Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Houston
NOW
I ask Blaise to meet me at my parents’ home at nine in the morning to take care of something I should’ve done days ago. Things have been crazy busy since the flu whipped through the station, taking down half of my officers and three of the admins. In the midst of all that, news of Ryder’s arrest has moved like a wildfire through multiple towns, resulting in numerous texts and phone calls from people I’ve known all my life.
Dallas is outraged that I played a role in having Ryder arrested. He had a lot to say about it on the phone last night.
“How could you do this? I quit my job to help get him elected, while you’re building a case to bring him down?”
“I’m not going to apologize for doing my job.”
“Fuck that shit. You could’ve at least given me a heads up.”
“No, I couldn’t have.”
“What if it comes up that we lied about her the first time around? I could end up in big trouble. Do you care about that at all?”
“Of course I do, but there was no way I could sit on this information once it was given to me.”
“Arlo’s sister of all people. He’s losing his shit over that.”
“I’m sorry people are upset, but I’m not the one you should be pissed with.”
“Believe me, I’m pissed at Ryder, too. I can’t believe he actually might’ve done this. Do you think he’ll go down for it?”
“I won’t speculate on that.”
“But the case is solid?”
“Much more so than it was the first time around.”
“Son of a bitch.”
My sister, Austin, texts to express her shock at the news. At least a hundred other people from various times in my life have reached out, too. I replied to my sister, but not to anyone else. I don’t have time to answer their questions.
I understand why Dallas and others are upset and scared about how this might ricochet back on them. However, I had a job to do, and I did it without prejudice. When I first became a police officer, my dad told me to do the right thing in all my dealings on the job, and I’d never have to explain myself to anyone. It was good advice that I’ve endeavored to follow at all times, especially during this most challenging situation of my career.
Twenty minutes before Blaise is due to arrive, I go into the garage in search of my dad’s metal detector. Once upon a time, he’d loved that thing more than his children, or so we’d told him. He’d taken it with him everywhere we went—camping, the beach, hikes in the woods—always looking to strike it rich with some rare find.
That’d never happened, but he had found some unique things along with hundreds of wedding rings and other valuables that he’d done his best to reunite with their owners. Dad fully embraced social media as a result of those efforts. Thanks to him, I have to make daily updates to the departmental Facebook page Dad started. Like I don’t have enough to do.
I locate the metal detector in a corner thick with spider webs that give me the creeps. As I emerge from the barn-shaped garage, I feel like I’m crawling with spiders that I swipe at with wild movements.
That’s where Blaise finds me when she gets out of her car and walks toward me, smiling. “Everything all right?”
“I ran into a bunch of spider webs in the garage. Do you see any on me?”
She takes a careful look. “Nope.”
I shudder and shake off my clothes. “Ugh, I feel like they’re everywhere.”
“What were you doing in there?”
“Looking for the metal detector.”
“How come?”
“Denise told me she lost her car key that night. I want to try to find it, and I need you to show me exactly where to look.”
Her hard swallow is visible.
“I know it’s a lot to ask you to go back there, but if I can find her key, that would further support her testimony.”
Blaise jams her hands into coat pockets and nods, her chin set with the determination she’s demonstrated from the beginning. I admire that tremendously. If she wasn’t now seeing Jack, I would’ve asked her out when this is over. “Let’s go.”
We take a well-worn path from our backyard into the woods that adjoin my parents’ property. My siblings and I beat down that path over years of playing every imaginable game in the woods. This was our playground, and it’d been devastating to hear that someone might’ve been attacked there.
Blaise points to a clearing off the main path, not far from the yard. “There.”
“Show me where you were.”
We cross the clearing to the far side. “Back here. I’d snuck in from over there.” She points to the road that runs behind our place.
I notice her staring at the clearing, probably reliving what happened there.
“That’s all I needed if you want to go, Blaise. Thank you for your help.”
“No problem.”
