Parsons looked at the pictures on her dresser. "You realize how much trouble you could be in if you did help Steven Kemp escape, Detective?"
"I did not help him escape! I told you I didn"t know a d.a.m.n thing about this until you showed up!" Parsons opened the top dresser drawer. "Get out of there!"
"Just checking." He smirked.
"In my panty drawer?" She slammed it shut. He went to the closet. "Oh, this is insane! Steven is not here!" She crossed her arms. "And you know what? I wouldn"t tell you if I did know where he is!"
He stood in front of her. "For some reason I don"t trust you, Bree."
She scoffed. "First thing, get out of my face with your breath smelling like a.s.s!" Parsons covered his mouth. "Second, don"t call me, "Bree." It"s "Detective Morris" to you, jerk!"
He blew his breath into his hands. He blushed from embarra.s.sment. "Where"s Kemp?"
"For the last d.a.m.n time, I don"t know!"
"There"s no one here, sir." A uniformed cop stood in the bedroom doorway. They all went downstairs.
"See? I didn"t have anything to do with it!" Brianna insisted. Reynolds came from the kitchen. "Sir, I swear I don"t know where Steven Kemp is. But can"t you see this proves he"s innocent?"
"And how do you figure that?"
She ignored Parsons. "Commissioner, Steven would never break the law unless he had good reason. He knows that if you all won"t believe he"s not the rapist, then he has to find the rapist."
"Then in that case, all he has to do is look in the mirror." Parsons lit a cigarette. Brianna s.n.a.t.c.hed it. "What are you doing?" he growled.
"No smoking in my d.a.m.n house!" She flicked the cigarette back at Parsons.
"Commissioner, I swear I don"t know what"s going on."
"I tell you what, Detective Morris. We"ll be talking to you tomorrow. And by then you"d better know d.a.m.n well where Kemp is." Reynolds rubbed his mustache.
"And if I don"t?" She shifted back and forth.
"Then you"ll take his place in that cell for aiding and abetting a fugitive. Let"s go, Parsons." They went to the front door.
"Sir!" Brianna scampered behind them on bare feet. "I had nothing to do with this! You can"t hold me accountable!"
"Yes, I can! I don"t believe a word you"re saying, Morris. But you"d better have something tomorrow, or you can forget ever working on any police force again!"
"But, Commissioner!" she shrieked.
"If we find out you did help Kemp somehow, then I swear Morris, your black a.s.s won"t be able to get a job as a security guard at Wal-Mart! Let"s go, Parsons!"
"Yes, sir." Parsons grinned at Brianna. Davis ran from the living room. He doused Parsons" foot. "Hey! s.h.i.t!" He shook his leg. The uniformed cops laughed.
"Your d.a.m.n cat just p.i.s.sed on my foot!"
Brianna walled her eyes. "Well, you"ll have to excuse him, Parsons. I guess since your breath smells like kitty litter, he got confused."
"Ha, ha!" The cops laughed out the front door.
"Yeah?" Parsons pointed at her. "Let"s see how funny you are tomorrow." He slammed the door.
She paced, muttering to herself. "d.a.m.n it, Steve! How could you do something so stupid?"
"Well..." Steven came downstairs. "I didn"t have a choice really." He wore shabby oversized sweats.
"Steve!" She did a double-take.
"Now don"t get mad, Bree. I had to come here."
"Steven, I could wring your neck! You know how much trouble I almost got into? What in the h.e.l.l are you doing here, anyway?"
"Well, I couldn"t go to my place! I had to come here to regroup. I"ve been here all day. Haven"t you noticed? Getting slow in your old age, huh, Bree?" He grinned.
"d.a.m.n you. So this explains the missing cookies, grapes, meatloaf and gla.s.s of milk?" She held her waist.
"Yeah." He held his stomach. "Those cookies were out of this world. How come you never baked when we dated? The meatloaf was a little salty, though."
She grumbled. "I sure as h.e.l.l wouldn"t know since you ate mine!"
Steven looked at Davis. "Did you rat me out, buddy?" He picked the cat up. "He missed me. Been a while since we hung out together."
"Steve, what the h.e.l.l do you think you"re doing?" she screamed.
"Saving my life, Bree. Besides, I"d been in that place more than a week and I couldn"t take it anymore. I"m innocent and I"m gonna get the rapist."
"You could have been out a week ago if you had taken the DNA test. Steven, this is only going to get you in more trouble! It"s going to get me into trouble! Did you hear what Commissioner Reynolds said? I could lose my job because of you!"
"I won"t let that happen, Bree. I could never jeopardize your career."
"Well, that"s exactly what you"re doing just by being here!" She felt her forehead. "Wait, how come they didn"t find you when they searched?"
He grinned. "I was in the linen closet. Guess they didn"t think to look there." He nuzzled Davis with his chin. The cat meowed happily. "I"m sorry, Bree. Just let me lay low here. I promise it won"t be for long."
"Steven, it"s already been long enough." She sighed.
