and not necessarily
wrong. What do you consider wrong?”
The
sense of shame she felt was almost crippling. “We got a little drunk last night.”
“I’ve
been drunk several times in my life. Mostly, I enjoyed it. Sometimes, the next morning, not so much. Was I wrong to do it? Subjective, but I don’t think so.”
“I did
something stupid.”
“We all
have.”
“Not
like this,” Patty said. “I left
with a man last night. I left
Cheryl alone at the club. I took
him to my house, something I’ve never done with a stranger, in spite of what
this town thinks of me. I was
drunk. I was attracted to him. I took him home and I left her there. Now, she’s nowhere to be found.” She paused. “And it gets worse.”
He was
looking at her intently. “How does
it get worse?”
“The man
I took home? He drugged me. He raped me. He made me do sick things I don’t
remember doing. He caught it all on
camera and then he placed the photos on a website. He told me that if I don’t kill myself
for my sins as a whore that he would send my family, my employer and my friends
that link. He said it would confirm
who I was. He said when it came to
my ‘friends,’ the link would go viral and the rest of my life would be akin to
a public stoning.”
James
Coleman stood. “You said he drugged
you?”
“I know
he did. He must have.”
“And he
raped you?”
She
nodded.
“You’ve
showered, so there might be an issue gathering evidence, but there’s always a
chance, so we need to try because it could tell us who this person is if he’s
on record. I need you to go to the
hospital with me. They will perform
a procedure to see if they can get any of his DNA from you. They also will do a blood test to see
what he drugged you with. This is a
crime, Patty, and it’s something you must do, but time is of the essence.”
“This
will go to the press?”
“Probably.”
She sat
with that knowledge for a moment, and then she shrugged. “So, everyone will finally get their
confirmation letter about me. Whatever. I’ve dealt with
this for years and I’ll deal with the fallout now. It’s Cheryl who matters. We need to find her.”
“So, we
call the police now,” he said. “I
have a good friend there. A
detective. In a bit, we’ll tell him
what happened. He and others will
then begin their investigation at The Grind. I’m assuming you left Cheryl there?”
“In the
parking lot.”
“Then
they’ll check the parking lot. And
they’ll question the owners. And
they’ll question the regulars the owners know by name to see if they were there
l ast
night and saw anything unusual. I’m
sorry, Patty. This is awful―I
understand that. But you didn’t do
anything wrong. Between us, Barbara
wasn’t exactly the first woman I had relations with. When you’re in the Army and away from
home and living in Paris, as I was in my early twenties, things happen and I
don’t regret any of it. Especially
Eveline. But when Barbara and I
married? That was that. You’re a single woman and a consenting
adult who had a crime committed against her. Those are the facts. You did nothing wrong. All right?”
“All
right.”
“Now, we
need to follow procedure and we need to act quickly. Are you willing to do that?”
“I’ll do
anything for Cheryl.”
“That’s
good to hear, but soon you’re going to have to start doing things for
yourself. You matter as much as
Cheryl does. Are we clear on that? What happened to you last night was
terrible. We’ll get to the bottom
of it. We don’t know where Cheryl
is now, but we’ll find her. I need
you to believe that. That girl is
as special as you are. We will find
her.”
He got up
from his desk and called downtown to one of his detective friends. “Steve,” he said. “James. Fine, fine.
wrong. What do you consider wrong?”
The
sense of shame she felt was almost crippling. “We got a little drunk last night.”
“I’ve
been drunk several times in my life. Mostly, I enjoyed it. Sometimes, the next morning, not so much. Was I wrong to do it? Subjective, but I don’t think so.”
“I did
something stupid.”
“We all
have.”
“Not
like this,” Patty said. “I left
with a man last night. I left
Cheryl alone at the club. I took
him to my house, something I’ve never done with a stranger, in spite of what
this town thinks of me. I was
drunk. I was attracted to him. I took him home and I left her there. Now, she’s nowhere to be found.” She paused. “And it gets worse.”
He was
looking at her intently. “How does
it get worse?”
“The man
I took home? He drugged me. He raped me. He made me do sick things I don’t
remember doing. He caught it all on
camera and then he placed the photos on a website. He told me that if I don’t kill myself
for my sins as a whore that he would send my family, my employer and my friends
that link. He said it would confirm
who I was. He said when it came to
my ‘friends,’ the link would go viral and the rest of my life would be akin to
a public stoning.”
James
Coleman stood. “You said he drugged
you?”
“I know
he did. He must have.”
“And he
raped you?”
She
nodded.
“You’ve
showered, so there might be an issue gathering evidence, but there’s always a
chance, so we need to try because it could tell us who this person is if he’s
on record. I need you to go to the
hospital with me. They will perform
a procedure to see if they can get any of his DNA from you. They also will do a blood test to see
what he drugged you with. This is a
crime, Patty, and it’s something you must do, but time is of the essence.”
“This
will go to the press?”
“Probably.”
She sat
with that knowledge for a moment, and then she shrugged. “So, everyone will finally get their
confirmation letter about me. Whatever. I’ve dealt with
this for years and I’ll deal with the fallout now. It’s Cheryl who matters. We need to find her.”
“So, we
call the police now,” he said. “I
have a good friend there. A
detective. In a bit, we’ll tell him
what happened. He and others will
then begin their investigation at The Grind. I’m assuming you left Cheryl there?”
“In the
parking lot.”
“Then
they’ll check the parking lot. And
they’ll question the owners. And
they’ll question the regulars the owners know by name to see if they were there
l ast
night and saw anything unusual. I’m
sorry, Patty. This is awful―I
understand that. But you didn’t do
anything wrong. Between us, Barbara
wasn’t exactly the first woman I had relations with. When you’re in the Army and away from
home and living in Paris, as I was in my early twenties, things happen and I
don’t regret any of it. Especially
Eveline. But when Barbara and I
married? That was that. You’re a single woman and a consenting
adult who had a crime committed against her. Those are the facts. You did nothing wrong. All right?”
“All
right.”
“Now, we
need to follow procedure and we need to act quickly. Are you willing to do that?”
“I’ll do
anything for Cheryl.”
“That’s
good to hear, but soon you’re going to have to start doing things for
yourself. You matter as much as
Cheryl does. Are we clear on that? What happened to you last night was
terrible. We’ll get to the bottom
of it. We don’t know where Cheryl
is now, but we’ll find her. I need
you to believe that. That girl is
as special as you are. We will find
her.”
He got up
from his desk and called downtown to one of his detective friends. “Steve,” he said. “James. Fine, fine.
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