4. Burke
Burke
Considering what happened earlier that morning in the mall parking lot, nobody squawked when Evie said she wanted me in the room with her during the deposition.
I sat quietly on one side of her, while Gabrielle sat on the other. The defense attorney sat across from us, a camera on a small tripod in front of him directed at Evie.
“Please state your full name,” the defense attorney, Jeremiah Fontaine, said, while his paralegal, or whatever, sat to his left, taking scrupulous notes.
“Evelyn Rosa Sanchez,” Evie said.
“And can you state the nature of your relationship with the late Track Croft, please?”
“Track Croft was my boss, my employer, my superior at Croft Engineering Limited.”
“When did you begin working for Croft Engineering?”
Evie swallowed and ran her hands back and forth over her thighs beneath the table. Without even thinking, I reached over with my right hand and took her left hand, linking our fingers together. I gave her hand a little squeeze, and she glanced over at me, smiling in appreciation.
Then she took a deep breath, exhaled through her mouth, faced the camera and answered, “My first day of employment at Croft Engineering as a project manager was May 15th 2023.”
“And when was your last day of employment?”
A muscle bounced in her jaw. She swallowed again. “December 15th 2023.”
“Were you let go?”
“No. I quit.”
“Did you have alternate employment secured?”
“No.”
“Why did you quit?”
“Because Track Croft cornered me alone at the company Christmas party on December 14th and raped me.” Her chest shook with every breath, and the way she squeezed my hand was enough to cut off circulation if my hand wasn’t so much bigger than hers.
“Could you describe the nature of your encounter that night with Mr. Croft, please?”
Evie glanced at Gabrielle. I couldn’t see her face, but if she wanted a recess, I would flip this table and punch Jeremiah in the face if he didn’t agree.
Evie’s head bobbed a little, then she faced the camera again. “Mr. Croft was my boss. He made several advances toward me between the start of my employment, which I declined as politely as possible.”
“And yet,” Jeremiah started, stupidly sifting through papers like he was actually looking for his question among the stack, “there are no recorded reports of these advancements in the HR files.”
“Because he’s the son’s owner. He’s the boss.
What good would it have done anyway?” Evie blurted out.
“And up until that night, he hadn’t been inappropriate.
Are women supposed to report every time a man asks them for a drink?
Or out on a date? Why are you placing the onus on the woman? On the subordinate?”
“I’m simply asking questions, Ms. Sanchez,” Jeremiah, the smarmy little fucker, said.
“Stupid fucking questions,” I murmured.
“What was that?” Jeremiah asked.
I rolled my eyes. “Nothing.”
“If Mr.—”
“Burke,” I said flatly.
“If Mr. Burke can not refrain from interfering in this deposition, we’re going to have to ask him to leave.
” Jeremiah gave me a smug look. I glared back at until I’m sure his asshole was puckered as tight as it could go.
He paled, swallowed, and cleared his throat.
“Please refrain from anymore outbursts, Mr. Burke.”
All I did was lift a brow.
Jeremiah, with his feathers sufficiently ruffled, faced Evie again. “Could you please take us through the encounter with Mr. Croft on the night of December 14th 2023?”
This motherfucker needed to stop calling it an “encounter.” It was assault. It was rape. Plain and fucking simple. Calling it an encounter made it sound like it were consensual. Like I was two forbidden lovers who snuck off for a quickie.
I growled louder than I thought, and everyone faced me.
“Do you have something to say, Mr. Burke?” Jeremiah asked, turning off the camera.
“Only that you stop calling it a fucking encounter. It was assault. It was rape.”
“Allegedly,” Jeremiah countered.
Evie squirmed in her seat, her fingers tightening around mine.
“Allegedly my ass. He raped her. He got her pregnant, then his rich daddy paid to have the rape kit destroyed.” I shook my head, disgusted with this twat in front of me. “How can you sit there and defend that prick?”
“Mr. Burke,” Gabrielle said from the other side of Evie, “while I’m sure my client appreciates your strong support, this isn’t helping.”
I glanced around Evie at her. She met me with an understanding but no-nonsense amber glare. Gabrielle was a force to be reckoned with. We all knew it. Even the dick-cheese attorney sitting across from us knew it.
I nodded. “My apologies, Ms. Campbell. Won’t happen again.”
Jeremiah exhaled in relief and turned the camera back on. “Ms. Sanchez, could you please take us the through the incident with Mr. Croft on the night of December 14th 2023?” He glanced at me as if asking for approval of his new word choice. I didn’t so much as blink.
Evie’s voice rattled a little as she spoke.
