Chapter Five #3
Hank and Eddie showed, introductions were made, and it
wasn’t only Dutch who noticed the intensity of interest they had in Georgie.
And it wasn’t about her being with Dutch.
Eddie, the more direct of the two, cut right to it.
“You’re a reporter.”
“I’m on vacation.”
“And you’re here because…?” Hank asked.
“Because she’s with me and she’s helpin’
me out by using her sources,” Dutch answered.
His tone was undeniable, and these men were cops, neither of
them even owned a bike, and the cloth they were cut from might be a different
color, but it was the same cloth.
So they read the tone, understood it, and that was the end
of that.
Hank nor Eddie looked at the menu either before they all
ordered and then they didn’t waste any time with it.
“We both read through it before we came here and the Khalon
Stephens case stinks, man,” Eddie started it.
Dutch straightened in his chair. “Stinks how?”
“Fishy,” Hank said shortly. “From start to not-quite-end.”
“What do you mean?” Georgie asked.
“I wouldn’t know where to begin,” Eddie answered.
“How about the beginning,” Dutch suggested.
“Well, first, cops at the scene report, and pictures prove
it, the resident of the duplex opposite the Stephens family had visibly been
beaten. Bloody nose. Swelling. Contusions on face and arms. Like she’d been
held by them and hard. There was also sign of a struggle in the room,” Eddie
said.
“Or a fight,” Hank added.
Dutch knew that distinction meant something, but Hank left
it at that, and Eddie carried on.
“Bed had been slept in, but it does not appear there was a
struggle there. The covers were thrown back like she got out. Not like she was
awakened in surprise by an intruder and was pulled out.”
Dutch glanced at Georgie.
Georgie gave him big eyes.
The Stephenses had not heard a
break-in and there was no evidence of one.
How the intruder got in was a mystery.
Unless he was let in.
“She wiped herself down before going for the rape kit,” Hank
shared. “So there was no point in doing a rape kit, and as such, none was
done.”
Dutch’s eyes leapt to Hank.
“Say what?” he asked.
“She contends she was not thinking clearly,” Hank told him.
“Even though the rape was interrupted, material can still be gathered. A rape
kit is performed in a hospital and not only did she wipe herself down, wash her
hands and brush her hair before she showed, she changed clothes and the
nightgown she was wearing mysteriously disappeared. To this day, it has not
turned up.”
“That’s pretty freakin’ thorough
grooming before heading out to have your rape kit done,” Dutch noted
sarcastically.
“It’s not unheard of that happens,” Eddie noted. “Victims of
violent crimes are rarely in an emotional state to think straight.”
“But wasn’t she warned not to do that?” Dutch asked.
“She was,” Eddie answered.
Before Dutch could respond, Georgie spoke.
“By process of elimination, since three people were there,
one’s missing, one’s dead, and she’s the last, she’s the only one reporting
there was an attempted rape.”
“Yeah,” Hank affirmed.
“And there were officers at the scene, was she not offered
an escort to the hospital?” Georgie went on.
“She wasn’t only offered that, it was pressed, but she was
adamant that she would make her way there herself,” Hank told her.
“And they let her, in her home, which was the scene of a
crime that resulted in a death, wash up and then go to the hospital?” Georgie
sounded shocked.
“She did not wash up or change clothes at home. She found
somewhere along the way from home to the hospital to do it,” Hank shared.
“So the woman went out of her way to clean up,” Dutch asked,
also shocked, and pissed.
“Yeah,” Hank said.
“It unheard of that happens?” Dutch put to Eddie.
Eddie grunted unhappily.
Fishy was damned right.
“You have got to be kidding,” Georgie snapped,
beyond disbelieving, or irate.
She was furious.
There was a lot of emotion behind that, some deserved, but
this was past that, and Dutch wanted to know about it.
“Where’s that come from, darlin’?” he asked.
“She said she was being raped,” she replied.
He drew out his, “Yeah.”
“And from what we’ve heard, there is a distinct possibility
that’s not the case.”
“Yeah,” he repeated.
“I’m sure this is arguable, but in my estimation, the worst
kind of woman is the woman who makes a false allegation of rape, or attempted
rape. Every one who does makes the ones who actually
endure that nightmare have to travel a road that already is going to be
arduous, one that’s so horrendous, the majority of victims refuse to even take
that path.”
Dutch felt the truth of that in the back of his throat and
swung his eyes to Eddie and Hank.
“She’s right,” Hank said low.
“So that’s why no DNA was found,” Georgie rapped out.
“Yup,” Eddie said.
“She’s lying. Covering for the murderer,” Georgie spat. “She
knows him.”
“Yup,” Hank said.
“The fuck?” Dutch murmured angrily.
