Parsons popped in a stick of gum. "You"re being arrested for the rape of Aileen Andrews."
Steven"s shoulders fell. "What did you say?"
"You heard him, Detective." Reynolds squinted. "You"re being arrested for the rape of Aileen Andrews." Reynolds looked at Jersey. "Parsons and I will be at the station, Captain Jersey. We expect Kemp to be there in five minutes."
Parsons grinned. "And not a minute later." They walked off.
"Captain." Steven turned all the way around. "What in the h.e.l.l is going on here?"
"Steven, we just need to get you to the station. I"m sure everything will be sorted out there. It"s probably a misunderstanding."
"Did this woman say I raped her?" Jersey and Cunningham looked off. "It"s not true! I didn"t rape anyone!" He grabbed Jersey. "Captain, you gotta believe me!"
"I...I believe you, Steven. We just have to deal with this now. I have no choice but to put you under arrest. I"m sure this will be straightened out tonight. Cunningham can bring you down. Just get some clothes on and be there as fast as possible." She walked off with the uniformed cop.
"Jesus. Cunningham, I don"t know what"s going on. Please help me understand this, man. I didn"t rape anyone."
"It"ll be all right, Steve." Cunningham patted his shoulder. "I"ll wait for you in the car."
Steven looked at the party in the interrogation room. He couldn"t believe this. He thought of all the suspects he"d questioned in here. He hadn"t dreamed he"d ever be on this side of the table. Reynolds looked like he wanted to string him alive. Parsons held a grin that Steven couldn"t figure the reason for yet. Captain Jersey looked like someone killed her puppy.
Steven couldn"t see himself to notice how he must have looked. He could only guess that he looked shocked. Maybe later he"d be scared, too. Right now, he couldn"t even think past the time in this room. He"d do the best he could. He was innocent. He knew that. He"d only have to make them believe it. At least Captain Jersey seemed on his side. For now.
Parsons lit his third cigarette. Steven couldn"t believe he"d already been in the room an hour. Reynolds and Parsons spent most of the hour conversing in the hall. Steven couldn"t have guessed what they talked about. He just knew it wasn"t good for him. Parsons did most of the questioning. Steven disliked the man already. He held a chip on his shoulder for cops. Most of these Internal Affairs folks did. Steven wouldn"t let the man get to him. He didn"t care what questions he had to answer. He wouldn"t give in.
"Okay, uh, let"s go over this again, Detective Kemp." Parsons flicked his cigarette in midair. "You said that you were at home between the time of five-thirty and eight tonight?"
He sighed. "Yes, I was."
"Can anyone vouch for that? I mean, anyone who can be a witness to your alibi?"
"It"s not an alibi, Agent Parsons. It"s the truth, okay? I was at home all day. I didn"t have to work. I was glad to finally get a day off. Especially a Sat.u.r.day. Believe me, I enjoyed it."
"Mmm." Parsons smirked. "So you don"t know if anyone saw you at home? Like your neighbors or anything?"
He shrugged. "I"m sure they saw my car. Other than that, I don"t know. I mean, you don"t know if someone"s watching you or not. I don"t know where you live, but in my neighborhood we don"t have a ritual of watching each other. People can come and go as they please."
Parsons didn"t seem to appreciate the sarcasm. Steven heavily enjoyed knocking the agent on his a.s.s. Parsons scribbled on a piece of yellow notebook paper.
"Well, this doesn"t look too good. Saying you were at home all day seems flimsy at best. Let"s just get to the point, shall we?" Parsons straightened his tie. "Did you rape Aileen Andrews?"
Steven tapped the table. "No," he exhaled.
"Well, she says you did."
"I don"t care what she says. I didn"t rape Aileen Andrews. I didn"t even know she"d been raped until you came to my house and rounded me up like the Calvary." Parsons grinned. "I didn"t rape anyone." Steven looked at Reynolds. "Commissioner, you got to believe me, sir."
"This is a very personal case for me, Kemp." Reynolds glared at him. "You see, I have two beautiful teenage daughters at home. Lately, my wife and I have been scared to even send them to school because of this man. They can"t live a normal life because I"m afraid some nut is gonna grab them off the street and rape them. You probably can"t understand this, but to me it"s a hate crime, plain and simple."
Reynolds rubbed his face. "He"s targeting women of my community and it burns the h.e.l.l out of me. Everywhere I go I"m blamed because I"m black, and people think I should be doing all I can to get him. Well, I am. Yet, I got organizations on my back. I got black leaders on my back, and what do I have to give them...nothing. Not even peace of mind."
Steven shook his head. "Commissioner Reynolds, I"m sure no one blames you personally, sir."
