by PJ Fernor
“To where?”
“They were half a mile from her apartment,” Ben said.
“That’s where she went?”
Ben nodded. “She got to her apartment and called the police.”
“Then what?”
“That’s where the story takes a turn.”
“Of course it does.”
“The police talk to her, write the information down, obviously. They go to the college and ask questions, but no one knows anything. Nobody wants to talk. Soon the college decides to sweep it under the rug. They shift the blame onto Carla. That she was underage at a party and was drinking. That she was maybe afraid of getting caught drinking and had a little bit of a panic attack. Because… nothing checked out.”
“Meaning?”
“Nothing happened to her,” Ben said. “No signs of assault. They did a tox screen and that was clear. Carla openly admitted to drinking and being paranoid.”
“You’re kidding me, right?” I asked.
“No,” Ben said. “The college forgot all about it, and so did the police. There was nothing to go on. They patrolled the campus and surrounding area for a bit. Carla could never find the place where the car had been stopped. Where she had been taken to. Her only thought process was to get away. Not to look around.”
“So instead of being a victim, she became… what… a problem?” I asked.
“Those are all questions we can ask her,” Ben said. “I just wanted to fill you in.”
“I can’t believe this.”
“Carla tried to tell her story and push it, but, again, ten years ago, it wasn’t what it is now. Social media wasn’t a powerful driving force for these kinds of stories. Which is sad to think about. That so many other women out there could have gone through traumatic experiences without a way to have their voice heard.”
I reached for the back seat and grabbed the folders.
Ben drove and I flipped through the paperwork.
Everything Ben told me was in black and white.
Nothing overlooked.
Nothing missed.
But there were still a lot of unanswered questions.
The biggest one of all…
How did this tie into Nikki’s murder and everything else going on in Sandemor?
Chapter Sixty
Carla worked as a psychologist who had a small office that sat smack dab between a dentist’s office and an insurance broker’s office. It was a small building with a small parking lot just off the main street in whatever small town Ben had driven us to.
Just like Sandemor, the main street was ready for Halloween.
There wasn’t a single porch without pumpkins and cornstalks, cob webs and ghosts.
The dentist’s office had stickers on the windows of friendly looking monsters and witches. The insurance office - and Carla’s office - had nothing holiday themed at all.
They were maybe too professional for it.
I stood outside the door and looked at Ben.
“I already talked to her,” he said. “She knows we’re coming.”
“She cleared her schedule for us?” I asked.
He nodded.
That told me she was still passionate about telling her story. Which was good. There was no way she wasn’t living with the demons of what had happened to her. And if that experience in itself wasn’t bad enough, she was basically abandoned and victimized when it came time to tell people what had happened to her.
As we walked in the door, Carla emerged from her office, and I had the urge to hug her. The moment she looked at Ben and I, she frowned.
“I guess this means you’re here,” she said.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said. I walked forward with my hand out. “I’m Detective Allie Down. This is Detective Ben Welloski.”
“We spoke on the phone,” Ben said with a kind smile.
I shook hands with Carla. She pointed to her office. “Why don’t we sit down and talk. I’m interested in why you’re here and how I can help.”
We stepped into the office and I looked around.
There were subtle hints of Halloween around the office that made me smile.
A witch coffee mug on the desk.
Pumpkins, mums, and small pieces of dried corn were set up throughout the office.
“Don’t mind the decorations,” Carla said. “I like to feel cozy in here. When I’m speaking to someone, we go into a different room. Much more neutral.”
“I don’t mind at all,” I said. “Autumn is my favorite season. This is my favorite time of the year.”
“Mine too,” Carla said.
She moved behind her desk but didn’t sit.
I stood behind a chair and Ben lingered at the door.
“What can I do for you?” Carla asked.
“We’re in the middle of a murder investigation,” I said. “Over in Sandemor. There have been some twists and turns in the investigation that have brought us here. There’s no promise that anything will line up, but what happened to you… it could help.”
“I assume you read up on everything?” Carla asked.
“I talked to Detective Down and she read the files,” Ben said.
“Here on out, call me Allie,” I said. I looked back at Ben. “You too.”
Ben showed his hands and nodded.
“Carla, I heard the story and read the file and I am so sorry for what happened to you,” I said. “And I’m even sorrier that your story was forgotten about. Pushed away. That’s not right.”
“I survived,” Carla said. “Then and now. Every day is survival.”
Her eyes looked sad and scared.
She looked at Ben a few times.
She was nervous with both of us here together.
Before I could say a word, Ben stepped in, realizing the same thing.
“I’m going to show myself out for a moment,” Ben said. “I have to check in on something else really quick.”
I looked back at Ben and mouthed thank you to him.
When Ben left the office, Carla slowly sat down.
I did the same.
“I could tell you were getting nervous,” I said.