“Where is this woman?” Georgie demanded.
All of the men looked to her, but it was only Dutch who
reached out and wrapped his fingers around her wrist.
Sparks had flown from her last night because she was pissed
as shit at him.
It was not lost on a single man at that table she was about
to explode, and she wanted to aim the grenade that was her at Carlyle’s
neighbor.
“Take a breath,” he urged.
“Carlyle’s dad went over in the midst of a lovers’ spat or a
conspirators’ fight or a bad guy argument because he thought a woman was being
harmed and he was the kind of man who would do something to put a stop to that
and he got dead because of it and this bitch is not talking?”
He leaned her way. “Baby, take a breath.”
“How can the worst situation in the world get even worse?”
she demanded to know.
“We don’t know her story, Georgie.”
“I’m thinking I do, Dutch. She’s covering her and/or this
guy’s ass and Carlyle’s dad is dead. Benefit of the doubt, she was in a bad
situation. Carlyle’s father still charged in, in order to save her from it and
the thanks he gets is her letting his murderer go free.”
“Get a lock on it, darlin’,” he ordered gently.
“No,” she snapped.
“Georgiana, you losing your mind on this woman is not gonna help Carlyle.”
She caught his eyes and stared into them, deep and for a
long time.
Then she took in a shuddering breath, tore her hand free and
raised it toward a passing waitress.
“Margarita, double shot of tequila,” she ordered.
The waitress nodded.
Georgie then dipped a chip, ate it angrily, and talked while
munching, muttering, “Fucking bitch. Fucking fuck her.”
“I see you’re over your
no-cursing-around-people-you-don’t-know gig,” he noted.
This time, she punched him in the arm.
He caught her around the back of her neck, pulled her to
him, and kissed her hard. No tongue, unfortunately. She still tasted good.
When he let her go, she declared, “You’re a good kisser,
Dutch, seriously, but your kisses don’t wring miracles.”
“I’ll have to work on that,” he replied.
“Whatever,” she mumbled.
“Luke has got to meet this one,” Eddie said.
“Tex,” Hank said. “Tex is gonna
adopt her.”
Christ, that couldn’t happen.
Tex would take one look at Murtagh and there’d definitely be
a catnapping and Murtagh would be lost to them forever.
“Who are Luke and Tex?” Georgie asked.
Both Hank and Eddie stared at her.
Then Hank asked, “Have you not read the Rock Chick
books?”
“No. They’re on my list,” Georgie answered.
“Please, God, don’t,” Hank begged. “I think you’re the only
woman in Denver who hasn’t, and I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to sit
at a table with someone who does not already know the names of my kids.”
“And other shit about you,” Eddie murmured.
“And you,” Hank returned.
Their food came, along with Georgie’s margarita.
They tucked in but Dutch did it pushing, “So the cops know
this woman is shady and that’s it?”
“We also talked to the detectives in charge of the
investigation, and to describe them as being frustrated, with the case and
especially her, is an understatement,” Eddie told them. “They’re pissed. But
they can’t waterboard her in order to get her to talk.”
“Though they discussed it,” Hank muttered.
“I’ll fill the buckets,” Georgie also muttered.
Hank shot her a grin and Eddie gave her a big, white smile.
“What about who the Stephens family saw go in and out?”
Georgie asked. “Canvassing other neighbors? Is anyone recognizable as persons
of interest to the police?”
“You’d be surprised how little detail people have about
things they’ve seen, even things that don’t sit right with them, when it comes
down to that detail being important,” Hank shared.
“So no luck with that,” she surmised.
“Sadly, no,” Hank confirmed.
“So everything leads to a dead end.”
“Everything leads to the neighbor,” Eddie corrected.
“She’s just not talking,” Georgie said flatly.
No one answered that because they’d already been over it.
“What does she do?” Georgie asked.
“She manages a restaurant,” Hank answered.
“Who owns the restaurant?” Georgie asked.
Hank smiled a respectful smile and told her carefully,
“Those leads have been followed and there’s nothing there. If there was
something hot, it wasn’t uncovered when it should have been, and it’s gone
cold. The detectives on this case are solid and they did the work. I hate to
admit it, any cop does, but even if this was my case, I’d keep the file on my
desk, but I’d have no choice but to move on.”
“Same,” Eddie grunted. “And not just because we’re
partners.”
“What’s her risk here?” Georgie kept pushing.
“Her risk?” Hank asked.
“Giving a false report to the police,” she stated. “And
since it’s likely she knows this man, let him in, and is covering for him,
abetting a crime. Because it’s a crime, yes? Even if Carlyle’s dad forced
entry, he didn’t do it for nefarious reasons, so a crime was committed. One
that’s punishable.”
“There would be discussion about that if it was a lovers’