. We didn’t see what happened inside.”
“That’s okay,” Shaw said. “We just need to know about what you did see. When did Noah come out of his home and leave for the grocery store?”
“It was six thirty,” Brady answered.
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely,” Brady said. “I was joking…” He stopped talking.
“It’s alright,” Shaw said. “You’re not throwing Megan under the bus. She’s here, too.”
Brady nodded. “We were joking about synchronizing our watches.”
“And you followed Noah home again? He didn’t make any other stops or detours?”
“No.”
“Okay good,” Shaw said. “And this date?”
Brady groaned.
“I’ll never forget that one. We were outside his home. We were about to leave when he got in his car and went to see Diana. When they were done, he got a call and went straight to Troy Avenue. He cleaned up a trash can of empty bottles and the woman who made a scene at the funeral came out of the house. She slapped Noah for no reason that we could figure out, then cried in his arms. That’s when we realized that whatever was up with these women, it wasn’t
romantic. We felt bad and we didn’t do it again. In fact, Megan and I were going to go see him later today. We were going to ’fess up and apologize.”
“You should apologize, but you can do that later,” Shaw said and smiled. “But you were a big help. Don’t do this kind of thing again, but thank you.”
* * * *
Shaw found the Captain in the observation room with Diana and Detective Harris. “There’s no way that Noah could have attacked those women,” Shaw said. “Brady’s timeline clears him and those were the only two who could have said anything to ADA Stewart.”
Harris agreed. “I just got through with the chick. She was bawling about that last one. Feels guilty as hell. Which is good and I gave her the same line you did to the kid in there, but it was really good luck for Noah. There’s zero possibility. Got it all recorded. Good call not letting them in on why we were doing this.”
“I want Noah released immediately,” Diana said.
“With pleasure,” Captain Fuller said. “And with apologies.”
“Something still isn’t adding up,” Shaw said. “If Noah is correct that he never met either of those girls, why did one of them finger him?”
“That’s a damn good question,” Harris said. “I had a thought and did some checking. Stewart has an alibi for the same two attacks. And one more. I started to wonder if he did it, but…”
A uniform officer came in.
“Captain,” Officer Duggan said. “You better come see this. You’re not going to like it.”
They all filed out into the bullpen where they saw that Walter and Paige were there as well, standing with Cassie. The cops and detectives were all watching the TV.
ADA Phil Stewart was on their front steps, giving a press conference.
“I can announce with near certainty,” Stewart was saying, “that we believe the person in custody is responsible for all of the attacks. His name is Noah Hunt and he has a very troubled past. He is the son of Nathaniel James Hunt and was raised by Nathaniel in the same house where he held, raped, tortured and in many cases killed twenty two women.”
The news people started to hurl questions at the ADA. How long has he been under suspicion? Is an insanity plea a possibility? Has he been in contact with his father?
“That bastard,” Diana said.
“He’s lying on TV,” Cassie said. “We’ve got to stop him.”
“The problem is,” Shaw said. “The damage has been done.”
Diana looked toward the other women that she had suffered with. Then she stepped up to Detective Shaw.
“I’ve got an idea.”
* * * *
“We still have some more work to do,” Stewart was saying. “But I can tell you that the evidence against Noah Hunt is substantial and…”
He stopped talking as the chatter of the reporters heated up. He turned around and saw Captain Fuller coming toward him, leading a procession of women.
“That’s enough ADA Stewart,” Captain Fuller told him loud enough that the microphones picked him up. “I don’t know what your game is, but it’s over.”
The Captain made a motion and two uniform officers came down the stairs. “Please escort the ADA inside.”
“Now see here,” Stewart yelled.
“This isn’t a request,” Captain Fuller said. The officers, including Officer Duggan, took Stewart into custody and brought him inside. Captain Fuller turned to the reporters. “Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to correct a few details. I have spoken to all the detectives involved in the college rape investigation. None of them ever had any reason to believe Noah Hunt was a suspect. We have had prior contact with Mr. Hunt. On August the twenty-third he intervened when a young lady was being assaulted by a man who we did suspect in the other attacks. That incident was caught on camera and there is no doubt that Mr. Hunt acted bravely and succeeded in saving a young lady from being victimized.
“We were just told tonight that ADA Stewart believed Noah Hunt was responsible for the other attacks,” Captain Fuller said. “We were presented with no evidence except the ADA’s word that one of the victims had given him Mr. Hunt’s name before passing. ADA Stewart refused to give the name of that victim, but we know it can only be two of them. Through some quick detective work, we were able to verify Mr. Hunt’s whereabouts on the days and times of those attacks. There is zero possibility that Mr. Hunt committed either of those attacks. He simply had no opportunity. It is also extremely unlikely that he would have had the opportunity to commit any of the other attacks. I have every confidence that if I had to try and clear him of each attack individually, we probably could. But all detectives involved are satisfied Mr. Hunt is not in any way connected to any crime except for the ones that he himself was a victim of in his youth. And the one that he prevented. We have spoken to the District Attorney himself and he will be issuing a formal apology to Noah Hunt.
