Suffer II

by E. E. Borton

  “We broke that promise,” said Dawson, looking back at Tyler. “We both did. We let him down, but we’ll have to wait and deal with that when we see him again. Until then, we’re going to make him a new promise. One you and I are going to keep.

  “We’re going to find the people who hurt her, and then we’re going to hurt them. We’re going to find the people that killed her, and then we’re going to kill them. Do you understand, Tyler?”

  “I do.”

  “I’m going to need your help,” said Dawson. “I wanna punch you in the face right now, but I’m trying really hard to find a way to forgive you for what you did. That’s going to take some time. I’m still your brother, and I always will be. Nothing will ever change that. You did the right thing by telling us what happened. It’s the only thing that’s keeping me from tearing your head off right now.”

  “I’ll do whatever it takes,” said Tyler, standing taller. “I swear. I’ll kill them myself.”

  “No,” said Dawson. “You’re not. You’re not going to do anything except answer their questions and tell them everything you know. After that, you’re leaving town.”

  “Leaving?”

  “Can we make that happen?” asked Dawson, turning to look at Grey.

  “We can,” said Grey. “That’s a very good idea.”

  “Dawson, I can’t just –”

  “Yes, you can. You need to go be with Ms. Karla. She’s surrounded by a bunch of security people she doesn’t know. When you get there, don’t tell her what you did. That’ll come later when this is over. She needs to see a familiar face. That face is going to be yours. That’s how you’re going to help. Don’t even think about arguing with me.”

  “All right,” said Tyler, exhaling. “I’ll go, but you have to promise me you’ll stay in touch and tell me what’s going on here, okay?”

  “I promise,” said Dawson.

  “I just got a message from Abby,” said Chief. “They’re heading back to the house. They’re through with Brittany.”

  “Dawson,” said Grey, “take Tyler home so he can pack. You both can stay with us tonight so you can answer some questions. We’ll make arrangements for you to fly out tomorrow.”

  “Where am I going?” asked Tyler.

  “You’ll know when you get there, son” said Chief. “And then you need to forget.”

  “Listen to me, Tyler,” said Grey, getting his attention. “Nobody can know where you are. At this point, Ms. Karla isn’t in any danger, but that’s going to change. It’s going to change for you as well. You can call us or your brother whenever you want, but that’s it, nobody else. If you do, we’ll know and it’ll be the worst day of your life. Is there anything about my tone that makes you believe I’m not serious?”

  “I believe you,” said Tyler.

  Chief and Grey made their way back to the rental house. Abby and Kate were already there. When they walked inside, they were hit with the aroma of pizza. Chief inhaled with a smile as Grey stared at Abby.

  “They weren’t delivered,” said Abby, pulling down plates from the kitchen cabinet. “We ordered carry-out.”

  “You two crack me up,” said Chief, chuckling.

  “We didn’t feel like cooking,” said Kate, grabbing a plate.

  “This is fine by me,” said Chief, joining her. “I’m starving, and the rabbit food you guys eat is killing me.”

  “That rabbit food has made you ten pounds lighter and ten years younger,” said Abby. “I just want you around for a long time.”

  “I do look good,” said Chief, pulling out a chair after kissing Abby on the cheek.

  “How did it go with Tyler?” asked Kate, sitting beside Chief.

  “He sang like a canary. I wish you could’ve seen the look on his face when Dawson came around the corner. Priceless. After that, he was putty.”

  “They set her up at the party like we suspected,” said Grey. “They drugged her and posed her so it would look like she was having sex with a couple of guys. They took photos.”

  “Let me guess,” said Abby. “Mark Hall was one those guys.”

  “Bingo,” said Chief, taking a large bite.

  “All this over kissing a guy?” asked Evan, grabbing a slice and sitting at the table.

  “Well, Brittany thought it was much more than a kiss,” said Chief. “Tyler told her they were having sex on the back porch.”

  “But they didn’t,” said Evan. “I read that in her journal.”

  “It doesn’t matter at this point,” said Chief. “We now know how all of this started.”

