Lisa’s voice had softened to a near whisper as she relived the attack. “That’s how I was found later by one of my neighbors. Almost dead, they rushed me to the hospital and into the operating room. After I recovered enough to talk, I told the police everything. Just like I was encouraged to do by them, the rape counselor, and my lawyer. Tell us everything and we’ll get that man for you, they said. And I was stupid enough to believe them. To trust in the justice system.”
Lisa’s shook her head and took a deep breath. “That was my mistake. I can guarantee you I won’t make that one again. Oh, sure, they arrested him and he went to trial. That was almost as bad as the assault. I had to face him every single nightmarish day and listen to his lies about me. My private life was brought before the jury where they listened to my sexual history. As if that had anything to do with whether or not he followed me home and attacked me. Crouch claimed he was with his buddy all night and then his friend got up on the stand and lied for him; so that bastard got to walk free, while I sit at home, too embarrassed to leave my own house. My boyfriend was repulsed by my face and couldn’t bear to touch me any more. No man can look at me without being repulsed. No, sir, Lieutenant. I don’t know who did this, but I wouldn’t help you even if I could, because the police and courts didn’t help me when I needed them. If they had listened to me then, he’d be in jail now instead of dead. I guess you’d prefer the first, but actually I’m partial to what happened to him. He finally got what he deserved and I couldn’t be happier.”
Lisa leapt to her feet and trembled as she continued, “Now that you’ve had your say and I’ve had mine, please leave. My parents are dead and my boyfriend is long gone, so I don’t have any one out there seeking revenge for me. I wish I did, Lieutenant, but Crouch and your failed system took justice away from me. Now, please leave so I can calm down and start my celebrating.” She walked to the front door and held it open expectantly.
Dan and Mory hesitated before stepping outside. Mory handed her his card and asked that she call if she thought of anything useful.
Lisa responded by tearing the card into small pieces, looking him in the eye, and letting them flutter to the floor. “That’s what I think of you or helping you.” Her gaze went to Dan’s and narrowed. “I will tell you this much, Lieutenant Mallory: Crouch left no fingerprints because he wore gloves the entire time. He used a condom because I felt and tasted it in my mouth. The police said they didn’t find any hairs or fibers, or other evidence he’d been here that night. And none of the weapons he used. He was smart enough to take those precautions, but he never hid his face or disguised his voice. I saw his ugly mug as clearly as I see your face right now. Crouch was guilty, and his friend lied for him. That’s all I have to say, now and forever. Goodbye, gentlemen.”
Dan watched a large brown sedan pull into the driveway and a tall, muscular man dressed in hunting fatigues make strong strides to the front door. He walked through it as if he owned the place, took one look at Lisa’s expression and shouted at them.
“What the hell is going on here? Who are you? What did you say to her?”
Dan introduced himself and Mory and countered with, “Who are you?”
“I’m her brother, Chris Starnes. What have you said to her? What’s going on here? Sis, are you okay?”
“Tell my brother everything you just told me. I’m sure he’ll want to celebrate with me when you finally leave my house,” Lisa murmured.
“The man Ms. Starnes accused of raping her two years ago was found dead this morning. He raped and tortured in much the same way that Ms. Starnes was. Since his assault was strikingly similar to hers, we needed to ask her some questions,” Dan said.
“What do you mean the asshole was raped in the same way? He...” Chris’s voice faltered as he looked into his sister’s pale face with rosy cheeks and anguish filled eyes. “Are you okay, Sis? Go sit on the sofa for a minute while I talk—”
“I don’t want to sit down. I want them to leave so I can celebrate. Did you hear the lieutenant? Crouch was raped and beaten, just like me. His face was carved the same way as mine. Only he doesn’t have to face the world like I do; he was mercifully released from that torment.”
Lisa’s expression and voice didn’t convince anyone that she was as relieved and as happy as she pretended to be. She looked highly emotional and fragile.
