The number one task for Sandy the next morning was at the newspaper office. The obnoxious a.s.sault by Huress had unsettled her mind. She wanted to be certain she had thanked Linda. In addition, something else about Linda bothered her.

It was Friday; the newsroom was busy and carried a high-level jumble of voices, keyboard clicks, and printer noise. Linda pulled a chair over for her. "You really were shaken last night when I dropped you off. You should have let me come in for a minute."

"Now that I think about it, you're right. We could have had a cup of tea, and you could have talked me down. I was so hyper I couldn't sleep."

"Yes, a h.o.r.n.y two-hundred-pounder with a gun can do that."

"Hush up or I'll start shivering again. One of his threats was to see they transferred Raymond out to the county jail immediately. He's probably taking care of that this morning."

"Huress might have been acting on orders from Moran."

"Geez, does Moran play like that?"

"I*ve never liked him, he's a pain in the a.s.s." Linda stared up at the ceiling for a moment. "After I let you out last night, I sat watching you go in and was thinking. You kept thanking me, but I had the feeling you didn't want me in your apartment because you were worried about me. You know, about me bothering you. I'm sorry, don't answer, bad timing. I shouldn't hit you with that right now."

"No, it's okay. You're right. I felt so vulnerable, I just wanted to go hide under the covers. I was going to take out his eye if you hadn't shown up when you did. I hate it when I get in those angry moods. You know, I wondered how you happened to show up just at the right time."

"Just dumb luck, I guess. I was headed to the girl bar and that convenience store is on the way. There was something I wanted to get."

Something wasn't straight about her story. "Linda, did you follow me last night? You came to my rescue at just the perfect time. And you took me straight home after, without me telling you where I lived." She fixed her eyes on Linda.

"Okay, I was following you. Sorry if I misjudged you. It was the reporter in me. You were just too much when you showed up yesterday, and I became suspicious. I had to find out more about you. After we had that sandwich, we came back here to pick up your car. You zipped out of the lot and I got the dumb reporter idea to follow you."

Sandy didn't buy it. "But I was working in the apartment for a couple of hours before I went out. You just parked out front?"

"For awhile, thinking you were just changing clothes and would head back out. I started to leave when I saw Huress pull up. Then I got interested because maybe he was on the clock, and I'd stumbled onto some investigation. You might say I staked out the cop on the stakeout. Later he followed you to the store. I followed him. He never saw me. I watched you guys from across the street."

Sandy didn't completely believe her story and was upset with herself for trusting Linda too soon. "I suspected he was stalking me."

"Huress has been in trouble before. He used to be Towson's official driver when he was mayor. That's how he met and married Tony Hackett's sister. Tony Hackett was Towson's right hand man even back then."

"So, Bobby Huress' wife is Tony Hackett's sister. What kind of trouble did Huress get into?"

"He was caught filling up his personal vehicles using the city's gas credit card. Tony offered to pay for the charges and it was all hushed up, but Towson tried to get Huress fired over it."

"Meaning, Huress might have had it in for Towson?"

"Of course, Huress is not one to forget."

"I've another suspicion about him. Something about the line he was handing me last night to get me to come across. At first, he was understandably nervous about me being there, but when he started in with the proposition part, he was too cool. As if he had practiced the routine and rehea.r.s.ed the lines. He antic.i.p.ated my objections and was ready with his response. I think he's done it all before."

"Boys have been using those lines on girls ever since back seats were invented."

"No, I mean he's done it before, there in his truck."

"I don't get you."

"What if that had been an immature girl sitting there shaking because Huress had just caught her boyfriend stealing a pack of cigarettes. He didn't dream that deal up just for me. Of course, he changed it around to fit my situation. But he knew all the right words. He knew the routine because it works and he uses it. A terrified girl couldn't stand up to his uniform, badge, and gun. It'd be way easy for him. Suppose he does cruise around looking for victims?"

"That's a serious s.e.x crime, but I wouldn't put it past any male. Even if true, Sandy, you don't need this right now. Hanging Huress for his s.e.xual a.s.sault on you would be a full time job, and you already have your hands full."

"d.a.m.n it! I hate to let another predatory man get away with that s.h.i.t." She took a deep breath. "I don't know. You're probably right. What do I do? Maybe I should ask Chip what he thinks."

That name definitely got Linda's attention. "Chip, Chip? Oh, my G.o.d, the girl's uptight with Detective Chip G.o.ddard. The unnamed police source gets named."

"I didn't mean to say that! Forget that! Please don't get him in trouble, Linda, please. I'll do whatever you want."