“I’m sure he’s a nice guy,” Carla said. “I’m just picturing it all… the men that were supposed to help me never did.”
“Well, just to clear the air, Ben is a good one. One of the best. Maybe the best. But I completely understand.”
“How can I help with your investigation?”
“The story,” I said. “Can you just explain it to me? Just to make sure nothing is missing?”
“Yeah,” Carla said. “I don’t know how anything could have been missing…” She swallowed hard. “I went to a party and knew something was wrong with my drink. I got another drink. And another. There was this feeling of paranoia that hit me. I thought maybe I was just having some anxiety. Or a panic attack. That’s why I left. The feeling never went away. I felt like I was being followed. I told myself I just needed to get home. Just get to my apartment. But then someone… someone grabbed me.”
Carla stood up and walked to the window.
I watched her take a deep breath.
I slowly stood up. “I am so sorry, Carla. I know you were asked many times, but did you see anything about the man who grabbed you?”
“No,” she said. “There was nothing. Even his voice was just plain. The only thing that stuck out to me was he said we were going to see the one who handled things. But it was the way he emphasized the one.”
I nodded and made a mental note of that phrase.
“That was really all I had,” Carla said. “When he grabbed me in the alley, I fought back. He was quick to slam my head against the wall. I had issues for a year after that happened. That’s how hard my head hit.”
“Again, I am so sorry, Carla.”
She slowly turned. “I fought to survive. To get out of there. But once I survived, I realized I should have done more. I should have looked around and found out more.”
&n
bsp; “No, that’s not true.”
“Yes, it is. I live in that world every time I close my eyes. I want to find something else. Something different. But I can’t. I wish there was more I could do to help. You know the story. Nothing came of it. Nothing was ever found. The police and the campus security worked together for a little while. They issued warnings. They had more of a police presence on campus. That was about it. It didn’t take long for the rumors to start that I had gotten drunk and was scared to admit I fooled around with someone. Or that I was so drunk I fell out of a window and hit my head. Basically, I was making it all up.”
I shook my head. “That should never happen to anyone.”
“Can I ask how my story ties into a murder?”
“It’s a long story to explain,” I said. “But there’s a group of girls - some of them very young - that I believe are in trouble. Whoever kidnapped you wanted to sell you to someone. I believe that person and that someone are involved in what’s happening in Sandemor. One of those girls turned up murdered. There’s another one dead too. It was reported as a suicide but I don’t think it’s that.”
Carla moved back toward her chair. “So that man has been out there all these years doing the same thing? Getting away with it?”
“I can’t prove it,” I said. “It’s a hunch. But that’s why I’m here. So I can draw some lines and catch the person who is doing this.”
“I wish I could do more,” Carla said. “That I could remember more.” She sat back down. “This is what I keep talking about. I fought to get out of that car and run off to save myself. But I missed everything. I didn’t see anything. I didn’t remember it. And now anyone who was hurt after that…”
Carla lowered her face to her hands.
She quietly began to weep.
I walked around her desk and put my hand to her shoulder.
She was nothing more than a stranger to me, but I was there for her.
I was going to find out who did this to her.
Even if it wasn’t connected to Nikki’s murder.
But in the pit of my stomach, I just knew it had to be connected somehow.
Chapter Sixty-One
Right after Carla wiped her eyes, Ben knocked and slowly opened the door.
“Sorry to bother,” he said.
“No, please come in,” Carla said. She stood up and cleared her throat. “I owe you an apology.”
“No, you don’t,” Ben said.
Carla smiled and nodded. “I really do though.”
I took note of her kind smile. That, along with her honest eyes made her comforting. I could definitely see people opening to her. Trusting her with their secrets and pain.
“I’m just here to do my job,” Ben said. “I don’t want anyone upset… unless they have to be.”
“I told your partner… uh, Allie… I wish I could do more.”
“You did just fine,” I said. “The story is all there. Nothing was missed. That’s what we wanted to make sure of.”
“Where are these girls at that you’re talking about?” Carla asked.
“There’s a bridge,” I said. “It’s on Depot. Not sure if you know that area.”
Carla shook her head.
“It’s a big bridge. There’s a group that hangs around down there. They sleep there. The cops chase then away but they come back.”
“That’s terrible,” Carla said. “I’ve always wanted to help. I mean, those like that. You know?”
“You would be perfect for it,” I said.
“I’m happy with my setting here,” Carla said. “I can’t live in that world for long. That’s the only problem. If I was able to save everyone, that would be one thing. But I know I can’t do it.”
“You have a story to tell,” Ben said. “When you’re ready to tell it, let us know. We can help. I’m sure you know more than all of us here that speaking is therapeutic.”
Carla smiled. “Of course I know that. It’s my entire existence.”
“Ben has a point,” I said. “Your story itself could help some.”
