Fatal Jeopardy

by Marie Force

  “I wish I had the answers you need, but I don’t know why they’d do that.”

  “Are they in trouble? Did you arrest them?”

  Sam’s stomach began to hurt when she thought of the other things she still needed to tell Brooke. “No, honey. I didn’t arrest them.”

  “Why not? They raped me!”

  “Because someone killed them.”

  “What?”

  “Todd, Hugo, Michael, Kevin and five girls were stabbed to death in the Springers’ basement.”

  Brooke began to cry again. “How is that possible? Who would do that? I don’t understand. They’re all dead?”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  She buried her face in her hands. “We were just having fun.” Another thought seemed to occur to her, and she looked over at Sam. “Is Hoda dead too?”

  “No, she isn’t. In fact, I think she might’ve been the one who got you out of there.”

  “But you don’t know that?”

  “We can’t find her. No one knows where she is. Do you have any idea where she might be?”

  “She’s kind of a free spirit, so she could be anywhere.”

  “If you can tell me anything about who she hung out with or where we might find her, it would really help.”

  “There’s this one guy...Nico. I don’t know his last name, but he lives near American University. She really likes him, and I think she hangs with him sometimes.”

  “Is he a student at AU?”

  “No, he works there. I’m not sure what he does.”

  “In one of her texts to you, Hoda refers to a boy named Davey who took care of the notarizing of the fake note. Who is he?”

  “You guys read my texts?”

  Sam gave her a withering look. “What do you think? We’ve spent about thirty-six hours desperately trying to figure out what happened to you the other night. It’s safe to say, not much is private anymore.”

  “I suppose I deserve that.”

  “So who is he?”

  “A friend of Hoda’s. His dad is a lawyer.”

  “What’s Davey’s last name?”

  “Ekland. He goes to Wilson too.”

  “That helps, honey.” After writing down the name, Sam took hold of Brooke’s hand. “There’s something else I have to tell you, and it’s going to be super upsetting.”

  “More upsetting than hearing the guy I really liked shared me with his friends and then they were all murdered?”

  “Possibly.”

  “I don’t know if I can take any more.”

  “I know this is so awful for you, and everything got way out of control, but I’d rather you hear it from me than from someone else.”

  Brooke blew out a deep breath and seemed to brace herself. “Okay.”

  “When the guys took turns with you, someone videotaped it and took pictures. They posted the pictures and videos online.”

  Brooke’s mouth fell open and then snapped shut as new tears slid down her face. She shook her head.

  “We tracked down the source and arrested a boy named Brody Mitchell. Do you know him?”

  “He was in my class at Wilson. He posted that shit?”

  “Apparently, he’s the brainchild behind the WilsonSeniors accounts. It’s all been taken down, and he’s in custody.”

  “But everyone probably saw it already, right?”

  “I don’t know about everyone... But it was online for more than twenty-four hours before we were able to isolate the source.”

  “God. Oh my God. So the whole world saw me naked and getting raped by four different guys? Oh my God!”

  “Technically, three, because the sex with Todd was consensual. I know this is horrifying for you to hear, and it was horrifying for us to realize it had happened to you.”

  “It’s all my fault,” she said, weeping bitterly. “If I hadn’t left school, this never would’ve happened.”

  “That part is true, but the rape is not your fault. You were drugged and unable to say no. Those boys took advantage of you, and that was not your fault. I want you to hear me on that, Brooke. No matter what you did or said or took or drank, it was not your fault that they raped you.”

  She looked so young and fragile sitting in the big hospital bed with tears streaming from eyes gone raw from crying. “It was my fault that I was there in the first place. What will people say about me? They’ll call me a slut and say I wanted it.”

  “I’m sure they’ll say all kinds of things, but you know the truth. You were drugged and unable to resist them. That much was obvious in the video.”

  “You saw it too?”

  “I did.”

  “God, what you must think of me. You must hate me for this.”

  “I could never, ever hate you, and what I saw was a young girl being victimized by boys who were probably drunk and high and out of control.”

  “They were nice guys,” Brooke said in a whisper. “All of them were nice guys. I thought they were anyway.”

  “Maybe they were until they got the wrong combination of drugs and booze into their systems in a house with no adults present. Things got out of hand.”

  “It was a pretty wild party. Hugo had gotten all that stuff from his brother, and he was going sick. When I realized how crazy it was getting, I told Hoda we probably ought to leave, but she said there was no way she was leaving. She was my ride. Plus, Todd was there, and I wanted to see him.” She looked up at Sam with big, blue heartbroken eyes. “How he could let his friends take turns with me?”

  “I don’t know, honey, but he was aware enough to have sex with another girl after you. They were killed in the middle of it.”

  Brooke shook her head at that news. “Todd is really dead. Hugo and Michael, too.”

  “Yes, I’m sorry.”

  “It’s so hard to believe.”

  “If you can think of anyone else who was at the party, it would really help us. Other than you, Hoda and Brody, we haven’t found anyone else who was there and got out alive. And we can’t find Hoda.”