"I don't want you to do anything." She laughed. "But I can't go to jail for what I'm thinking."

"You're a sweetheart, I mean-we're buddies?"

"Just buddies."

"You've got a big hug coming. And I'm not uptight with him. Not yet anyway."

"You do know he's got a live-in girl friend."

Sandy didn't know and didn't want to know. "Not surprising, I suppose."

"That's all you have to say?"

"Look, there's nothing between us. I could care less who he's living with." Then she couldn't resist. "Do you know her?"

"I've met her. Very nice. Sharon Abelson, a legal secretary."

She had at least a dozen more questions about Miss Legal Secretary, but decided to shake it off, at least for the time being. Her phone buzzed. It was Chip. She turned away from Linda to take the call.

He said, "Problem here. I wanted to warn you. Huress saw us at the Coffee Spot yesterday and ran to Moran. Now Moran is in an uproar. He wants to meet with me, the chief and Huress this afternoon."

"Wait, wait, when did he tattle on you?"

"Yesterday, I just told you."

"What time yesterday?"

"What difference does the time make? It was yesterday, I don't know, in the afternoon, just before quitting time."

"So, it was long before yesterday evening. Are you in big trouble over this?"

"Not much. I'll just explain our arrangement, listen to him berate me, and watch Huress gloat. If the case falls apart, they'll bring it up and I'll be blamed."

"Huress won't show up this afternoon."

"You don't understand. You don't know Huress."

"No, you don't understand. I do know Huress. I'm telling you he won't show up with any complaint, and he'll be reluctant to ever mention my name again."

Chip muttered something about a crazy woman. Sandy could picture him shaking his head. "Let me explain. I had a serious encounter with Huress last night." She told him what happened.

She could tell he was steaming, as expected, and then he settled down. "d.a.m.n it, Sandy, are you up for all this?"

"I'm not through with him."

"Sandy, if you file charges, the internal investigation of Huress probably won't get beyond the first inquiry. Your chances of any satisfaction are nil."

"So I should forget it?"

"No, I guess not. Go ahead and bring your charges so it gets in his file. But try to keep it out of the paper."

Chip went on to explain the procedure requires a first hearing within forty-eight hours of the accusation. The review panel will consist of the state attorney, the chief and two police officers.

"Do I get to testify, so I can face the b.a.s.t.a.r.d?"

"No, your charges must be written and then sworn to under penalty of perjury. The panel will put their heads together for a split second, and then announce-yada, yada, yada-they're helpless because it's he said-she said. And the matter's closed."

"But I have a witness, Linda saw Huress standing there with his pants open."

"You know Linda is gay?"

"Sure, but she's out."

"They'll completely discount her as a witness-completely. Think about it. At the very least, she's your biased lesbian friend. At most, she's your biased lesbian lover. You may not care, but as far as her being your witness, it's as though she was never there."

"What if it just happens to get in the paper?"

"Your brother might suffer from the fallout."

"I don't want to tell him about the incident just yet, but I know he would say go for it." She clicked off with Chip and turned back to Linda. "Now I'm worried about you. I know you'll back me up, but what does that do to you?"

"Won't affect me because I can't be named, not at first. I hope you understand that part. I'll be happy to write the piece, but I can't control the headline, and it's going to read, *Suspect's Sister Accuses Local Officer.' The item will state you have a witness, but if I'm named then we become the story. Then the headline would be, *Reporter and Girlfriend Accuse Local Officer.' It would sell a h.e.l.lava lot of papers, but it would spin out of control."

"But if I don't make it all known then Huress wins. Another creep gets away with it as though it never happened. Will you please go ahead and write it and be sure his name gets in?"

"Sandy, if I've learned anything about you in the few hours that I've known you, it's that nothing is going to stop you. I already went ahead and wrote it. It's done. Let's go. The editor will read it now."

They walked back to the gla.s.sed-in cubicle in the corner and waited while the editor read the printout. "Linda, you mention here that there is an unidentified witness. That's misleading, change it to an unnamed witness. Otherwise, it's good copy. Are you ladies certain you know what you're doing? Someone might dig in and want the unnamed witness to be identified. You may think you're out, Linda, but this town doesn't want to hear about it."

He then phoned Chief Oehlert to verify the facts. After a long conversation, he hung up. "I agreed to hold the piece until the chief has a chance to talk with you, Sandy."

Linda frowned. "The downside risk is the additional bad publicity and public outcry against your brother. There's the danger you'll come off as the desperate sister attacking the police in a pathetic grasp at some last straw to free her guilty brother."