Melody lay in bed the next morning staring at the ceiling. She hadn"t slept all night. Every now and then she leaned to get a glimpse of the clock. The time didn"t matter. It would be impossible to even pretend she could go on with her normal routine. She"d been raped? It had happened to her. She"d been there. She"d lived it but she still couldn"t believe it.
It wasn"t that she felt it couldn"t happen to her, but it had been the shock that prevented her from facing reality. She thought of Aileen. The situation had been totally different. Which had been worse? Being raped by a serial rapist, or your sister"s boyfriend? She had no idea things would go this far. She wondered how long Keith had planned the attack.
Had it been when she reported him to Mr. Lawson? He threatened her with a vengeance that same day. Told her flat out she"d need to call the cops. How insane could he really be? She felt a menacing chill. The situation with Keith had gone from annoying to treacherous in a few short months. Melody sat up in bed. She finally saw the big picture. It scared her half to death.
Of course! The game he played with Melody had nothing to do with her. Keith wanted to keep control over Sarah. Melody slipped the covers from her legs. She stared at the floppy T-shirt she"d worn to bed. He"d always said he loved Sarah like no other. Melody didn"t know how many women he"d actually loved. She didn"t know a d.a.m.n thing about his past.
She didn"t know anything about his family. She didn"t know anything about where he"d come from. Nothing. All she knew was that he raped her. That he"d do all he could to keep Sarah. Sarah jumped like a puppet on strings when Keith paid her attention. He manipulated people like no other. He had manipulated Sarah to the point where she"d sided with him.
Melody rubbed her mouth. It took being raped by the b.a.s.t.a.r.d to catch on to his game. It wasn"t normal the way he paid so much attention to Sarah. It wasn"t normal the way he"d popped into her life and made all of her dreams come true. It certainly hadn"t been normal how he acted with Melody. Melody always knew she could see something in Keith no one else did. Even after all he"d done to her, this revelation frightened her the most.
Keith hadn"t raped Melody simply for s.e.x. Sure, the a.s.shole had obviously enjoyed violating her, knowing he"d hurt her in a way that would scar her forever. But that hadn"t been his main reason. All this time, all the s.h.i.t he did had been for Sarah. Melody knew it went way beyond admiration on Keith"s behalf. He always said he"d let no one take Sarah away from him.
Didn"t that borderline on obsession? Keith went through life controlling everyone around him. When he couldn"t control them, he became violent. He"d done it with Melody last night. So, why wouldn"t he do the same thing to Sarah, too?
Melody paced. Sarah would be in more danger than Melody ever could. Sarah didn"t know how sick Keith could be. She didn"t know how far he"d go. Melody sighed. She"d spent all this time trying to convince Sarah to leave Keith without realizing how dangerous that would be. Her antics only pushed Sarah further into the devil"s arms.
Something told her the rape had only been a sample of what he could do. Who knew where it ended if he didn"t get what he wanted? He wanted Sarah. Keith being dangerous was hard enough. But worse than that, he believed he could do anything he wanted and get away with it. Melody saw firsthand how he acted when people refused him. She"d lived through a terror she"d never face because of it.
Yet something told her Sarah would pay a bigger price. Melody rubbed her quivering thighs. Every time she shut her eyes, she ended up back on that couch being raped. She couldn"t stop thinking about Keith tearing inside of her. Ignoring her screams. Inflicting more physical and emotional pain than anyone could deal with. She got back into bed. She wasn"t going to work. She nearly died thinking of Keith. She d.a.m.n well couldn"t be in the same building with him!
She didn"t know what to do at this point. She only knew that Sarah would end up in terrible danger if Keith stayed around.
Okay, this was it. Brianna stood from her desk. The other detectives stopped in mid-sentence to eye the spectacle. Brianna had been raised to be a lady. It wasn"t too easy with men like Agent Parsons. He stood beside her desk with a cigarette c.o.c.ked from the side of his mouth. Ooh, that smug smile. She didn"t know how Steven controlled himself from punching Parsons.
She nearly had to be held back from killing him. He could say what he d.a.m.ned well pleased in private, but Brianna wasn"t going to take him disrespecting her or Steven in front of their peers.
"You know, I"ve had just about enough of you, Parsons." She threw her pencil on her desk. Cunningham gaped. "You don"t give a d.a.m.n about helping those women. You just want to lock up Steven so you can add another notch to your file. Steven Kemp is not a rapist! How many times do I have to say it? I"d go to prison for him if I had to prove he"s innocent myself!"
"That"s right!" a detective yelled. "Steve"s not a rapist!"
"Yeah, a.s.shole!" Another detective waved. "Steve"s one of the best d.a.m.n cops in this place!"
"So I see, cops really do stick together." Parsons grinned.
"Yeah." Cunningham stood. "Maybe you should try it."
Parsons grinned. "Before tearing into me, Detective, you should have asked why I came."
Brianna scoffed. "I know why. You came to cause trouble for Steven. We"ve all had enough of you, Parsons! You don"t give a s.h.i.t about finding out the truth."
He sighed. "Well, that"s not the most important issue this moment, is it?"
Brianna glared. "What are you talking about?"
