"No, you don"t understand! I know!" she exhaled. "Steven hardly ever calls me "Brianna"! He always calls me, "Bree"! s.h.i.t! I should have realized it from the beginning!"
"Morris, what the h.e.l.l are you talking about?" Jersey groaned.
"Captain, the rapist! The rapist was just here!"
"What? Are you all right? Did you get him?"
"No! He left before I realized it. I thought he was Steve the whole time! Captain, they look exactly alike! It"s impossible to tell them apart. They could be twins!"
"Okay, take a deep breath, Morris. Tell me how you know for certain that that man is not Steven."
"Because Steven isn"t allergic to cats! The man who was just here...is." Jersey nearly dropped the phone. "I can"t believe I let him get away, Captain. I was so close again!"
"Believe me, you"ve done good enough, Morris." Jersey crossed her fingers.
"I believe we"ve finally got the a.s.shole where we want him. And we"ll use the perfect bait to bring him out."
"What"s that?" Brianna panted.
"You," Jersey whispered.
Brianna and Jersey watched each other from across Jersey"s desk the following morning. Commissioner Reynolds and Agent Parsons exchanged quick glances. Brianna knew her disclosure about the rapist had thrown them off balance. She couldn"t have been happier for Steven"s sake. The revelation still hadn"t eased her recurring anxiety about the situation. Only catching the real rapist would do that.
Brianna looked at Reynolds. He stroked his mustache in thought. "It"s the truth, sir. I know for a fact that that man in my home last night was the rapist." Reynolds sighed.
"And we"re really supposed to believe this?" Parsons shook his head. "Morris, you"re pathetic! You"ll obviously do anything to help Kemp!"
"Why are you so against believing that Steven is innocent?" Jersey shouted. "Is that so hard to believe? Why would you want to hang a man for something he hasn"t done?"
"A d.a.m.n lookalike?" Parsons shouted. "We"re supposed to believe this? Morris, explain why the so-called lookalike showed up at your place last night of all nights! How the h.e.l.l did he know Kemp wouldn"t be there, huh? And how are we supposed to believe you when you lied about Kemp being in your home in the first d.a.m.n place? None of this makes any sense!"
"So you don"t believe me?"
"h.e.l.l no, I don"t believe you!" Parsons walled his eyes.
"I do." Reynolds cut his eyes to a shocked Parsons. "You have a problem with that?"
"Uh, no, sir." Parsons shifted awkwardly. Brianna and Jersey grinned. "But, sir, this is...it"s not likely to me."
"They say everyone has a twin." Jersey shrugged.
"And they really look that much alike?" Reynolds crossed his arms.
Brianna nodded. "Exactly, sir. I wouldn"t have known it wasn"t Steven if he hadn"t been allergic to my cat. They talk alike, walk alike...but you know something?"
"What?" Jersey rested her elbows on the desk. She propped her hands underneath her chin.
"I kept getting the feeling that something was strange the entire time. It just didn"t feel like it always did to be with Steven. Of course, with them looking so much alike, how could I know? It"s amazing that he could even fool me." She shrugged. "I know Steven more than anyone. Yet, I couldn"t tell even from a kiss."
"Well, look..." Parsons gaped. "A kiss?"
"He kissed you?" Jersey grimaced.
"Yeah, and he wanted more." Brianna crossed her legs.
"Goodness, Morris, what the heck happened in that house last night?" Parsons sighed.
"So we got a lookalike, huh?" Reynolds paced. "And Jersey, you want to use Morris as bait?" She nodded. "Morris, do you think you could get him?"
"Yes, I believe so, sir. He thinks I think he"s Steven. He already said he"ll be back. I got a feeling he meant very soon."
"Then what?" Parsons grimaced. "You gonna pull out the old charm, huh? Get him to admit he"s the rapist? It"ll never work! Jesus, you did some shabby work last night, Detective!"
"Excuse me?" Brianna stood.
Parsons shook his head. "You have one of the most wanted criminals in the nation in your house and you just let the man walk on out into the street? What kind of s.h.i.t is that?"
"I didn"t know he wasn"t Steven until it was too late! He"d already left when I figured it out!"
"Just like before, huh?" he scoffed.
"I don"t need this s.h.i.t from you, Parsons. The bottom line is this man is still out there and we need to get him before he hurts someone else! And that could even be me."
Reynolds glared. "And how do you know he really thinks you think he"s Kemp? How do you know he wasn"t just playing you?"
Brianna thought of how he held her. How he"d kissed her. How he"d wanted so much more. Men rarely just left such a pa.s.sionate scene without an afterthought. He may have even cared for her in some sick, s.a.d.i.s.tic way. She could only go on his claim that he"d be back. She knew in her heart that he would.
