Love by Association

A French fry followed another bite of patty melt into Wayne’s mouth. “Probably wasn’t enough evidence to get a conviction and charges were dropped.”

She’d thought of that, too, of course. But Colin had given her enough information to know that that hadn’t been the case. “There was a medical report, Wayne. She went straight to the hospital. According to the doctor, there was evidence of rape.”

Wayne stopped chewing. “Colin saw this medical report?”

“Yes.”

“And he’s sure it was in the police file?”

“Yes.”

“So they know who did it.”

“Yes. Unequivocally.”

“You checked for the report.” He wasn’t actually asking now; he’d know that she had.

“Yes. There is no Julie Fairbanks, or Colin, either, in police record.”

Wiping his mouth, Wayne lowered his voice as he asked, “Who was the officer on record?”

Gary Bartlett. Chantel gave him the name Colin had given her when she’d asked as he was dropping her off Saturday night. He’d been apologizing for spending the first half of the evening on such a serious topic and then bailing out on the second half.

She’d assured him that it wouldn’t have a negative impact on his chances of seeing her again. She’d then jumped on the chance he’d given her to get back to the topic she most needed to discuss with him—Julie’s rape.

“I’ve never heard of him,” she said now. “But then I’ve only been up a year and a half. What do you know of him? Or what happened to him? Did he retire?”

“I never met him,” Wayne said, “but I know the name. He transferred out of state shortly after I started here.”

“Was he a detective? Or higher up?” How bad was the news going to be when she took it to the commissioner?

“He was higher up.”

Wayne did’t look any happier than she felt.

“We can hope that if indeed there was corruption, and I agree with you it certainly sounds that way, that it ended with Barlett’s departure.”

She wanted to believe that. In the worst way. Bad enough going to the commissioner with news of an injustice that was going to make the Santa Raquel Police Department look bad, but to have to tell him that it wasn’t an isolated incident...

“I’m not sure it did,” she said now, a theory that had been building all weekend coming to the forefront. She’d kind of been hoping that talking things over with Wayne might put things in a different perspective, give her reason not to be as concerned, send her down another path. Something.

“Why do you say that?” he asked, lowering his head as well as his voice.

“Because Julie Fairbanks was certain that what happened to her has some connection to the Morrisons. Since there’s been no history, evidence, claim or even mention of sexual assault at the Morrison home, she could only have been referring to the way wrongdoing disappears as though it never happened.”

“You’re saying that James Morrison is getting away with beating up his wife because someone in the department is allowing it to happen?”

“I don’t know what I’m saying.” She didn’t want it to be true. But... “We have to go to the commissioner, Wayne. This might be bigger than either of us can handle. We at least need another ear in on this. Other eyes watching...”

He was shaking his head before she was halfway through talking.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Wayne.” Her tone spoke warning. She wasn’t going to be brushed off. “Don’t you find it odd that Bartlett got the call from the hospital? That he was the policeman contacted?”

“A beat cop would have gotten the initial call. Or a detective.”

“Exactly. So who was that? And where is he or she now?”

“We have to find out who that was. Unless...do you think the doctor was in on it, too?”

“The thought crossed my mind, but if he had been, the simplest way to make the whole thing go away would be to just not make the report. Or to say that, in his opinion, there was no evidence of rape. Why tell the victim that he’ll corroborate her story, file a report and then put in a call to someone on the department who would make it go away?

“Unless he didn’t know who the alleged perpetrator was at that point...” She broke off, shaking her head. “No, Colin said that the doctor followed up with him. He would have gone to court for them if Julie had opted to file civil charges.”

“You need to see if Colin Fairbanks knows who took the initial call.”

Nodding, she sat there in her uniform and focused, playing all facts through her mind again. And again.