"Looks like it." Jersey sipped coffee. "She was raped at home and beaten in the face with a flashlight."
Steven sighed. "Oh man."
"The cop who took the report said she was so battered he couldn"t make out the left side of her face. Said he was surprised the blows didn"t kill her. I suppose the blow didn"t cause any major trauma, or else they wouldn"t be releasing her today. As for the rape, I"m sure that"s not anything pretty to hear about either but..." The door opened. Brianna walked in. Jersey sat erect. "Morris. What"s the deal with Miss Wilson?"
Brianna looked at Steven. "Well, uh, it was definitely the Albany Predator. Uh, she described his face, then when I showed her the sketch she hadn"t any doubt. She said it was definitely the man who raped her."
"She"s a stripper?" Jersey asked.
Brianna shrugged. "She says she"s just a regular dancer, and doing it to pay the bills."
Steven scoffed. "I don"t know n.o.body who just dances at a t.i.tty bar without taking something off."
"Stripper or not, she doesn"t deserve to be raped." Jersey tapped her pencil.
"Of course not, Captain. I didn"t mean nothing by that. I"m just saying that my experience with t.i.tty bars, these women usually take it all off for quick cash. Some even do more than that. Anyway what happened, Bree?" Steven crossed his arms.
"Well, apparently he offered her a ride last night after she finished dancing. She said he was sitting on a bench. She said now that she remembers it, she thinks she saw him in the bar, too."
Jersey bit her lip. "Was the bar crowded? Did she say if there were people outside that may be able to identify him, too?"
"Come on, Captain." Steven grinned. "The Flamingo is the most popular t.i.tty bar around. Believe me, it was crowded and there"s never been a night it wasn"t."
Brianna raised an eyebrow. "I didn"t know you were into t.i.tty bars, Steven."
He cleared his throat. "I"m not. Uh, I mean, I may have stopped in occasionally." He ignored their judgmental expressions. "This isn"t about me, anyway. What else did Miss Wilson say?"
"She said that he took her home, they had cake, talked and he raped her."
"What?" Steven chuckled. "I don"t mean to laugh, but is she in the habit of having picnics at her home with guys she doesn"t know?"
Brianna shrugged. "She said she started to feel uncomfortable with him. She asked him to leave but he wouldn"t. She said he forced her to her bedroom. She tried to fight him and he beat her with a flashlight...then raped her."
Steven shook his head. "Why in the h.e.l.l would she go off with him in the first d.a.m.n place? Jesus! Aren"t these women even thinking these days? I mean, doesn"t she know about the Predator? Hasn"t she been listening to the news? Why in the h.e.l.l would she get in a car with someone she didn"t know?"
"I was thinking the same thing myself until she told me..." Brianna sighed.
"Told you what?" Jersey leaned back in her chair.
"Until she told me he was a cop."
"A cop?" Steven scooted to the edge of his chair. "A cop? What the f.u.c.k..."
Jersey gaped. "A cop? Is she, uh...is she sure?"
Brianna nodded. "He showed her his badge. I tried to see if she could give me the badge number so I could run it, but she didn"t pay attention to any of that. Besides, she was so shaken she could barely talk to me."
"This can"t be right." Steven stood. "This man can"t be a cop. I mean, why would he be a cop now? Wouldn"t this s.h.i.t have come up before...months ago? We"ve been investigating him for months! None of the other victims said s.h.i.t about a badge!"
"Maybe he hadn"t shown them his badge then." Brianna shrugged. "He had to show Cheyenne something for her to get in the car with him."
Steven looked at Jersey. "What do you think, Captain?"
"Well, uh...this is definitely surprising. But I"m willing to bet he isn"t a cop. Anyone can get a badge underground these days." The officers nodded. "Anyway, we need to work on her some more because she may be the one to tie things together. Morris, does she seem like she"ll cooperate?"
"Well, she did give me her home number and told me she might want to talk to me when she gets home. She was scared as expected, but she seems to be avid in wanting to get this guy off the streets."
