He put his hand along the hair at her temple and smiled
tenderly into her eyes. He gave his head a very slight shake—never again, he was saying to her. Brie had chosen her mate. And for all Jack’s previous doubts, it appeared she had chosen well.
Jack had resisted when he should have trusted his sister to know what she needed in her life, and he should have trusted Mike, as much a best friend as Preacher, to treat her like the precious jewel she was. Whatever had happened between them had clearly surpassed a physical fulfillment.
My wife, Jack thought, is always right about everything.
For Mel, a nightmare had come to roost in the form of sixteen-year-old Sophie Landau. She thought something might have “happened to her.” Mel had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach even before more of the story came out. “Me and my girlfriend Becky went to a party that we weren’t supposed to—I said I was staying over at Becky’s and she said she was staying over at my house. Brendan Lancaster invited us. Brendan’s older—he graduated a couple of years ago,” she said with red lips that looked as if she’d been chewing on them.
“Okay,” Mel said, encouraging her.
Sophie sat on the exam table, still dressed, while Mel leaned against the cabinet, listening, dreading. Sophie was on the chubby side with straight brown hair that fell limply onto her shoulders. She had a little problem with acne, her teeth were crooked and she was clearly nervous in a general way—nails bitten down, a hair-twisting habit, an occasional twitch of her cheek.
“So you went to a party. Big party?” Mel asked.
“Small. Six or seven kids.”
“Brendan lives alone?”
“No, he lives with his mom, but she’s gone a lot. She was gone over the weekend. And he’s out of school now—you know—working over in Garberville, pouring concrete with his uncle. So there wasn’t anyone there but kids.”
“Okay…?”
“So there were a few kids and we drank beer, smoked a couple of joints. And got drunk and a little high. I passed out. Becky thinks she did, too.”
“Becky
thinks
she did?”
“She doesn’t know, because she got wasted and went to Brendan’s mother’s bedroom and lay down and woke up at about three in the morning. Me—I think I must have passed out, because I was just waking up in the morning, in Brendan’s room. There were only a couple of kids still there—Becky, Brendan, a couple others sleeping in the living room.”
“And…”
“And I felt really awful. Like I’d been hit in the head with a brick and my stomach was all upset. I couldn’t wait to get home and sleep it off. When I got home I told my mother I thought I’d got the flu while I was at Becky’s, and I went to get into bed, and undressed, you know? My underpants were inside out and backward.”
Ew, Mel thought. I have another one.
“So—I didn’t think anything about it—figured I did that to myself drunk.”
“Big drinker, are you?”
She hung her head. “Not really,” she said. “I’ve been to a few parties with these guys. Maybe three. I never got so trashed before.”
“Ever pass out and put on your undies inside out and backward?”
“No. Nothing like that. But I realize I was pretty drunk.”
“But you didn’t think anything about it? Let me ask you something—did you have any soreness anywhere? Bruises or anything?”
“I was a little sore, down there,” she said, glancing into her lap. “I just thought it was impossible. You know? Because I thought if anything had happened, I would’ve woken up. But then later when I heard this girl in the locker room at gym class telling one of her girlfriends to
never
go to one of
those
parties—those beer parties. And she said something like, ‘I’m not even going to tell you what happened to me! You just wouldn’t believe it!’ And right away I knew. Don’t ask me how I knew—I just knew.”
“You think you might have been raped?”
“I might’ve been, yeah. I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem like those guys… They’re just friends. They don’t seem like the kind of guys who…”
“Have you missed periods or anything?”
“I’m on the pill. I’m on it for my periods, you know? Because they’re awful. I got my period on time about a week later, but now I’m starting to worry about other stuff. Like what if something happened to me and I got something?”
“Straight thinking, kiddo. We can check for everything and put your mind at ease. But, Sophie—I’ve heard something similar to this before and I’m concerned. I have no idea if anything happened to you besides a little too much beer, but I seriously need you to talk to a friend of mine, a police officer, who—”
“Wait a sec,” she said. “I don’t want to get into trouble.”