“H-he caught me coming out of the b-bathroom. I-it is a co-ed stall. I opened the d-door, and he was right there. I-I thought he was just w-waiting, like he n-needed a turn. But wh-when I stepped to the side to let him past, h-he grabbed me by the th-throat and shoved me back in. Then he locked the d-door.”
I squeezed her fingers, and when she glanced over at me, a tear slid down the left side of her cheek.
“H-he pushed me up against the wall, c-calling me a … a cock tease. H-he tore at my leggings … ri-ripped my underwear, spun me around and …” She glanced at Gabrielle, her entire body trembling.
Gabrielle murmured something to her, and Evie hiccuped a sob.
“Do we need to take a quick recess?” Jeremiah asked, his boney finger hovering over the off switch on the camera.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Gabrielle said with a nod.
Evie’s head shook, though. She faced the camera again, throwing her shoulders back. “No. I … I can do this. Let’s finish it.”
Jeremiah met both Gabrielle’s then my eyes, but all we could do was shrug and let the witness lead the way.
“Track Croft spun me around, bent me over the toilet and entered my vagina without my consent.”
Jeremiah’s pale baby face turned red and blotchy. “H-he entered your um … your—”
“My vagina,” Evie said with impatience, “it’s not a bad word. Track Croft inserted his penis into my vagina without consent. In which he then reached completion. He used no protection and did not pull out before completion.”
“And b-by completion you mean—”
“Oh for fucks sake,” I groaned under my breath.
“Track Croft orgasmed inside of me,” Evie said, a newfound level of confidence crushing her stutter and nerves.
I was so proud of her. “Then, he zipped up his pants, washed his hands and laughed. He said I should clean myself up before rejoining the party because I looked thoroughly fucked and we were trying to run a respectable company.”
Jeremiah and his paralegal’s mouths hung open in shock.
“I cleaned myself up and left immediately. I reported it to the police and submitted to a rape kit. But nothing ever came of it. The kit ‘disappeared’ and before noon the next morning, I had a large sum of money deposited into my bank account. A man showed up on my doorstep and said the money was for my troubles and that I shouldn’t cause anymore trouble if I knew what was good for me. ”
“Did you ever see Track Croft again?” Jeremiah asked.
Evie shook her head. “No. I quit by email. I never went back to collect any of my personal items. Even though I took the morning-after pill, I still ended up pregnant, and before I could arrange the abortion, I miscarried.”
“Was Mr. Croft ever arrested?” Jeremiah asked.
Evie shook her head. “Not to my knowledge, no. I believe there was a warrant out for his arrest, but his father made it all go away, like he did the rape kit. Then they paid for my silence.”
Jeremiah nodded, and he reached up to turn off the camera, but Evie stopped him.
“Today, while at the mall, I was nearly abducted. Two men with guns came to the truck we were in and at gunpoint, one tried to drag me to a waiting van. The other man tried to harm Burke.” She glanced at me. “I am convinced this is related. Mr. Wyndham Croft is trying to silence me.”
“Did you not take the money they offered you in exchange for your silence?” Jeremiah asked.
Oh, I was about to wring this little fucker’s neck.
“I had no choice. The money was deposited into my account, and I was threatened.”
“How much money was put into your account, Ms. Sanchez?”
Evie’s slender throat bobbed with a hard swallow. “Two hundred thousand.”
Jeremiah’s brows hiked up high. “That’s a lot of money. A person can start over with that kind of money.”
Why wasn’t Gabrielle yelling, “Objection”?
Could you yell that in a deposition?
“And I tried,” Evie said. “But every cent felt like a betrayal to myself and to the other women who he was probably assaulting after me. I couldn’t spend it. It’s just sitting in an account.”
“I think we’re about done here,” Gabrielle said.
Jeremiah nodded, and was about to turn off the camera when he paused, cocked his head to the side and smiled. “One last question, Ms. Sanchez.”
Evie’s face was neutral as she nodded once.
“Why now? Why come out of the woodwork now?”
“Because my attacker is dead. He can’t hurt anybody anymore, and if someone like Vica Vitale can stand up to the Croft family after what she’s been through, then so can I. Better late than never.”
Jeremiah frowned. “Thank you, Ms. Sanchez.” He turned off the camera.
Evie’s hand in mine was sweating, and her body started to shake again, like she was going into shock.
“You did great,” Gabrielle praised. “Really great.”
Jeremiah and his paralegal tidied up their stuff and vacated the meeting room quickly, leaving just Evie, Gabrielle and me.
“Take a deep breath and release it slowly through your mouth,” Gabrielle said. “It’s okay. You’ve got this. You did so well.”
“I … I want to go back to the hotel.”