"We need to go to the Flamingo, too." Steven held his waist. "I mean, if he was there last night, this could be a regular hangout for this guy. I"m willing to bet on it. Something made him pick out that side of town. Maybe it"s the clue we need. He may even live over there. We"ll go tonight, Bree. That way we can see what really goes on there."
"Sounds good to me." Jersey nodded. "Go to the Flamingo and see what you can find out. Who knows, he may have already approached another woman who works down there. Either way, the ladies on that side of town should be terribly aware."
Steven nodded. "You mean "black" ladies."
"Yes," Jersey sighed. "I mean "black" ladies."
Melody accompanied Lucas to his place that evening. She"d already gotten used to being an employee at Caper. She felt she"d had a decent day until she got home to find Keith and Sarah snuggling on the couch. She couldn"t remember a time when Keith wasn"t around these days. Her hopes of breaking them up seemed impossible with the att.i.tude Sarah showed the night before.
Lucas quickly showed her around his fabulous, two-story bachelor pad. She loved how he appreciated the simple things in life. Lucas could have lived anywhere in New York with his money. Yet he chose to live in a quiet, ordinary and extremely peaceful neighborhood. He showed Melody the upstairs. He then showed her the large living room and immaculate kitchen.
He admitted he had a maid that came in twice a week to keep things tidy. Melody chuckled at the thought. She wondered if the lady would like to do her ch.o.r.es for her. Lord knows, Melody could use someone to pick up after her. Lucas"s home wasn"t fascinating like his charm, good looks and wardrobe. But Melody hadn"t ever felt so comfortable before.
They hadn"t talked much on the way over. She knew he sensed her tenseness about Keith. She refused to get into the subject today. Lucas had become a great distraction. She"d use the time with him to her advantage.
They walked into the den hand in hand. Lucas gestured for Melody to sit on the couch. She did. She noticed the fireplace when he lit the incense. The aroma of cinnamon and pine soothed her as if she"d had a gla.s.s of warm tea. She stared at the brown walls and at the marvelous maroon carpeting. He"d obviously hired a private decorator. So much for his quest to be "common."
Lucas turned on the television. Melody groaned at another report about the rapist. She figured the other criminals in the city were having a field day. They got zero airtime, while the Albany Predator could soon have his own talk show. Melody didn"t see what sense it made to continually broadcast the rapes if the police weren"t doing much about it.
"So, how do you like working at Caper so far?" Lucas asked with his eyes glued to the latest news report.
She grinned. "You"ve asked me that a million times." She stared at the blond news reporter. The reporter walked around some shabby bar. The scene cut to a bald reporter who stood in front of the hospital. He went on about the recovery of Cheyenne Wilson. Melody had been so busy avoiding the news that she hadn"t heard about the latest rape.
"What did they say?" She sat up to hear. "She was raped in her home, too?" Lucas nodded. "Wonder why she"s still in the hospital."
"She was banged in the face with a flashlight."
"Wait..." Melody turned the volume up. The bald reporter rattled on about Cheyenne"s recollection of events. "Did he say she got in the car with him?" Lucas nodded. "Well, is she stupid or just crazy?"
"Mel." Lucas chuckled.
"Well, I can"t feel sorry for someone who is that careless. Why would she get in the car with someone she didn"t know?"
The bald reporter pointed to the hospital. "Apparently, Miss Wilson says the perpetrator showed her a badge and admitted that he was a cop. Police are further investigating..."
"This is making me sick." Lucas turned the volume down and he pulled Melody close.
"A cop?" Melody gaped. "She said he"s a cop?" She looked at Lucas. "Wait, can that be possible? Can a cop be doing this and the police still not know it?"
"Yeah, but it"s hard to believe isn"t it? But maybe it explains why it"s taken them so d.a.m.n long to find the guy. I always had my suspicions that something was going on with the police. Like they might have not been doing their best to catch this guy."
"You mean, like they may have known it was a cop and are protecting him?" Lucas shrugged. "Oh no, I don"t believe that, Lucas. I mean, I don"t think they would go that far. Granted, some forces are quite corrupt, but I"ve never heard much about Albany"s department being that way."