"Let"s see how much you stand up for Steven Kemp once you hear this. There was another rape around three a.m. this morning. A young black schoolteacher named Candace Bridges was raped in her home." Brianna"s anger slithered into shock. "Oh, that"s right, Detective. I wouldn"t sprout off so easily next time before I heard the facts."
"Well..." She cleared her throat. "It doesn"t mean anything. What does that have to do with Steven?"
"You know exactly what. You think it"s just a coincidence that this happened? Steven is the Albany Predator!" He looked around the room. "When are you all gonna stop protecting him and realize the truth? Just because you"ve known him doesn"t mean a d.a.m.n thing! He"s out there raping women! If you all called yourselves true cops, you"d help bring him into justice!"
"That"s not true!" Brianna looked at her fellow officers. The detectives sat dumbfounded. She could see the doubt filling the heads of the men and women Steven had known for years. This wasn"t a good thing. What worried her most had been the doubt she felt in hers. Steven left her home in the middle of the night. Why would he have done that? She thought she had an answer before Parsons dropped this bomb.
"Still sticking up for Kemp, Morris?"
"It doesn"t mean a thing, Parsons."
"Well, look at the d.a.m.n picture, would you? Stop playing me, Morris! You see the connection here! While Steven was in jail, there were no rapes!"
"You don"t know that!"
He shook his head. "Well, we haven"t had any that seemed to be connected to the Predator, have we?" Brianna turned away. "So explain to me how there"s another rape the minute Kemp escapes from jail!"
"I..."
"You can"t, can you? And here"s another thing that you might want to know, Morris. Candace Bridges lives about two blocks from Steven Kemp." She stared at him.
"Oh yes, it"s true."
"I don"t care what you say, Parsons. Steven didn"t rape anyone." She sighed.
"Oh." He grinned. "You don"t seem so sure now, Morris. Okay, how do you know he didn"t rape Ms. Bridges? Do you know where he was at three in the morning? You know where he ran off to when he escaped?"
"I told you I had nothing to do with that." She sat down. He leaned over her. The detectives watched in silence.
"Why don"t you just realize that Steven Kemp is not the man you thought he was, Brianna. This man is a s.a.d.i.s.tic rapist. He doesn"t give a d.a.m.n who he hurts. If he was so innocent, why didn"t he want to take that DNA test?" She rubbed her forehead. "How come Cheyenne and Aileen can identify him to a T? How come he escaped from jail? What kind of "innocent" guy would do something like that?"
"You don"t know what you"re saying, Parsons. I...I know Steven."
"Yeah? What about when the Predator attacked you? How in the h.e.l.l did he know that you and Steven used to be lovers? Was it ever in the newspapers? I don"t think so." Parsons squinted. "You know d.a.m.n well how he knows. He knows because he"s Steven! And what about how Steven fits all the sketches? Lookalike, my a.s.s! He"s the rapist! When are you gonna see that, Brianna?"
Her hands shook.
"You okay, Morris?" Cunningham stared at her. She didn"t answer.
Parsons stood erect. "She"s fine. She"s just finally absorbing the truth. I"m sorry, Morris. I know you really care about him. But you have a duty to protect these women. You gonna help us find Kemp or not?"
"I don"t know where he is," she whispered. She stared ahead as if she were in a trance.
"Okay, fine." Parsons straightened his jacket. "But I have a feeling this will end up affecting your life more than anyone else"s. I"m just doing my job, Detective. Maybe it"s time you do yours." He left.
"Stop," Melody whispered to herself. She stood by her bed. She abandoned unpacking when the rape forced its way into her head for the millionth time today. Craig had been very attentive. He happily brought her things over for her. He, of course, asked if he could do anything to help. Melody could only ask him to leave. Even being close to Craig seemed unnatural right now.
She took her red blouse from the suitcase. She did her best to block out the horrible recollections of the rape. Once again, she couldn"t stop it.
Keith"s hungry dark eyes stared into hers. He plunged his middle against her thighs. She slapped her fists on his chest to keep him at bay. He became stronger the more she fought him. "Stop!" Melody screamed. Keith entered her despite protest. Melody cringed and moaned from merciless pain. "Stop!" He jabbed his crotch inside of her. Melody twisted and turned on a couch that felt as rough as a bed of nails.
"You"re mine, Melody. All mine tonight..." Keith smirked.
Someone grabbed her from behind! She felt herself being lifted off the floor.
"Oooh, I got you! I won"t let you go! You"re all mine now!" Someone kissed her cheeks. She struggled in his arms.
"Stop!" she bellowed. She grabbed the open suitcase. She whirled around before she had a chance to think. She smacked him. He twirled on the carpet. "Don"t you ever touch me again! Don"t you dare touch me again!" She held the suitcase high. She stopped when she saw the trembling hands. His eyes begged for mercy.
"Melody!" Lucas shielded his face from another attack.
"Oh G.o.d." She lowered the suitcase. She rested on the bed. "Oh, Lucas!" she wailed.
"Melody." He rushed to hold her. She thought she"d feel uncomfortable in his arms. She didn"t. She felt safe. She needed that right now. "Mel, what"s wrong?" He moved her hair from her face. "Huh? What"s going on?"