  Grey pulled out his notebook and brought the team up to speed on their conversation with Tyler. When he finished, Abby was shaking her head, and Evan leaned back in his chair with an open mouth full of pizza. Kate sat in silence.

  “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” said Evan, finishing a beer. “No offense, Kate.”

  “None taken,” said Kate, grinning. “But you’re right. Back someone like Brittany into a corner, and the claws will come out. Conner was the love of her life. She’d do anything or hurt anyone who stood between them.”

  “She didn’t budge on her story,” said Abby. “She lied to our faces and faked a few tears along the way. It was pathetic.”

  “She’ll come around,” said Kate. “Today wasn’t the day, but she will. I didn’t expect her to tell us the truth. We just needed her to make those phone calls.”

  “Other than Tyler, who did she try to call?” asked Chief.

  “I can’t confirm that just yet,” said Evan. “It was to an unregistered cell that was more than likely a disposable phone. She couldn’t leave a message because the voicemail isn’t activated. All I can tell you is that the number pinged off of a cell tower in New Orleans.”

  “She wouldn’t have left a message anyway,” said Grey. “The phone call was a signal. They’ll be meeting in person.”

  “I can track Brittany’s phone and car through the embedded GPS systems, but I went ahead and placed our trackers on hers and her parent’s vehicles. So far no movement from any of them.”

  “Good work,” said Grey. “Can you hack into someone’s computer from here?”

  “Piece of cake,” said Evan. “You want me to find those pictures, don’t you?”

  “I do.”

  “You think she still has them?” said Abby.

  “I don’t know for sure,” said Kate. “But I do know Mark Hall does.”

  “Okay,” said Evan, cracking his knuckles. “I’m on it.”

  Chapter 25

  Mama Bear

  (December 9th, 2012)

  Sheriff Lewis ended his call with Judge Cassandra Hall. He was uncomfortable with her request, but agreed with the seriousness of the alleged sexual assault charges against her son. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before entering the waiting area of the ER. He motioned for Brittany and Tyler to join him in an unoccupied corner of the room.

  “Who else knows about the possible rape?” asked Lewis. “I want you to think hard about your answer.”

  “I’ve been with Em the entire time until she went into the examining room,” said Brittany. “She didn’t call or talk to anyone else that I know of.”

  “What about her mom?”

  “She told me not to tell her.”

  “What about you?” asked Lewis, looking at Tyler.

  “I haven’t told anyone.”

  “Have you sent those photos to anyone else but me?” asked Lewis, looking back at Brittany.

  “No.”

  “Keep it that way,” said Lewis. “Do you know who Mark Hall’s mother is?”

  “Yes, we do.”

  “She’ll be here in a few minutes,” said Lewis. “As you can imagine, she’s not happy with this situation. She’s been nominated by the President as our next united states district judge. She believes she’s a month or two away from being confirmed by the Senate. Having her son arrested for rape will change that. Do you understand what I’m saying?”


  Brittany looked down at the floor. It didn’t cross her mind when she was making her plan to disgrace Emily that Mark’s mother would be involved. She knew she was a judge, but she had no idea at what level. She swallowed hard and put her hand on her stomach.

  “Are you okay?” asked Lewis.

  “Yes,” said Brittany. “I just can’t believe all of this is happening.”

  “I’m going to ask you both one more time. Do you believe that at any point last night Emily was sexually assaulted by Mark Hall or anyone else?”

  “No,” said Brittany. “She wasn’t.”

  “Tyler?”

  “She wanted to have sex with them,” said Tyler. “She wasn’t raped.”

  “Okay,” said Lewis. “It would be best that neither one of you talk to anyone until Judge Hall gets here. I’m also going to need a list of names of everyone that was at your house last night.”

  Sheriff Lewis knew they weren’t telling him everything that happened at the party. Brittany didn’t look him in the eye when she answered. Tyler looked at her when he did.

  He left them in the waiting area and stood outside of the examining room door. When it opened, he could see Emily sitting on the edge of the bed as the doctor walked out.