"Just because you don"t know the cat ate the fish doesn"t mean he didn"t eat it, right?" She sighed. "How long can all of this go on? I barely recognize my own hometown now. Seems like everything"s at a standstill because of this guy. I hope they find this b.a.s.t.a.r.d. How can someone be so hateful? How are these women going to deal with this for the rest of their lives? Some of them were married and have kids. I just can"t see how people can be so...so heartless. These women didn"t do a d.a.m.n thing to him but he"s ruining everything for them, Mel."
"You really think the police are hiding something?"
He scratched his head. "Who knows? I wouldn"t be surprised at anything that people do these days. s.h.i.t, the main ones you think you can trust are the ones you can"t.
"I know they are hiding something big, though." He nodded. "See, my father has a friend on the force at the precinct that"s handling this case. He says that the lady detective investigating the case was attacked by the rapist herself."
"What?" Melody covered her mouth.
"Uh-huh, and the police hid it from the public. Now what kind of s.h.i.t is that? Why hide that when it can make people more aware of what"s going on? If a policewoman is not even safe from this guy, then who is?"
"Oh my G.o.d." Melody looked at the television. "So he raped her and..."
"No, he didn"t rape her. He broke into her home and she fought him or something, and he got away." Lucas sighed. "I heard he tried to make her give him a b.l.o.w.j.o.b. He"s one sick motherf.u.c.ker. My father"s friend says it"s other things they"re not sharing with the media, too."
"Well, Lucas I know a little about police investigations." She thought of her favorite pastime of watching cop shows. "They can"t just go blabbing everything because it could hurt the investigation. The key is to stay one step ahead of this guy. How could they do that if they tell the public every d.a.m.n thing? You know how the media takes things and runs with it. The situation would get even more out of control. Also, they have to worry about copycats and..." She rubbed her face. "Especially since that other lady was murdered."
"Monica Cartwright wasn"t murdered." Lucas straightened up. "Turns out she had a heart attack when the rapist came back. He raped her after she died." Melody held her stomach for fear of vomiting all over the floor. "They just thought he"d killed her at first. I can see you haven"t been watching the news, huh?"
"I can"t believe someone could be so sick."
"Can you imagine how frightening it is for them to be face to face with this guy? I mean, have you ever met someone who scared you beyond comprehension?"
Melody thought of Keith. She decided to keep her opinion to herself. "Is the lady detective black, too?" she asked.
"Yeah, from what I hear, this man is dangling the cops from a string. I mean, he"s pulling all the shots. Makes me wonder if this will go on forever. Will he be caught, or will he just move to another place and continue? It"s some scary s.h.i.t for me and I"m not even a woman. I can imagine how they feel."
"I"m so scared about what I"ve been feeling, Lucas. I hate women"s intuition, sometimes. And you know I can predict things more than most. I hope to G.o.d that it"s wrong this time. I can"t bear to think what I"m feeling will come true."
"What are you feeling?" He rubbed her shoulders. She looked at him.
"That Aileen might be next."
"I"m worried, too, but just because you think something will happen doesn"t mean it will." He smiled. "You trust me?" She nodded. "Then believe it when I say that Aileen will be okay." He held her. In his arms everything seemed okay.
His hands suggested that he wanted more than to hold her. She sure as h.e.l.l wanted the same. But every time she thought of taking him without thinking twice, something inside screamed it wasn"t the right time. She didn"t know how long she could hold out. She longed to have her body smashed against his in a heated frenzy. How long would cold showers do the trick?
Lucas"s patience had been what she appreciated the most. But sometimes, a small part of her wished he could be more like Keith. She ached at the thought. Keith was an a.s.shole hands down, but he knew pa.s.sion. Melody could tell by the way Sarah whimpered every time Keith walked into the room. She couldn"t imagine Sarah having any complaints.