“Sophie, you’re not in trouble. My advice is to stop going to unchaperoned parties where alcohol is served and joints are available, but that’s just advice. My friend might want to ask you who was there, just to see if there are any similarities
between your experience and… And other things I’ve picked up just talking with people.”
“And if there are? Will the people who were there get in trouble? Because I don’t want to do that.”
“Sophie, I can assure you no one’s going to get into trouble for drinking beer. I’m not even interested in the pot. Everything you say will be kept in confidence. But seriously—we need to know what’s going on, if something like assault is going on.”
“What if nothing’s going on?”
“Then nothing more will come of it,” Mel said. But in her gut, she knew. “My friend, he has a lot of detective experience, he’s worked with a lot of kids—and he’s been looking into this stuff already. He’d be very interested in talking to you. And he will never divulge where he got his information without your complete permission. Will you, Sophie? If it could help keep this from happening to anyone else?”
“I might,” she said, ducking her head shyly. “Let me think about it.”
Mel did the requisite pelvic exam, tested for STDs and convinced Sophie to talk to Mike. Mel asked Sophie to wait at the clinic for a little while, just long enough to see if she could find Mike. They could have their conversation in private at the clinic—the safest place she could think of, away from Sophie’s friends and parents. If Mike wasn’t around, she would have to ask Sophie to come back the next day, and cross her fingers that the girl would.
Mel felt terrible all over. She hated hearing Sophie’s story, because she was convinced there was a date raper in town, maybe even a group of boys, young men, possibly using drugs on unsuspecting girls.
It was early afternoon when she left Sophie in the clinic
and went to the bar. It was quiet, as was usual for the mid-afternoon. Jack’s truck was gone—she assumed he was out at the house, getting in everyone’s business. In the kitchen she found Paige and Preacher getting things started for the evening meal. “Hi, guys. Anyone seen Mike?”
“His car’s out back, but I think he’s locked in with his…You know Brie’s in town, right?” Preacher asked.
“Yeah,” she said, picking up the phone in the kitchen. She punched in Mike’s land line. “Hi, Mike. I hate to do this to you. I need you. It’s about a situation we discussed a while ago—it’s business.” Then she said, “Thanks. I owe you one.”
She went behind the bar and fixed herself a sparkling water, waiting for Mike. The speed with which he appeared gave her a little peace of mind. She hadn’t interrupted anything too complicated or private, and for that she was grateful.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“Let’s step out on the porch,” she said.
Once outside, she explained in hushed tones what she’d just heard, and the girl’s willingness to talk to him. Then she took him across the street and introduced him to Sophie. She should have expected Mike to be a pro, yet she was pleasantly surprised by the tenderness and finesse with which he handled Sophie, putting her at ease at once, gaining her confidence and trust. He took her into Doc’s kitchen, since there were no patients in the clinic. A few moments later he came out, asking for a tablet and pen, then went back behind closed doors.
Mel really wanted to go see Brie, but she felt she had to stay at the clinic while Mike interviewed her patient. David had been napping in the reception area in his playpen and she heard him start to rouse. Before long he sent up an alarm and she had to go pick him up, change him, cuddle him quiet. Over an hour passed before Mike walked Sophie out of the
kitchen. He had a hand on her back, solicitously escorting her, thanking her in soft tones for helping him so much.
By the moony eyes Sophie turned up to Mike’s face, not only had he won her over, she adored him. Trusted him completely.
When Sophie had gone, Mike looked at Mel and gave her a somber nod.
“We have a bad one on the loose, don’t we?” she asked.
He nodded. “Or
ones.
Now I have names. Now I can talk to some other youngsters, one of whom I suspect is one of your other girls—because the name didn’t come from you.”
“What’ll you do?”
“Interview. Right away. And I’m going to have to round up some support for Sophie—she’s going to need to talk to a professional.”
“Family Planning might help with that. And the county has a sexual assault response team.”
He shook his head almost sadly. “When I took this job, this is the last thing I expected to be up against.”
“Brie is barely here,” Mel said sympathetically.