"They"re my people so they definitely blame me for not protecting these women. I blame myself! So when I got the call about Aileen Andrews today, I went nuts that she"d accused an officer of doing these things. Do you realize how furious and sickened I am to see that one of my officers has been accused of this crime? I"m sorry if I don"t seem to be giving you the benefit of the doubt right now, Kemp. But I have a frightened young woman who was brutally raped by a man claiming to be you."
"Commissioner, I..."
"He raped her with her daughter standing in the hallway! This is the same man who has committed sodomy, beaten and raped over twenty-five women, total! These women will live with this for the rest of their lives! In their eyes, they can"t even begin to accept this! I"ve been praying that some sign would fly from the sky so we could get this motherf.u.c.ker!" Reynolds sighed. "So imagine how disgusted I felt to find out that one of my officers is the prime suspect."
"I did not rape Aileen Andrews!"
"Well, she says you did!" Reynolds pounded the table. "She says you did, and that"s all we need to know! She described your a.s.s down to the wire, Kemp! She even said your name! Why in the h.e.l.l would she say these things if you didn"t rape her?"
"I don"t know!" Steven held his head. "I can"t understand any of this! All I know is that I didn"t rape Aileen Andrews, Cheyenne Wilson or any of the other women! I swear! I"ve devoted my life to helping people! I"ve put more rapists behind bars than most of the officers in this d.a.m.n precinct. Why would I turn into something that I hate?"
Parsons flicked his cigarette. "What would you do if you were in our shoes, Kemp? Would you find it odd that Aileen named a cop the rapist, and then it all seemed to turn out that he may be?"
"Put myself in your shoes? How about you guys putting yourselves in my f.u.c.kin" shoes, huh? s.h.i.t, I thought cops were supposed to be on each other"s side!" Steven looked at Captain Jersey. "You guys have already convicted my a.s.s! I might as well have been electrocuted the minute I walked in here. It isn"t fair. How can you not believe me? I have never hurt anyone. I"d never do such a terrible thing. Do you really think I could?"
"I believe you, Kemp," Jersey said. The others looked at her. "I know you"d never hurt anyone." She looked at Parsons. "None of my officers would."
"Detective Kemp, can you give us one reason why Aileen Andrews would name you as the rapist then?" Parsons shrugged. "Because we"re stumped."
"I don"t know, but I want to speak to Mrs. Andrews."
"You"re not going anywhere near her," Reynolds warned. "She"s been through enough. The last thing she needs is to look at your face. She"s at the hospital and she needs to focus on getting herself together the best she can."
"Commissioner Reynolds, I didn"t rape her! You gotta believe me."
"Kemp, all I have to do is put the rapist behind bars. And right now that looks like it"s going to be you."
"I didn"t rape her! You can"t arrest me!"
"You"ve been named by Aileen Andrews as the man who raped her tonight. We can do more than that if we want!" Reynolds bellowed. "You obviously don"t realize the s.h.i.t you"re in, Kemp. It doesn"t matter what we think. What matters is what Aileen Andrews has said. She says you"re the man who raped her. Can you explain why?"
"No." Steven lowered his head.
"Captain Jersey, I want Kemp held tonight," Reynolds ordered.
"Commissioner!" Steven shouted.
"And that"s an order!" Reynolds shouted. "I want his a.s.s in a cell tonight! Do you understand me, Captain Jersey?"
"Yes, sir." She looked at Steven. "We"ll deal with the rest of this tomorrow." Reynolds opened the door.
"Commissioner Reynolds, this is a mistake." Jersey sighed. "Steven wouldn"t rape anyone."
"We"ll see." He left.
"I don"t believe this." Steven wiped his forehead. "What in the h.e.l.l am I gonna do, Captain?"
Parsons winked. "I"d start by getting myself a lawyer, Kemp. And I"d make sure he was d.a.m.n good." He left.
"I can"t believe this is happening to me. Captain, this man, this rapist is playing with my life. He"s trying to make it look like I did these things!"
"Why, Steven?" she whispered.
"I don"t know! You think if I knew I"d be getting arrested? Captain, we gotta find this man. If not my whole future could be at stake. I didn"t rape those women. You gotta believe me."
"I believe you, Steven. It"s just that right now I can"t do a d.a.m.n thing about it."
Chapter Twelve.
Sarah and Melody rushed through the halls of the hospital the next morning. Aileen had become the Albany Predator"s latest victim. Melody was completely devastated. Just when she thought Aileen would be safe her worst nightmare came true. She loved Aileen like a sister. She couldn"t imagine the pain she felt. If Melody could take on Aileen"s worries she would in a heartbeat.