“I have to ask you officers to leave. I don’t know what you’re thinking by coming here. Lisa couldn’t have done anything like that. She’s much too weak. She couldn’t fight Crouch even when she had all of her strength.”
“Before we leave we need to clear up one more thing. Where were you last night, Mr. Starnes?” asked Mory.
“I was. . .” Chris couldn’t prevent a smirk as he said, “Me and a couple of my buddies were out getting ready for bow season to start in the fall. Putting up deer stands and staking out the woods. I’d like to say I was hunting another type of animal, but I wasn’t. Whoever did this, did a favor for a lot of women. Now, he can’t harm anyone else. Since you cops didn’t do your job, looks like someone else did it for you. I’d like to shake his hand if you ever find him. Personally, I hope you don’t.”
Dan said, “Mr. Starnes, we didn’t have anything to do with the past case against Mr. Crouch. I’m sorry about the ordeal your sister went through and I’m sorry the judicial system failed to get justice for her. But nobody can take the law into his own hands. We’re responsible for obtaining evidence against the person who committed this crime and arresting him. The judicial system is responsible for making sure he pays for his evil; unfortunately, some perpetrators slip through its cracks. I do apologize for any suffering this matter has caused your sister,” an understatement there, Dan, “but I do have to ask if anyone can corroborate seeing you last night.”
“Yeah, there were three others out there with me; they’ll tell you I was with them all night.” Chris gave them the names and phone numbers of his friends and saw Mory jot down the information. He wanted this matter over more than he wanted to balk. “You’ll just have to trust them to say the truth like you trusted Crouch’s friend when he claimed they were together at the time of the attack. Now, I do believe my sister has asked you to leave. You’ve done your duty by coming here, so you can go.”
Chris put his hand on the door, which had remained open after Lisa’s initial request, and motioned them outside. Dan and Mory walked down the front steps and toward the car. They glanced back as Lisa closed the front door behind them. The officers strode quickly to the car to flee the moans and sobs that escaped the door, reached their ears and tore at their hearts.
“I told you I didn’t like this part of my job,” Mory stated as he looked towards the house again. “I wonder if she’s going to be okay. I hope her brother stays with her tonight, or at least takes her with him. I’m sorry, Dan, I know how you feel about the law, but I have to say this: If someone had done that to my Janie, I’d be hard put not to do the same thing to him. God, I feel sorry for that girl.”
Dan was thinking the same thing. How would he react if one of his loved ones had been tortured and mutilated that way? How would he feel if the criminal who did it went free after undergoing an investigation and trial? How would he respond to society if he were forced to confront it with a shocking disfigurement, a repulsive daily reminder of a nightmare? He had plenty of nightmares himself and enough scars—physical and emotional—from his days in Vietnam, but the world couldn’t see those. He knew how to cloak both kinds. How was Lisa really enduring the daily battle and constant questions and stares? She had kept her control most of the time, but he had sensed her underlying anguish and vulnerability. He had seen through the tough and insentient act she had put on a few times. How could anyone deal with that, such horrors, so many injuries? He hoped and prayed that Chris wasn’t involved in this crime, as it would surely be Lisa’s breaking point if Crouch was given the justice she had been denied, and she lost her brother and avenger to prison.
Dan loo
ked at Mory who had slumped in the passenger seat of his car and was staring at the street with a rare look of meanness on his face. Dan also was struggling with the strong urge to throttle someone, and currently it wasn’t his target. “Hey, why don’t we take a break and go see Ms. Carter tomorrow? You can head home to spend some time and have dinner with Janie; that should make her happy after last night’s intrusion.”
“Thanks, Dan, but I’d rather get this part over with today. Besides, I don’t think my wife would like me very much in the mood I’m in right now. It would probably make things worse rather than better. Where does our next stop live?”
“Near the mall. I’d rather get this over with today, too. I hope Henri and Harold can point us in a clearer direction after the autopsy and tests are done. What’s your feeling on the brother?”