  “Good morning, Sheriff,” said Dr. Post, taking off his gloves.

  “Morning, Doc. How is she?”

  “Emily is visibly shaken, upset, and nauseous, but I didn’t find any obvious signs of assault. There’s no bleeding, tearing, or bruising of tissue. However, I can tell you that she did have sex recently.”

  “Were there marks or bruises anywhere else?”

  “No. I found no signs of a struggle, but she claims to have been drugged and assaulted last night by Mark Hall and another boy. The problem is that she doesn’t remember anything about it. We took blood and urine samples for a drug screen and swabbed for DNA. We’ll have those results in a few days.”

  “Thanks, Doc,” said Lewis, leaning in closer. “I’ve got her two best friends out here in the waiting room. They say they witnessed her having consensual sex with those boys last night at a party. They also witnessed her using cocaine shortly before. They believe she’s lying about the rape because she’s embarrassed about some photos that have surfaced. I’ve seen them, and I have to admit that it doesn’t look like it was forced sex.”

  “Wow,” said Dr. Post. “I don’t envy your job right now.”

  “Me either,” said Lewis.

  “Well, I can’t tell you anything more than what I’ve told you already. We’ll have to wait for the screen results before I can confirm drug use. Even then, I won’t be able to tell you how they got into her system.”

  “Perfect,” said Lewis. “Listen, Judge Hall is going to be here any second and –”

  “I’m not going to make your job any harder, Sheriff. All of this stays confidential until I get a subpoena. I’m the only one on my staff she’s talked to so far.”

  “I appreciate that, Doc.”

  “Just remember that Emily can do whatever she wants with those results.”

  “Understood. Can I talk to her now?”

  “Of course.”

  As soon as he walked inside the examination room, Judge Hall entered the ER. She stood for a moment and looked around. When she made eye contact with Brittany, she held a cold stare before approaching her. Brittany had never met Judge Hall, but she was already terrified of her.

  “Brittany Greene?” asked Cassandra.

  “Yes, ma’am,” said Brittany, deflating.

  “I’m Mark Hall’s mother. I need to speak with you outside.”

  Brittany looked at Tyler before following Cassandra to the exit of the ER. When they were far enough away from the doors, Cassandra spun around, stopping Brittany in her tracks. The judge took a deep breath and crossed her arms.

  “I had an interesting conversation with my idiot son on the way over here,” said Cassandra, taking a step closer to Brittany. “Do you know who I am?”

  “I do,” said Brittany.

  “Did you know that I was a criminal prosecutor for twenty years before I became a judge?”

  “No, ma’am, I didn’t.”

  “Well, I was, and it took me about thirty seconds to know Mark was lying to me about what happened to Emily. He told me everything that you did, Brittany. Everything.”

  Cassandra paused and waited for her words to be processed. She lowered her arms as she glared at Brittany. When two hospital workers came outside to smoke, she grabbed Brittany’s arm and walked her into the parking lot.

  “I’m not going to give you the opportunity to lie to me,” said Cassandra. “I know that Emily had sex with your boyfriend. You paid my son and Greg to get you the drugs to incapacitate her. You told them to have sex with her while you took pictures to put on the internet.”

  “I didn’t tell them to have sex with her,” said Brittany, finding an ounce of courage. “I swear to you, I just wanted it to look like they were. Mark actually did it. He wanted his face to be in the photos, not me.”

  “That doesn’t matter,” said Cassandra, clenching her teeth. “Do you have any idea how much trouble you’re in? When my son and Greg tell the sheriff what you did, you’ll be arrested and sent to prison for a very long time. While you’re there, your precious boyfriend will be in college with his new girlfriend. Is that what you want?”

  “No,” said Brittany. “I just wanted to embarrass her. I didn’t think all of this would happen.”

  “Spare me the tears, honey,” said Cassandra. “You’re about as evil and manipulative as they come. You drugged your best friend, stripped her down, and told Mark and Greg to do whatever they wanted to her while you took pictures. Where you screwed up was getting my son involved in your plan. Now you have to deal with me. How stupid are you?”