“Yes, it is, and I appreciate it.”
“If it helps to build the case, then it’s worth coming back here.” She stands for a long time, staring at the clearing. “It’s amazing, isn’t it, how one person’s actions can change so many lives forever.”
“Yes, it is.”
“What do you think will happen to him?”
“Hard to say for certain. If he’s convicted, he’ll probably do a long stretch in prison.”
“Do you know his wife?”
The question surprises me. “I’ve met her a few times.”
“What’s she like?”
“She’s very nice.”
“Are they happy together?”
“They’ve seemed to be.”
“What about their kids?”
“They have three. A son and two daughters.”
She looks over at me. “What’ll happen to them?”
“I don’t know, Blaise.” I study her for a second, but her expression is unreadable. “Are you okay?”
She shrugs. “It’s just what I said before about how one person’s actions can affect so many lives.”
“Like what you’re doing?”
“Yes. What’re the odds his wife knew anything about this? His arrest will be like a bomb going off in her life. Not to mention what it’ll do to innocent kids.”
“It’s kind of you to have compassion for them. Hell, I do, too. But that doesn’t change what he did.”
“No, it doesn’t. He should pay for that. I just hate that innocent people who had nothing to do with it will pay a big price, too.”
“I know. It’s upsetting all around, but you’re doing the right thing.”
“Are you sure? Would it have been better to leave the past in the past?”
I lean on the arm of the metal detector. “What he did was deplorable. It was a crime.”
“Yes, it was, but I’ll be honest… When I came here and sought you out, I thought only about assuaging my own conscience. I didn’t give a single thought to his wife or children or anyone else who might be hurt by me coming forward.”
“Please tell me you know you’re not the one hurting them. He is.”
“I get that, but still… If I hadn’t done what I did, they’d be going on with their lives like nothing happened.”
“Let me ask you this. If you’re his wife, would you want to know you’re sleeping with a rapist, or would you rather not know?”
“When you put it that way, I’d rather know than not know. But it must’ve come as a terrible shock to her.”
“I’m sure it did, but that doesn’t change the facts of the case.”
“Are people giving you a hard time about being involved with this?”
“Here and there. It’s nothing I can’t handle. I did my job. I’d do it again. Information was conveyed to me, and I passed it along to the proper authorities. If people don’t like that, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“Would it have been easier for you to tell me there was nothing you could do with the information at this point? Because if you had, I would’ve believed you.”
I can tell she’s struggling, so I level with her. “Yeah, it would’ve been easier. My brother is furious with me over this, but I told him the same thing I told you. I did my job.”
“That means he’s probably furious with me, too. I’m sure a lot of people are.”
“You said you don’t care what anyone thinks of you.”
“I don’t. It’s just a lot to process.”
“I understand.” I really need to get to work trying to find that key, but I wait to see if there’s anything else she wants to talk about.
“Do you think I’m in serious danger?”
“I’d like to say no, but people do crazy things when they’re desperate, and who knows what’ll happen now that he’s been arrested. You need to be careful, and if you ever feel unsafe, you can call me. I’ll be there within minutes.”
“Thank you for that. Maybe I should go back to New York until I have to testify.”
“Is that what you want to do?”
She hesitates before she shakes her head. “I’m having a very nice time with Jack.” Her face turns bright red as she says that.
“I’m glad for you both.”
“It’s been a surprising development in the midst of this other stuff.”
“I’m sure.”
“Well, I’ll let you get to work. Thanks for everything, Houston.”
“You’re welcome. Keep your head down and stay focused on the goal.”
“I will.”
“Do you want me to walk you back to your car?”
“Would you mind?”
“Not at all.”