Sarah tried her best to console her sister. Melody couldn"t put her thoughts into words. She couldn"t get Aileen out of her head. How scared she must be. How badly had she been attacked? Had he beaten her like the others? Had he hurt Danielle? Would Aileen ever recover? She couldn"t get the overwhelming thoughts out of her head. Sarah kept saying when Melody could see Aileen she"d feel better.
Melody wasn"t so sure. What if Aileen"s state confirmed Melody"s frightening a.s.sumptions? Could she handle it? She"d have to be strong for Aileen. But who would be strong for Melody? Tons of reporters from the local news stations surrounded the side entrances of the hospital. The Albany Predator had become one of the most talked about criminals.
It had been easier to deal with when the locals had only known his terror. Now everyone knew. Melody realized how big it was when she caught a story on CNN the week before. The biggest networks started clamoring to bring attention to what people called one of the most vicious rapists to ever hit the streets. He hadn"t just scared an entire city, but scarred it for life.
It no longer mattered when he"d be caught. His reign of terror would forever change the citizens of Albany, New York. Melody would never look at her hometown with the same amount of pride and admiration again. She saw it as a place of contempt, pain and violence. She could have accepted things before Aileen"s attack. The rapist had hit too close to home this time.
They made it to Aileen"s floor. A police officer stopped them at Aileen"s door. He informed them that the police were questioning her. Melody did her best to calm her anger. It wasn"t easy. She kept seeing a frightened, shaking Aileen being grilled by some overbearing, male police officer who didn"t know the first thing about being raped.
The door opened. Melody and Sarah overlooked the striking black woman who walked out. She slipped a tiny notepad into her tweed jacket. Melody didn"t have to guess. She knew this had been the detective the Albany Predator had attacked.
"h.e.l.lo." Brianna smiled at the two young ladies. "I"m Detective Brianna Morris. I"m the investigating officer on the Albany Predator case."
"Uh, h.e.l.lo." Sarah gestured to Melody. "I"m Sarah Johnson, and this is my sister, Melody Cruz. We"re friends of Aileen Andrews."
"Sisters?" Brianna stared. Melody and Sarah were so used to that reaction they no longer paid it much attention. "You must be very worried. I was just questioning her. She"s been through a lot."
"How is she?" Melody asked.
Brianna sighed. "She"s very upset and sad. I don"t know if she wants to see anyone right now. She wouldn"t even look at me."
"Yet you felt it important to grill her when she hasn"t even had time to understand what"s happened to her?" Melody squinted.
"Mel, please." Sarah sighed. "I"m sorry, Detective."
"You don"t have to apologize, Ms. Johnson. You both have every right to be angry and sad. I am, too. It never gets easier, no matter how many rape victims I talk to. I, uh, have to get back to the station."
Melody blocked her. "Any leads?"
Brianna sighed. Melody felt she knew something. She figured Brianna wouldn"t share it. Melody had watched enough police shows that she knew their methods by heart.
"We are, uh...following up on some leads."
"Are you just saying that to make us feel better?" Melody crossed her arms. "If you know something about Aileen, then we deserve to know."
"Ms. Cruz, I admire how much you care about your friend. But this is police business. We"re doing all we can. I hope you ladies have a nice day."
"So is it true that this guy could be a cop?" Melody squinted. "Are you still doing the best you can knowing that?"
Brianna sighed. "Whether he"s a cop or not makes no difference to me."
"I bet, since you were attacked by the predator yourself, huh?"
Brianna stood in front of her. "Who told you this, Ms. Cruz?"
"It doesn"t matter. What matters is helping Aileen and the women he"s raped. Since you"ve been in their shoes, I hope you"ll do everything you can."
"Melody, you"re offending her." Sarah sighed. "Detective, I apologize. We know you"re doing all you can."
"I am." Brianna kept her gaze on Melody. "I promise you, I"ll do what I can to help your friend and the other women."
"Even if it means arresting a cop?" Melody raised an eyebrow.
"Ms. Cruz, you seem to have a dirty perception of police officers. We"re not all corrupt, you know? Some of us really care. I"m one of those people."
"I hope so." Melody walled her eyes.
"Just be warned if you don"t recognize your friend right now. She"s been through something you can"t imagine."
"Thanks, Detective Morris." Sarah smiled. Brianna left. "Melody, what was that about?"
"What?" She turned from Aileen"s door.
"She was attacked by this guy, too?" Sarah pointed in the direction Brianna walked off in. "How did you know?"
"Lucas"s father has a friend on the force, and he told him." Sarah gasped. "And from what Lucas says, it may not be the only thing the police are hiding."
Sarah squinted. "You think this guy really is a cop or just using that to get his victims?"
Melody bit her lips. "I don"t know. But I definitely feel like the cops are hiding something huge from the public about this case."
"Even her?" Sarah pointed down the hall.
Melody nodded. "Especially her." She went into Aileen"s room.