“He’s justifiably pissed off, but I don’t think he’s involved. Whoever did this would surely come up with a better alibi than he was out putting up deer stands, but I’ll call his friends tomorrow and verify his whereabouts. You know we have to pay a visit to Crouch’s friend and alibi, John Priester. Something doesn’t sit right there.”
“Yeah, but we’ll save that one for tomorrow. After seeing Ms. Starnes, I don’t want to come face to face with the person who probably helped Crouch get away with his foul deeds. I wonder if Priester got scared the truth could come out and he could get nailed for perjury. I’m sure the District Attorney threatened him with being an accomplice after the fact. Maybe Priester got tired of worrying and offed his threat. Maybe he started with Silverman to throw us off his scent, waiting this long so he wouldn’t look like a suspect. I’m betting he knows his buddy is dead and how it was done, so let’s not rush to see him and let him think our visit is just routine. Let him stew today.”
The two men rode in silence during the remainder of the journey.
As he drove, Dan thought about the young woman he’d just left. Images from Vietnam came to mind, of young boys scarred from witnessing terrible scenes, from dodging sniper bullets and from being incarcerated in POW camps. Self consciously, he rubbed his neck where a bullet had nearly severed his jugular vein and cost him his life. He remembered what it had felt like to lie helpless in the mud with his blood draining quickly from his body. The cold that set in. The numbness. The fear. Chill bumps snaked down his arms, though he could feel sweat wetting his back and chest, and beading above his upper lip.
Anger followed quickly, as he was certain Lisa had felt many of the same things he had. How would he feel if the men who had tortured his friends or the person who’d shot him had been caught, tried and then set free because someone decided it was his fault for being there in the first place? If he was told that he must have imagined the face of the asshole who’d done these things? Never would he forget that face! Or the fierce gaze that bore down on him time after time when confronted with an enemy. He could still recall every detail of every person he’d been face to face with during that time. Dan felt certain Lisa was the same way. Unless you’ve been there, you can’t truly understand the horrors that stay with you. God bless the soldiers because nobody really understands the hell they endure to protect them.
Dan pulled the car to a stop in front of Karen’s apartment and glanced over at Mory. “Are you sure you’re up for this? I can handle it if you want to stand back a bit.”
“Nah, I’m okay. I know you’re not taking this any better than I am. No matter how tough you want everyone to think you are, I know you’re a softie on the inside.”
Dan groaned at Mory’s teasing. They had been friends since their college days, and Mory had come to his rescue with an offer of a place to stay while the heat died down in New York. One of the drug dealers he’d been investigating had placed a hit on him. He’d been forced to relocate for his own safety, a precaution that had stretched into a longer period than he’d imagined, with no end in sight. He had almost nailed his case shut tight. Then evidence came forth that he’d seized one of the criminal’s books without the required warrant, even though the ledger was in plain sight and he had worried it would be hidden or destroyed if not confiscated. The case had been thrown out of court even though the ledger proved the dealer’s guilt. He had made a very dangerous and powerful enemy. Damn, he hated those words and their consequences. He was determined never to make that kind of mistake again. “Let’s go.”
Karen Carter answered the door and let them into her apartment after calling headquarters and verifying their identification.
“That’s always a wise thing to do, Ms. Carter. Thank you for agreeing to talk to us,” Dan said to the petite young woman sitting across from him.
“What’s this about, Lieutenant Mallory? Why do you need to talk to me?” A nervous Karen shifted in her chair as she posed the question.
They were seated in her kitchen at a small round table. It was covered in a red and white-checkered tablecloth with red placemats and napkins. A vase containing white silk flowers was in its center. Several plants hung in the bay window that overlooked a small porch. The den area was to their right and offered many pictures of family and friends, unlike Lisa’s barren surfaces. A large cross hung over the mantle.
“Can I get you anything to drink? Some soda or juice?” She wanted to do something with her hands so they would stop shaking and she could focus on what the policemen were there to talk about with her. She had just finished speaking with her mother, so she knew there wasn’t any family emergency that had caused the officers to come to her door. Karen was tense simply being in the same room with them, after all she had gone through years ago. No, she wasn’t going to think about that right now.