  “You don’t think she’s dead, too, do you?”

  “No, I think it’s more likely she’s hiding out until the dust settles.”

  “Her mom lets her do whatever she wants.”

  “I’ve figured that out.”

  “I always thought she was lucky because her mom left her alone, but now...”

  “Now you see why your mom is on you like white on rice all the time.”

  “Yes,” she said softly. “It’s because she didn’t want something like this to happen to me.” A sob hiccupped through her tightly clenched lips. “My life is ruined.”

  “No, it isn’t, Brooke. You’ve had an awful, horrible thing happen to you, and it’ll probably stay with you for the rest of your life. But what you make of yourself going forward is completely up to you. We’ll support you all the way, and we’ll get you through this. I promise we will.”

  Brooke held on tight to Sam’s hand. “I’m so ashamed.”

  Sam leaned over the bed to hug the girl as she cried.

  That’s where Tracy found them when she returned.

  Sam pulled back to let Tracy take over.

  “I’m so sorry, Mom.” Brooke broke down all over again at the sight of her mother. “I never should’ve left school or gone to that party, and now everything is ruined and those kids are dead.”

  “Shhh,” Tracy said, running a hand over Brooke’s mane of dark hair. “I know it seems so awful now, but everything will be okay in time. You’re going to be okay.”

  Sam was glad to see that Tracy had pulled herself together because Brooke would need the strength of her mom and the rest of their family in the coming weeks and months. Totally drained from her talk with Brooke, Sam
tipped her head from side to side, trying to relieve some of the pressure that gathered there in times of stress.

  “Nick and the kids are here,” Tracy said. “Abby and Ethan wanted to see me, so he brought them over.”

  “I think I’ll go out and say hello if you’re going to be here.”

  “I’ll be here.”

  “Sam?” Brooke said. “What is going to happen to me? I was drinking and I took drugs. Am I going to be arrested?”

  “I don’t think so, but I’ll need you to make a statement to Detective Erica Lucas from the Special Victims Unit. She’s going to be following up on your case, and I can’t be there when she talks to you because it’s a conflict of interest for me as your family member.”

  “My case? What case? Aren’t they all dead?”

  “One of them isn’t. Erica is a great detective, and she’ll be in to see you later today. Is that okay?”

  Brooke nodded.

  “If you think of anything else you remember from the party, no matter how small or insignificant you think it might be, I want you to call me, okay?”

  “I’ll think about it, and I’ll call you if I think of anything.”

  Sam pressed a kiss to Brooke’s forehead. “You’re going to get through this. I promise.” She hugged Tracy on the way out, and once she was in the hallway, Sam leaned against the wall, trying to get her emotions under control before she went looking for Nick and the kids.

  Nick found her there a few minutes later. To his credit, he didn’t say a word. He simply put his arms around her and drew her into his loving embrace, which was exactly what she needed.

  With her face pressed to his chest and his heart beating strong under her ear, Sam felt her world right itself again. “Thank you,” she said after several quiet minutes.

  “Always my pleasure, babe.” He smoothed his hand over her back in a gesture that soothed and calmed her.

  “It’s been one hell of a day so far.”

  “I heard you were the one who got to tell Brooke what happened.”

  “Someone had to, and I was able to ask some questions while I was at it.”

  “And having to tell her all that took another vicious toll on you.”

  “I’m okay.” She smiled up at him. “Better now.”

  His lopsided grin made her wish they were alone so she could kiss that sexy mouth of his.

  “How are you?” she asked.

  “Anxious about this meeting with Nelson. I feel a bit like I’m being railroaded into doing something I don’t really want to do.”

  “Maybe you should consider doing it if they want you so badly.”

  “It’s official. You’ve finally lost your mind.”

  “Very funny. All I’m saying is don’t let me or my career stop you from doing what you want. I’ll figure a way around it if it comes to that.”

  He pulled back from her but kept his hands on her upper arms. “You’re serious.”

  “Of course I am. Our life is all about me and my career so much of the time. If you want this, and you should think long and hard before you say no again, we’ll figure it out. Somehow.”

  “You don’t know what you’re agreeing to.”

  “I’m agreeing to support you no matter what you choose to do. I love you so much. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to make you happy.”

  “Samantha...” Right there in the hallway of the busy ICU he laid his lips on hers, and Sam did nothing to stop him. “Just when I think I’ve got you all figured out, you go and throw me a ringer.”

  “Gotta keep you on your toes so you don’t get bored.”

  He laughed at that. “No worries there, babe.” He gathered her up again, and she took another couple of minutes with him because she needed it so badly. How, she wondered for the thousandth time since they’d reconnected a year ago, had she ever lived without him?

  “Hear what they have to say, and then we’ll talk about it,” she said. “Okay?”

  “Okay.” He kissed her again.

  “The nurses are looking on in envy,” she whispered.

  “Let them look. I only see you.”

  “Good thing there’re doctors nearby. I may be tempted to swoon.”

  “I’ll catch you.”