  “I’m not stupid,” said Brittany, wiping her face. “Everything would be fine if Mark would’ve kept quiet. We told the sheriff she wasn’t raped and he believes us. We told him we saw her doing the drugs on her own and flirting with Mark and Greg. We said we caught them having sex and it wasn’t rape. He believes us. He believes us because we’re her best friends.”

  “We?”

  “Yes, me and Tyler. He brought her to the party and helped me set everything up. He hates her too.”

  “How many other people know what you did? And don’t you dare lie to me.”

  “Me, Tyler, Mark, Greg, and now you,” said Brittany. “That’s it. Nobody else knows anything.”

  “Mark said there were other people there at the party,” said Cassandra. “How do they not know what happened?”

  “They don’t,” said Brittany. “I just needed them to be there long enough to see that Emily was acting drunk or on drugs. Tyler and I mentioned to a few of them that she was snorting cocaine and fooling around with Mark and Greg. I told them all to leave before we took her upstairs. I knew the rumors would start spreading that night.”

  “Good Lord,” said Cassandra. “You really hate this girl.”

  “I do,” said Brittany. “She deserves all of this for what she did to me. I was her best friend and would’ve done anything for her. I helped her through so much when she needed me. She repays me by screwing my boyfriend and then lying about it to my face. Yes, I hate her. She’s dead to me.”

  “Let’s go sit down,” said Cassandra, walking Brittany to a secluded bench. “Isn’t your boyfriend some kind of star quarterback?”

  “Yes,” said Brittany. “He’s getting a scholarship to play at LSU next year.”

  “And you’re going with him?”

  “I don’t know yet. My grades aren’t that great. I may have to go to junior college first.”

  “What if I told you I could get you into LSU?”

  “Are you serious?” said Brittany, lighting up. “I thought you were turning me in.”

  “You need to pay close attention to what I’m about to say to you,” said Cassandra, shifting to face Brittany. “This is your only shot at
staying out of prison.”

  “I’ll do whatever you want. I promise.”

  “Good,” said Cassandra. “Here’s the problem with you going to jail. It means my son will probably go as well. The system tends to be harder on the children of government officials. If my son is brought up on charges, I’ll lose the nomination for my judgeship. If that happens, I’m going to make a lot of people’s lives miserable. That includes yours and your parents. Am I clear?”

  “Yes, ma’am. What do you want me to do?”

  “Nothing,” said Cassandra. “Stick to your plan for Emily and forget this conversation ever happened. Make sure Tyler does the same, but don’t mention our deal or it goes away. If you do that, you’ll be at LSU next fall, and I’ll make sure Emily won’t be. I have the ability to make all of this disappear.”

  “You want me to keep lying?”

  “You just told me you weren’t stupid,” said Cassandra. “Don’t ask me stupid questions.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I need you to be Emily’s friend for a little bit longer,” said Cassandra. “I need you to stay close to her. I’ll let you know when to cut it off. When you do, you can never see or speak to her again. Forget that she existed.”

  “That won’t be a problem,” said Brittany.

  “You need to stay away from Mark and Greg as well. No contact at all other than passing them in the hallway. I’ll make sure they understand what’s going on.”

  “Okay.”

  “Emily sounds like a piece of work,” said Cassandra. “You follow my instructions to the letter, we both get what we want and you stay out of prison. Let me know if Tyler gets out of line or if you think he has a change of heart. I’ll change it back for him.”

  “He won’t,” said Brittany. “He’s the one that caught her and Conner having sex. He was in love with her. She betrayed him too.”

  “Let’s go back inside,” said Cassandra, standing. “I need to find the sheriff.”

  “Thank you for helping me,” said Brittany, walking beside her. “All of this is Emily’s fault.”

  “I’m not helping you,” said Cassandra. “I’m keeping my son from disgracing this family. But know this, Brittany. If you screw this up, I make a phone call and your life as you know it, your future, and your relationship with Conner is over. I make another phone call, and your father loses his business and your family will be driven into the poor house.”