“I’ll think about it,” she said. “I’m sure you two have better things to do today. If there’s a murderer out there…”
“I have to ask,” Ben said. “Just for my own sake. Kick me out if I go too far. You don’t remember any other details? Even the smallest of details. A sight. A smell. A sound.”
Carla shook her head. “Everything is in the report. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t ever be sorry, Carla,” Ben said. “You’re a fighter. It’s tragic what you went through. And that you were left hanging in a sense. But look at you now. I was admiring your artwork on the wall there.”
Ben pointed and grinned.
Carla looked. “Artwork? Oh. My education? Yeah, I sort of went in and stayed for a while. I was lucky though. I finally had a professor tell me it was time to do something bigger than I thought I could. So I finished, worked with her for a year, and she helped me establish this practice here. We work together out of two offices.”
“There you go,” Ben said. “It takes strength to go back to finish.”
“Finish?” Carla asked. “I went somewhere else. I didn’t go back to EEU.”
“That wasn’t in the report,” I said. “In fact… EEU?”
“The campus was called that,” Carla said. “The college was just called Eastern Ridge. But where I went, I was in the business program. I went to college for accounting to start.”
“Accounting?” Ben asked.
“Yeah. I didn’t have any desire to get into psychology until after… you know.”
“So you started over then,” I said.
“Yeah,” Carla said. “I took a few months off and knew I could never go back to that campus. Between what happened and those rumors I mentioned, it was too much. So I moved back home and got bored. I was forced into talking to someone about what happened. That’s when I decided I wanted to do that. I went in full force, determine to make something of myself.”
“I’d say you did,” Ben said. “Now, with this EEU…”
“I don’t know what it is now,” Carla said. “Things have changed throughout the years. I never followed it. I honestly wanted to erase that place out of my mind for good. I never talked to anyone that went there. It’s like that place never existed.”
I looked at Ben.
He nodded at Carla. “That’s understandable. You’ve been through a lot. I think Allie and I should be going.”
Carla smiled. “Right. If there’s anything I can do…”
“Only if you remember anything else,” I said.
“You really think this is connected and still happening?” Carla asked.
“A lot of my job is me wishing I was wrong,” I said.
“Are you ever wrong?” Carla asked.
“Not usually,” Ben said. “Allie is one of the best.”
“That’s what she said about you,” Carla said.
“We better get going,” I said. “I’m sure you have people who need you.”
I shook hands with Carla again.
The urge to hug her was still there.
That poor woman had to live through that nightmare in her mind for so long.
Ben and I exited the office and stood outside.
“That felt… what?” Ben asked.
“I’m not sure. The report seemed a little choppy after talking to her,” I said.
“I agree. I thought this was the main campus. I didn’t know it was a different part.”
“Maybe they got confused.”
“Maybe they didn’t care,” Ben said.
“That too,” I said. “That’s sad. More could have been done for her.”
Ben walked to his car. “I think she’s doing just fine.”
I got into the car and Ben started to drive.
“Grab your phone, Allie Down,” Ben said.
“What for?”
“I need you to do a little digging around.”
“Sure,” I said. �
�What do you need.”
“An address,” Ben said.
“An address? To where?”
Ben came to a stop at a stop sign and looked at me. “We’re going to the exact spot where Carla was attacked.”
Chapter Sixty-Two
Eastern Ridge was a sprawling campus that was split into several other schools based on their specific majors. The main campus and building was more for show than anything else. Of course, athletics were a heavy driving force for the school too. Like so many others, sports provided the revenue needed to keep other parts of the college functioning.
We weren’t going to the main campus however.
“EEU was changed to EBU,” I said as I looked at my phone. “Name, logo, everything was changed.”
“When?” Ben asked.
“Nine years ago.”
“A year after Carla’s attack.”
“Right,” I said.
“Coincidence?”
“Do you even have to ask me that?” I asked.
Ben smiled.
We were in silence for a few seconds as my mind continued to move like a fighter jet in an action movie, darting through narrow canyons, trying to stay alive.
“Am I wasting time here, Ben?” I asked without thoroughly assessing the question in my head.
“What do you mean?” Ben asked.
“This. What we’re doing. This is so far off the path of where Nikki’s murder happened…”
“Let me ask you this,” Ben said. “What else would we be doing right now? Think about it. We have no leads. We could go down to the bridge, but you know those girls aren’t ever going to talk. And the last thing I want is for another to turn up dead. In fact, everyone that we’ve talked to, has died.”
“Right,” I said.
“And what other leads do we have? Nothing.”
“Trevor,” I said.
“That’s not a lead. We both know that. And if we don’t find something soon, Laura is going to have no choice but to pursue him. And with his home life…”
“He’ll never be able to defend himself,” I said.
“Exactly. So this is something, Allie.”
I nodded. “I know. I just… sometimes it’s hard to get that reminder that the world can be so messed up.”