"I just know, sir." Brianna shrugged.
Jersey stood. "He"ll be back and now we"re a step ahead. He doesn"t have a clue that we know he"s not Steven." She smiled. "Morris is a brilliant officer. Nothing better than using a fine cop as bait. Especially when she"s what the rapist wants. It"s like dangling cheese in front of a rat."
Brianna smiled at her superior"s vote of confidence.
"Okay, fine." Parsons held up his arms. "I can"t step in on how you handle your case, Detective. But I"m not saying that I believe any of this, okay? So don"t think that everything"s outta the clear with me." Brianna grinned. "I just have one more question. If this man last night really was a lookalike and supposed rapist, then where the h.e.l.l is Kemp?"
Brianna sighed. "That"s the one thing I haven"t figured out."
A Month Later Lucas brushed past Keith"s office door. Keith stacked files on top of his desk. He wondered. What would cause Lucas not to say h.e.l.lo? He hadn"t seen Melody in a month. People speculated she wouldn"t return to work. What would he do if she told the truth? He rubbed his face. No, she wouldn"t. He smiled. She didn"t have the guts.
Anyway, what would she say? If she did tell, he could easily dispute it. Even if that didn"t work, he could make it look like they"d been having an affair. She had lied about the entire night from what Sarah told him. Raped on the side of the street by a man she didn"t know. He"d obviously given her more credit than she deserved in the brain department. Did she realize how she"d sunk her own ship already?
Just too many lies. Not to mention an entire month has pa.s.sed. She"d been known for crying wolf. No one would believe her. Keith had nothing to worry about. He caught up with Lucas in the hall. Lucas spoke with another co-worker. He headed to his office. Lucas hadn"t been the same since the rape. He"d been distraught for weeks. Keith had only wanted to teach Melody a lesson. He hadn"t intended on hurting Lucas.
"Hey, Luke!" Keith smacked Lucas"s back. Lucas jumped.
"Hey," he muttered. He blew into his Styrofoam cup of coffee.
"Man, I"ve known dead people who look happier than you," Keith cackled. "Something on your mind?" They entered Lucas"s office. He slunk behind his desk. He straightened his navy-blue tie. "Luke?" Keith sat down. "What"s going on, man? You look like you haven"t slept all night."
"I haven"t." He pushed a b.u.t.ton on his fancy office phone.
"Well, you know you can tell your boy if you"re having a hard time." Keith grinned. "Nothing you can"t tell me, man. I"ll try to help if I can."
"It"s personal, Keith." Lucas searched his desk drawer for his stapler.
"Personal." He sucked his lip. "Well, if you need me, you know where I"ll be." He headed out.
"Keith," Lucas sighed. "Wait, uh, close the door." Keith did. "I appreciate you being there for me, man. You know I do. But since this involves Melody, I"m uncomfortable talking about her after what"s gone on."
Keith put his hands in his pockets. "Anything you say to me won"t leave me. You know that. You can trust me, Luke."
"Everything"s just falling apart." Lucas rubbed his hands. "I knew she would change, but I had no idea this much in such a short while. Keith, I want to be there for her, but she"s pushing me away. I know she doesn"t mean to, but I can"t help wondering if we should be together, after all."
"Well, I"m sorry to hear that. I haven"t seen Melody since before she was raped. I"ve been thinking a lot about her. Sarah asked me not to come around the house a while ago. I"ve respected her wishes. Uh, is Melody even coming back to work?"
"Who knows?" Lucas looked at his computer. "She doesn"t stick around me long enough for me to ask. Every time I call or go to see her, she makes up some flimsy excuse. No one could be as busy as she claims she is. Man, I feel like she somehow blames me for what that a.s.shole did to her. All I want to do is be there for her. How can I, when she treats me like this?"
"Lucas, she just needs some time."
Lucas twirled a pencil. "Yeah, but I am beginning to think I don"t have that amount of time to give her. Keith, I feel like I"m at a standstill. The rape has changed everything! I can"t even get ahold of my own life. I feel like I"m wasting away, waiting on Melody to recover. Funny thing is that I don"t know if she ever will."
Keith sat down. "This is tearing you up, huh?"
"Of course it is. She"s my girlfriend. What burns me is that this motherf.u.c.ker is just walking around free. I love her so much, man. I could kill anyone that hurt her."
Lucas looked at his computer. Keith hadn"t ever seen his friend this distressed. All of this had been Melody"s fault from the beginning! If she hadn"t made things so difficult, then this wouldn"t have happened. Keith wouldn"t have had to teach her any lessons. She always left him no choice. She just pushed, pushed and kept pushing!