“No thanks, Ms. Carter. This will only take a few minutes of your time. We have to discuss something that will probably make you uncomfortable. We’ll try to get this over with as quickly and easily as possible,” Mory told her in a soft and calm tone.
Karen nodded her head. She thought she was going to throw up or pass out or cry. She knew she didn’t want to be here with these men; she didn’t want to hear what they had to say. She just wanted them to leave. This was too much like the time when the policeman had come to her parent’s home to talk about what had happened to her. No! She had promised herself she was not going to think about the horrific event that had nearly devastated her. Almost three years later, she was still struggling to deal with her warring emotions, her mental and physical scars.
Dan said, “Several years ago, you charged a man named Ted Silverman with raping you at a party you had both attended. By your own statement, you had spoken with him a few times, but you stayed with your girlfriends until you went outside for some fresh air. You claimed that Mr. Silverman grabbed you from behind and pulled you into the guest house located near the pool and forced you to have sex with him, is that correct?” Dan hated what he was having to do. The color had drained from her face and she looked as if she might faint. If there was any other way to go about this, he would certainly do it, but talking to the victims of the copied crimes was the first step in finding the killer. He watched her nod, her brown eyes wide and filled with terror, her body rigid. She didn’t speak, but he knew Karen was following every word he spoke, so he continued, “Did you know that he was murdered two months ago, in April?”
Karen’s eyes rolled in their sockets and she fell to the floor with a soft thump before either man could react to the situation.
Dan jumped up and bent over the shattered woman. She was just over five feet tall and very slender. The yellow tank and matching shorts seemed to be too large for her thin frame. “Oh God, Mory,” Dan said as he motioned toward her back. The scars from the hot wax were clearly visible where the top stood away from her body. Karen’s legs also had scars that overlapped in some places. Dan knew from his years in Vietnam that this type of torture was extremely painful. She didn’t look like the sort who liked rough sex. She appeared to be much too fragile. Of course, looks could be deceiving, but he was a good judge of character and his gut was telling
him she was terrified, shocked. “Ms. Carter, are you okay? It’s Dan Mallory from the police department. Can you hear me?”
Karen slowly opened her eyes. She had been unconscious for only a minute, just long enough for her to slide from her seat and be embarrassed by her frailness.
“Are you hurt anywhere? Did you hit your head or your arm?” Mory asked, concern tingeing his voice as he helped her to her chair.
“No, sir. I’m fine. It’s just hearing that. . . that he’s dead, that I. . . Thank you,” she stammered as Dan handed her a glass of water. Tears filled her eyes and trailed down her face. One drop slipped off her chin and fell to her leg, where she swiped at it absentmindedly.
“I’m sorry we have to trouble you with this matter, but there’s more we need to tell you about his death,” Dan hesitated when her brown gaze locked with his and the anguish in it sent arrows to his heart. Oh God, please give me the right words and make them as gentle as you can. “He was murdered two months ago, as I said, but there was something in the way he was killed that has necessitated us talking to you.”
“Do you think I killed him?” Karen asked, her voice pitching to a shrill tone as she looked first at Dan, then at Mory. “I thought about it many times right after . . . right after he raped me. My fiancé couldn’t deal with what happened to me and now he’s engaged to what used to be one of my best friends, one of my bridesmaids. Many times I thought of killing him; it filled my dreams most nights and gave me the strength at times to go forward. When he was let go, I nearly died. I was afraid he’d try to attack me again. I wanted to hurt him so bad. But I could never actually kill anyone. My priest, Father Murphy, has tried to help me to deal with what happened to me and to move away from the anger and betrayal. I’m still working on the forgiveness part, but now I think that might come easier. God will have to forgive me, but I can’t express regret that he’s gone. I’m sure he didn’t make his way to the Pearly Gates anyway.”
Necessary Evil Page 5