Even though Keith went out of bounds, Melody liked how he took charge when it came to romance. If he wanted Sarah, nothing stood in his way. The time or place didn"t matter. He didn"t even care if others were in the room. Many times he grabbed Sarah and kissed her into undying pa.s.sion right in front of Melody. He did anything he d.a.m.ned near pleased to put out that fire Sarah ignited in him. Melody hated to admit that she admired that about him.
She looked at Lucas. He kissed her forehead. Patience also had its rewards. The lovemaking would have no choice but to be perfect if they waited. He took her hand.
Deep down she knew she had the better man. She imagined him picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder like the s.e.x-crazed bucks in old western movies. She laughed as if it were true.
Melody wasn"t surprised that Keith hadn"t left when she returned home. He was ma.s.saging Sarah"s feet on the couch. He flashed that sickening grin when he looked up and saw Melody. She fought the urge to puke. Every time she looked at Sarah, she remembered their argument. She advised Melody to stay away from Keith. How could she when the man practically lived at their place?
Sarah waved a bowl of chips. "Chip, Mel?" She smiled.
"No thanks. Good night." She made sure not to look Keith"s way.
"Good night? Mel, this is your favorite movie." Sarah grinned. Melody caught a scene with Mimi Rogers flicking a cigarette. "You love Mimi Rogers, right?"
She scoffed. "Yeah, maybe in the early nineties." She headed toward the stairs. Sarah rushed after her.
"Mel, wait, please."
Keith waved. "Sarah, let her go. She needs her rest."
Melody couldn"t take his sly att.i.tude any longer. She wouldn"t even pretend to be polite from now on. If Sarah intended on bringing Keith to the house, Melody would make it d.a.m.n tough on the both of them. She turned around.
"Yeah, I do need my rest, which is something I can"t get since you"re always here." She walked toward him. "You think you"re so smart, don"t you, Keith? Running and lying to Sarah when you know d.a.m.n well what happened in my office yesterday!"
"Let me guess." He crossed his arms. "In a bad mood again, Mel? What, the time with Lucas didn"t go well? Did something spoil it, like your att.i.tude?"
"Keith," Sarah sighed.
"No, my att.i.tude isn"t the problem here, Keith. You may have Sarah believing you s.h.i.t gold, but I know different."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah! I"m not going to let you manipulate me like you manipulate her."
"He doesn"t manipulate me, Melody!" Sarah huffed. "Look, I want us to forget about the argument we had last night, okay? I"m sorry for how I talked to you but you had no business asking questions about Keith."
"And why is that?" Melody squinted. "Why is it so horrible for me to know more about this guy? Keith, it"s bad enough that you act a jerk when Sarah"s back is turned, but it"s completely unreasonable to expect me not to want to know things about you."
"Well, I tried to be nice and let you get to know me, didn"t I?" he scoffed. "You didn"t want to be nice, Melody. Why didn"t you just ask me what you wanted to know, instead of hara.s.sing the people at my job?"
"Because I don"t believe a thing you say."
"You know, Mel, I don"t give a s.h.i.t what you think of me."
"Keith, please." Sarah moved in front of him.
"No, that"s the problem, Sarah! Why do you feel you gotta do everything to suit her? It"s not your fault how things turned out for Melody! If she"s not happy, I can see why. How could she be?" He chuckled. "She"s so wrapped up in your life she can"t have one of her own! You"re pathetic, Melody."
"Keith!" Sarah shoved him.
"She is, and we all know it!" He looked at Melody. "Say I"m wrong. You wish you could be half the person Sarah is, don"t you? Well, you can forget it because you"re nothing like her, Melody. You"re not even fit to be in the same family with her."
"Keith, stop!" Sarah shook her head. "I don"t understand what it is about you two but I don"t want to be caught in the middle anymore. Can"t we just let things pa.s.s and start over?"
"If you can still be with him after the nasty things he just said about me, then there"s no way in h.e.l.l we can come to common ground, Sarah."
"Melody, please." Sarah took her hand. "You"re not being fair. I really think you and Keith could settle things if you got to know each other. Please, just give it a chance. I love him, Melody."