“In regards to Mr. Hunt’s past,” Captain Fuller said. “I’m afraid you may have been given erroneous information by the ADA. I could clarify it, but I think we would be better served to hear from other victims of Nathaniel James Hunt, all of whom came here today to demand the release of Noah. They all will tell you what I’ve come to believe. That Noah Hunt is a fine young man who has overcome the worst of circumstances in his life.”
Captain Fuller stepped aside as Diana came to the stand. She ignored the questions and the flashes from the cameras.
“My name is Diana,” she said. “I was the last victim of Nathaniel James Hunt who made it out alive. I’ve known Noah since he was six. Nathaniel was as cruel to him as he was to us. For the ADA to say that Nathaniel raised Noah is, quite frankly, a lie. He was raised by his loving mother, who just passed three days ago from cancer. I will speak for her and say that despite how Noah was conceived, he was the one bright spot of her life. In all our lives. She adored her son. She raised Noah, not Nathaniel. And if anyone besides her had a hand in raising Noah, it was the rest of us. Us and the other women who went into that house, even if they never came out.
“Since our escape, Noah has tried to heal like the rest of us. He has also grown into a wonderful young man who has done his best to take care of each of us. He is kind, thoughtful, and sweet. Very much like his mother and grandfather, nothing like that monster.”
Diana stepped aside and Paige limped up to the mic. More camera flashes greeted her.
“My name is Paige,” she said. “I was one of Nathaniel Hunt’s victims as well. I used to enjoy going for runs, which is what I was doing when Nathaniel abducted me. We were all hurt many times by Nathaniel. He once broke my hip, which has never properly healed. I can still remember the sweet boy who took care of me as best as he could. When Noah got older, and by older I mean seven, Nathaniel would often give Noah a choice between helping to hurt us or being hurt himself. Noah refused to ever do anything to injure any of us, no matter what Nathaniel did to him. No matter how much we begged Noah to do what Nathaniel wanted. Noah would never hurt us.”
She stepped aside and Amber came up. Ben walked up with her, holding her hand. She was still wearing her hoody, but with a gentle reassurance from Ben, she removed it.
There were a few gasps from the reporters and the flashes stopped for a brief moment, before resuming at an even more frenzied pace.
Amber turned into Ben’s shoulder for a moment. She heard Ben whisper that it was okay. She forced herself to turn back.
“Nathaniel did this to me,” she said. “Noah took care of me. He told me I was still beautiful. And he still does. He was with me on the night of one of the attacks. Taking care of me like he always has.”
She stepped aside quickly, pulling the hoody back into place. Ben placed his arm around her and guided her to the back. She cried in the nook of his arm.
Pamela stepped up next.
“My name is Pamela,” she said. “Out of everyone here, I’ve known Noah the longest. I helped deliver him. Years later, Noah helped deliver my daughter, the only other child to make it o
ut of that house alive. Noah managed to save her. Nathaniel would take Noah out at times, always with the threat that if they didn’t return, we would all die. Nathaniel was skilled with explosives. But when Noah was out once, with my daughter Claire, he tricked Nathaniel and left her in a store where she would be found. I don’t know where she is, but I believe that she’s safe and without the nightmares that plague the rest of us. All because of Noah. Nathaniel wasn’t happy about being fooled and he punished Noah. Severely. I haven’t been as kind to Noah as he has been to me, but Noah has never once been anything but loving to me.”
Pamela stepped aside and Cassie stepped up. She couldn’t make out the faces in the crowd, but she didn’t feel any panic.
“I was the woman who was attacked a month ago,” she said. “Noah saved me. He was brave, kind, and patient. I’ve never been afraid when I’m with Noah.
“I went with Noah to see Nathaniel,” Cassie continued. “He goes once a year, on his birthday. It’s not something he enjoys doing. You see, Noah made a deal with Nathaniel. Noah goes to see Nathaniel every year on his birthday, and in return Nathaniel gives Noah the location of one of his victims so their remains can be brought home to the family. Nathaniel relishes this one time every year where he can be cruel to Noah, and Noah endures it. Because it helps others. That’s the kind of man Noah Hunt is. That’s the man I’ve fallen in love with.”
Cassie stepped aside and took Diana and Amber’s hands. Captain Fuller returned to the mic as the women began to head back into the building.
“Noah Hunt should never have been taken into custody,” Captain Fuller said. “And that mistake has been rectified. While this press conference was going on, Noah Hunt has been escorted out of the building. We ask that you respect the privacy of Mr. Hunt and these brave women. And we will investigate to learn the real reason why ADA Phil Stewart misled us and caused further damage to these fine people. I will be holding a press conference tomorrow to keep you updated. That’s all for tonight.”
And with that, he walked away amid a frenzy of questions.
Just Breathe Page 20