That made Sandy think about Moran, all this was perfect for him, exactly what he wanted. And, if Chip was correct then there was no upside. Nothing would come of her complaint, no advantage. Then she imagined Bobby Huress in the darkness of his pickup. Watching a teenage couple parked. Waiting for the right moment. Knowing he had a sure thing going with his threats, badge, and gun. Succeeding again and again with his slimy routine because no young girl would know how to stop him. "Tell the chief I'm on my way."

"You shouldn't have argued with him," the chief said when Sandy was settled in his office.

"Saying, *No' isn't arguing. Saying, *Let me out you creep' isn't arguing."

"If it goes beyond the first hearing, you'll have to testify."

"That'll be the best part."

"I must tell you, it's not unusual for people to get upset with the police for one reason or another, and then try to strike back by making some charge. You know, like a charge of excessive force or what some hysterical woman believed was inappropriate touching."

She bit her tongue and decided it was best not to open up on this guy.

"If you win, Miss Reid, you could ruin his career."

She remained calm. "He ruined his own career. All I ask is that you apply the law. I'm just testifying to the facts of what he did. That's what good citizens do. It's up to the process to determine if he's guilty. The punishment isn't up to me either. Whatever the law calls for, apply it, no more, no less. He ruined his career when he locked that truck door. That's a criminal charge by itself. He ruined it again when he pointed to his badge, and again when he flashed his weapon and said he'd make trouble for me if I didn't put out. Those are all charges. Then he grabbed me, that's a charge. Then he added another when he unzipped. I may have missed one in there. Are you counting?"

The chief frowned and thumbed through the stapled pages in his hand. "In his statement, Sergeant Huress stated that when he drove up you were hanging out in front of the store. It was getting dark and he didn't like the idea of a young woman being out there alone at night. Although he was in a hurry to get home and help his kids with some homework before bedtime, he thought he should wait with you."

"What a guy."

"The store clerk remembers you bought chips. Sergeant Huress stated you admired his pickup and asked if you could sit in it. You sat there with your legs up on the dash, your skirt up to your thighs, stuffing chips into your mouth. He said you started making suggestive talk about how cops turned you on, and you got upset when he wouldn't respond. That's when he told you to get out."

"By the way, I was wearing jeans. Did he explain about his unzipped fly? Which Linda Call will corroborate. And how his back window got broken? Come on Chief, you don't believe that c.r.a.p. Why do you want that piece of s.h.i.t-excuse me, that scheming s.e.xual predator on your force?"

"To continue...you got out and he waited there until Linda Call pulled up. You skipped over to her pickup, gave her a long kiss, and drove off with her. Why did you get in his truck if you didn't want anything to do with him?"

"Every crude word out of his mouth will be in my statement, and you're not going to like it. Linda did him a favor. If she hadn't come along when she did, he'd have gone ahead to the next really stupid step and be facing additional criminal charges plus a civil suit from me, and would be missing at least one eye."

"Will you try to keep it out of the paper?"

"I'm not here to negotiate with you. Start doing your job. Now give me whatever form I need to make a formal complaint."

When the item ran in the newspaper, it stated the allegation and identified Huress by name. It clearly identified Sandy as the accuser and sister of the jailed suspect in the Towson murder case. An alleged witness was mentioned but not named.

The item brought forth almost total indifference. Although Bobby Huress most certainly caught h.e.l.l from his wife, the town ignored it. No reaction, no furor at all except for two phone calls and one vulgar letter stating it was the s.l.u.ttish morals of women like Sandy that was ruining the country.

As predicted, the police review panel dropped the charges at the first reading. It was as though the Bobby Huress incident never happened.

Chapter 20.

It was Friday morning. Tomorrow would mark one week since G.o.ddard was handed the Towson murder case. The more he thought of Sandy Reid, the more he realized he had developed no additional evidence against her brother. She says he's innocent, but it sounded as though she didn't actually know what he'd been up to the last few years.

G.o.ddard felt the investigation had stalled out, no new evidence and no new suspects. Most likely, that was the reason Moran called a meeting this morning. When G.o.ddard arrived, he was pleased to find a DNA report on his desk left by the CSI team. He scanned the report, smiled and walked to the chief's office.

There was no indication from his clear desk that the chief was in the middle of a major homicide investigation. He set aside his Garden Design magazine. "Chip, did you know Saintpaulias were brought to this country from Africa in the early 1900's? That's why we call them African Violets."

"Thanks, I've always wondered about that." G.o.ddard handed the report to the chief. "We got a hit. DNA from Norma Martin's cigarette b.u.t.t matches items in Towson's bathroom."

The chief tried to appear interested. "So, the restaurant owner was his lover and all those rumors are true."