Fifteen minutes later, I return to the clearing and fire up the metal detector, hoping to find a key that was lost there fourteen years ago. The day is unusually warm for this time of year, and when I start to sweat, I toss my jacket aside and roll up my sleeves. I’m at it for two hours before I get a hit. Crouching over the spot, I put on a latex glove to run my hand over years’ worth of leaves and brush and connect with a solid object that I withdraw from under the brush. A Honda key. It’s covered in moss and other growth, but the silver H logo stands out, nonetheless.
I hold it up to the light for a closer look and then drop it into an evidence bag.
As I’m heading back to my SUV, my parents arrive home from dentist appointments. It amuses me that they do such things together as retirees.
Mom gives me a kiss on the cheek as she goes into the house, talking on the phone. “Aunt Betty says hello.”
“Tell her hi from me.”
“Did you find the key?” Dad asks.
“I did.”
“That’s good. What’s the next move?”
“I’ll deliver it directly to the lab at URI.”
Dad nods with approval, knowing as I do how important chain of custody is in situations such as this.
“Dallas called last night. He’s not happy with me.”
“I heard. But don’t listen to him or anyone else. You did the only thing you could when a witness came forward. What happens from here isn’t your fault or your responsibility.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s just hard to have everyone pissed at me for doing my job.”
“Which is exactly why this woman didn’t come forward at the time. Having people turn on you sucks no matter when it happens, but it’s particularly rough when you’re too young to manage it.”
“Very true.”
He clasps my shoulder. “I’m proud of how you do the job.”
“That means a lot to me.”
“I’m proud of a lot more than that when it comes to you. I hope you know that.”
“I do. Thanks.”
“Hang in there, son.”
“I’m trying.”
I’m halfway to Kingston, home of the University of Rhode Island and the state crime lab, when my phone rings with a call from a number I don’t recognize. “Houston Rafferty.”
“Um, hi, Houston, this is, um, Ramona Travers. I’m not sure if you remember me. I was in Dallas’s class.”
“I remember your name.” I can’t recall her face, though. “What can I do for you?”
“I, uh, I heard a witness came forward in the Elliott case and he’s been indicted.”
“Yes.” I wait for her to say more as my heart starts to beat faster.
“That night…”
“Were you at the party?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see something, Ramona?” I pull off the road, so I won’t crash while I wait to hear what she has to say.
“I…I saw them leave the party together.”
“Are you willing to testify to that?”
“I want you to know…” She sounds tearful now. “I’ve agonized over this from the day he was first charged. I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t. He was a god in school, and I was nobody. The only reason I was even there that night was because I dated Brody Parker for five minutes that summer.”
I exhale a deep breath. Brody is one of the guys who signed the affidavit. “And you’re willing to testify to that in court?”
“Would it help the case?”
“Very much so.”
After a long pause, she says, “Then yes, I’ll testify.”
“The prosecutor will want to meet with you. Would it be all right for me to have him call you?”
“Y-yes.”
“You’ll get a phone call from Joshua Spurling with the attorney general’s office.”
“Okay.”
“Do me a favor, and don’t talk about this to anyone.”
“My husband is aware of it.”
“Please ask him to keep it to himself.”
“We won’t say anything to anyone.”
“Thank you for coming forward.”
“I’m sorry it took so long. I’ve anguished over this.”
“I understand. We’ll be in touch. Call if there’s anything I can do for you in the meantime.”
“Thank you, Houston. I appreciate your kindness.”
I end that call and reach out to Blaise.
“You won’t believe what just happened. Do you remember Ramona Travers from high school?”
“Yes, she was in my class.”
“She’s come forward to say she saw Ryder leave the party with Neisy.”
“Whoa. No way.”
“From what she told me, she’s had an experience similar to yours, full of guilt and remorse for staying quiet at the time.”
“I can’t believe this. Would it be possible for me to talk to her?”
“After she gives her statement.”
“Okay. Let me know when.”
“I will.”
After we say our goodbyes, I sit for a long moment processing what Ramona told me and how it’ll help to cement the case against Ryder.
He’s completely fucked. I wonder if he realizes that yet.