“She’ll understand, Mel. In fact, I’m going to have to talk to her about this.”
“I never tell Jack….”
He gave a nod. “I’ll ask her to be sensitive to that, but after what Brie’s been through, I have to be up front about this. She’s been lied to—things have been withheld from her. I can’t keep something like this back from her. It’s real important. We’ve barely begun….”
Mel held up a hand. “You know what you can and can’t do—and you know we can’t have these teenagers exposed.” He nodded. “I want to see her. Brie. When can I see her?” she asked, jostling David.
“I think as soon as ten minutes. Give me a head start?”
“Sure. At least.”
Something wonderful happened to Mike’s heart when his hand touched the door to his RV, just knowing she was there. Everything about that felt right. When he stepped inside, there she was, waiting. Brie had tidied up the place, put away their clothes and made up the bed. She was sitting at the small table with a tablet in front of her, writing, and looked up at him with those soft, glowing eyes.
He couldn’t help himself—the first thing he did was go to her, lean down and kiss her. “What are you doing?” he asked, sitting opposite her.
“Writing my resignation to the prosecutor’s office,” she said. “And making a list. I’m going to start looking for an office. If I’m going to stay here, I’m going to work. And I’m going to stay here.”
“An office?”
“Uh-huh. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’m a lawyer. I can’t work out of this space because I’ll need my things. My computer, books, et cetera.”
“I love hearing this. Are we sure we want to make Virgin River home?”
“I can do it, although I don’t think I’m going to find an office in this little town. In fact, who knows where I’ll find work? I might have to commute to one of the larger towns, or maybe I’ll be taking whatever work there is in some of these small towns. But, Mike—do you want to leave Virgin River? Because I think you know—I’ll go anywhere with you.”
He reached for her hands and held them. “I love it here. The best part of my life has come to me here. I have a sug
gestion. Instead of looking for an office, think about looking for a house. One large enough for an office at home, or one with the space to build on. You could work out of our home.”
“You think?”
“If we’re going to go with nature, something tells me the need for more space will present itself before long. How do you feel about that?”
She smiled at him. “Like going forward with you.”
“Am I getting ahead of you?” he asked her. “This is quick. Your brother, your father, your sisters—they’re going to point out how fast we’re moving. People are going to say we’re crazy.”
“I don’t care,” she said, shaking her head. “I haven’t felt this good in well over a year. I’m due a little crazy happiness. When do you think we’ll come down to earth?”
“Sooner than you think. I have some work I have to do. Police work. It’s going to tie me up a little bit, but it’s very important.”
“Can you tell me about it?”
“I want to talk to you about it, but it’s very sensitive. It could be upsetting.”
“Okay. I’m good with sensitive. And I’ll try to look upsetting in the face.”
“Mel doesn’t share things like this with anyone, even Jack. She hopes I might help investigate. I told her I was going to talk to you for a lot of reasons, but you’ll have to be discreet with your brother. No question—he can be completely trusted, but this is an arrangement they have and I don’t want to get in the way of that.”
“Okay,” she said.
“Mel has had some young patients she suspects have encountered a date raper. From what she describes, I believe
she’s right. I finally have some names—I’m going to do some interviews. See if I can get a fix on what’s happened and who this could be. Then I’m going to get him. Or them.”
Brie couldn’t help it—a shudder of revulsion passed through her. God, she hated to think of anyone going through what she had. Mike gave her a moment to gather herself and finally she just shook her head, saddened to hear it. “How awful. Have you ever worked sexual assault? Are you up to speed on this?”
“I haven’t worked a sexual assault unit, but I’ve worked with some of those detectives on cases that cross over, and have a little experience from that. And I’ve worked with a lot of kids, which gives me an advantage in this situation. I can get started without your help, but I’m sure I’ll be asking for your advice. Can you deal with that?”
“I can try. I happen to know a lot about this—and not just from personal experience. I’ve prepped a lot of rape victims for trial.”
“I was hoping you’d be willing to help. I’m going to go talk to some people,” Mike said. “Mel is dying to see you.”
“She’s at Doc’s?”