  She looked up at him, so handsome and solid and all hers. “Something else happened today.”

  “What?” he asked, immediately on guard. The last year had conditioned him to be prepared for anything.

  She told him about meeting Todd Brantley’s parents and how they’d adopted him out of foster care when he was twelve.

  “Oh, man,” Nick said. “That must’ve been tough on you.”

  She loved that he got it. He always got it. “It was awful. They were so decimated to have lost him. I was a mess after hearing that.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “What if... What if we do everything right, and he still goes wrong?”

  Nick shook his head vehemently. “He won’t.”

  “You can’t know that for sure.”

  “Of course I can’t, but I’d bet my life on the straight and narrow for our boy. That’s just who he is.”

  “They’re all that way,” Sam said, glancing into Brooke’s room through the glass wall and relieved to see she was sleeping again. “Until they aren’t.”

  “Scotty is different.”

  “Freddie said the same thing. That his rigid sense of right and wrong will keep him out of trouble.”

  “Exactly. That’s what I believe too.”

  “I hope you’re both right, because if something like this ever happened to him...I wouldn’t be able to take it.”

  “Yes, you would. You’re the strongest person I’ve ever known.”

  “Not when it comes to him or my nieces and nephews I’m not. It was all I could do to hold it together in there with Brooke just now. I want to wrap her in gauze and protect her from every awful thing in the world. I’d do it if I could.”

  “And she knows that. You’re already wrapping her in gauze by making sure she has the right people working on her case and by running interference on her behalf. You’re doing everything you can—and probably more than you should.”

  “I just hope it’s enough,” Sam said with a sigh. “I need to call Detective Lucas and tell her Brooke is no longer under sedation. I’ll stay while Erica is in with her, and then I’ve got to get to HQ to see what’s up with the kid who posted the videos.”

  “Miles to go before you sleep, huh?”

  “Looks that way.” She glanced up at him. “Good luck at the White House. Let me know the second you’re out of the meeting. I’ll be on pins and needles waiting to hear.”

  “You’ll be the first person I call.”

  “I’m so proud of my smoking hot husband, the senator, who has a very important meeting with the president later today.”

  He rolled his eyes, as she expected him to. “In the meantime, I’ve got three kids who want to go ice-skating. Think they’ve spent the ten bucks I gave them to stay in the waiting room with the vending machines?”

  “Oh, jeez, you’d better go see how much sugar they’ve managed to consume.”

  Leaving her with one last kiss, he headed off to rejoin the kids. Sam watched him go, feeling energized by the stolen piece of time with him. Brooke’s nurse approached the room, and Sam straightened to greet her.

  “Girl, that is one fine, fine, fine man you’ve got there.”

  Sam laughed at the lusty look on the nurse’s face. “Believe me,” she said with a wink. “I know.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Sam paced the hallway while Erica took Brooke’s statement about what she remembered about the party. More than an hour after she went into the room, Erica emerged looking less comp
osed than she had going in. “How’d it go?” Sam asked her.

  “She has no memory of the assault, which I suppose is a blessing. She’s upset about the video, of course.”

  “She’s also worried she’s going to be charged because of the drugs and alcohol.”

  “I’ll talk to the ADA and see if we can cut a deal to require drug and alcohol counseling in exchange for no charges.”

  “I’d consider that a personal favor.”

  “Throwing the book at her isn’t going to teach her anything she hasn’t already figured out on her own.”

  “Your thinking matches mine.”

  “She may have to testify,” Erica said. “Against the guy who got out alive and in the case you’re working.”

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Thank you, Erica. I appreciate your sensitivity.”

  “No problem. I’m sorry this happened to your niece.”

  “So am I.” After Erica had walked away, Sam went into Brooke’s room.

  “She was really nice, Sam,” Tracy said.

  “Did she say whether I’m in trouble because of the drugs and stuff?” Brooke asked. Her face was swollen from new tears.

  “She said she’s going to recommend drug and alcohol counseling in lieu of charges.”

  “Oh, thank goodness,” Tracy said.

  “Is it because of you, Sam?” Brooke asked. “Did she do that because of you?”

  “Probably in part, but it’s also because of you. She said she got the feeling that you’d learned a lot from this episode, and you won’t cross paths with the police again.”

  “I won’t,” Brooke said, wiping her face with the sheet. “I won’t do anything like this again. You can trust me on that.”

  “We want to be able to trust you, honey,” Tracy said. “You have no idea how badly your dad and I want that.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Brooke said. “What if... What if I got pregnant?”

  “They gave you something in the ER to prevent that,” Sam said. “But you’ll need to be retested in a few months for STDs and HIV.”

  Brooke closed her eyes and shook her head. “I still can’t believe they did that to me. I thought they were my friends.”

  Listening to Brooke, an idea took hold that Sam planned to execute as soon as she left them. “I need to get back to work, but I’ll be in tomorrow to check on you.” She leaned over to hug and kiss Brooke. “I love you. No matter what happens, that’ll never change.”