It had always been her fault. Besides...
Keith crossed his leg. She"d wanted him from the minute they met. It wasn"t rape. Okay, maybe he had forced her at that particular moment. But she deserved everything she got. He looked at Lucas. She"d probably f.u.c.k up his friendship with Lucas. When would the little b.i.t.c.h stop messing up his life?
"I know how you feel." Keith spoke after moments. Lucas looked as if he"d forgotten about him. "If anything happened to Sarah, I don"t know what I"d do. I love her so much."
"Melody"s so different from other people, Keith. Most women like being protected and cared for. Melody doesn"t. She"s a loner. She likes to handle things on her own. It"s not easy being with someone like that." He sat back. "G.o.d, I keep wondering why this had to happen! Why would someone hurt such a sweet person as Melody? She never did anything to anyone."
Except ruin their lives, Keith thought.
"She"ll heal in time, Luke. Did she, uh...did she say if she was going to the police or anything?" Lucas shook his head. "Maybe that"s best. It"s probably nothing they could do, anyway."
"What?" Lucas looked at him.
"It"s probably better if she just lets it go. I mean, so much time has pa.s.sed, anyway."
"Lets it go?" Lucas threw the pencil on the desk. "Keith, what kind of s.h.i.t is that to say? Melody was raped! This is gonna change the rest of her life. It doesn"t matter how long ago it happened. Do you realize this gets harder for her every day? Every decision she makes from now on will be because of what that a.s.shole did to her. Why should she let it go when even I can"t? I could kill this b.a.s.t.a.r.d with my bare hands, Keith! He took the Melody I fell in love with away forever! She"ll never be the same! Why the f.u.c.k should she let it go? How can any of us let it go?"
"Lucas, calm down, man." Keith waved his hands. "I was just saying..."
"No, obviously you don"t know a d.a.m.n thing about rape if you can say some s.h.i.t like that. It"s not just the physical, Keith. It ruins a woman inside and out. Melody will never be the same again!" Lucas trembled. "No matter how much I want her to be."
Keith exhaled. "Contrary to popular belief, I"m on your side, Luke. Now I know Melody is hurting. But she will get through it in time. I didn"t mean to sound insensitive. You don"t have to remind me how she was after it happened." He shut his eyes. "I"ll never forget how she looked. But we can"t change things for her, Lucas. She just has to accept this in order to move on." Keith shrugged. He couldn"t categorize Lucas"s expression. Why had it changed? s.h.i.t. Keith realized he"d made a big slip.
Lucas tapped the desk. "What did you just say?"
"Uh, I said, that in time Melody will heal and..."
"No, you said, "I"ll never forget how she looked." You mean, after the rape?"
"No." Keith cursed himself for making such a mistake.
"Then what did you mean then? Did you see her the night she was raped?"
Keith fiddled with the fancy b.u.t.tons on his long-sleeved white shirt. "No, I just meant that Sarah and I talk about it all the time. We talked about it when it first happened. I remember how Sarah said she was. That"s all I meant."
"You"re lying." Lucas shook his head.
"Lying?" Keith grinned. "How can I be lying? What about?"
"If you saw Melody that night, then why can"t you just admit it?"
"Okay, I might have seen her that day. I mean, at work." He walled his eyes.
Lucas shook his head. "I don"t think so. Melody was off that day. I remember and it was a Wednesday. I"ll never forget that day as long as I live. You saw her that night?"
Keith stood. "Look, we can talk about this later, okay? Uh, I have to get some work done." He went to the door.
"It can wait."
Keith twitched. "Lucas, I have a meeting to get to in about an hour, man."
Lucas stood. "It can wait."
"Luke, man..."
Lucas walked from around the desk. "Don"t give me any bulls.h.i.t now, Keith. I want the truth. I"ve been trying to figure out this thing going on between you and Melody. I couldn"t figure it out for the life of me. Something happened that made her act the way she does around you. Did you see her the night she was raped?" Keith sighed. "And don"t lie to me, man."
"Yes. But it was before it happened."
Lucas looked off. "Sarah said that you hadn"t seen Melody since before the day she was raped. I remember because I asked her if you"d been to the house. She told me she requested that you didn"t come and you hadn"t been."
"Yeah, and...I respected her wishes. I haven"t seen Melody because I didn"t want to upset her."
Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Why didn"t you just tell Sarah you saw Melody that night?"
"Because it wasn"t a big deal! Melody came over my place."
"Why would she do that?"
"I don"t know! She thought I did something to her as always. She"s always had it in for me, you know that!"