Forest Sutton smiled at Wiley, giving Rainey the impression that a rapport had already developed between the two men. She also noticed the scrapes on Sutton’s face and hands, and the little purple mouse forming on his cheek. It appeared there had been a struggle at his arrest. He was nervous, antsy, unable to sit still, constantly pushing his long bangs from his forehead. Rainey’s immediate reaction was this is not the serial rapist. His body language was inconsistent with the confident alpha male that had been breaking into women’s homes.
When he spoke, Rainey heard the voice of a timid, confused young man. “Man, that guy just won’t listen. Please find my girlfriend. She’ll tell you I wasn’t breaking into her apartment. Well, I was breaking into it, but she wanted me to.”
“We’re trying to locate her,” Wiley said. “She has not returned to the apartment and she isn’t at work. Do you have any idea where she could be?”
“No, and now I’m really worried,” Forest said.
Rainey believed him. Still, this could all be an act, and if it was, this guy was doing an Oscar winning performance of the anti-suspect in a serial rape case. But one thing was gnawing at her. When they walked in, she caught a whiff of the cologne she smelled on her coat last night. She wasn’t sure if it was the leather warming and releasing the smell, or if Forest here had been in Wiley’s car. So, she pulled out the chair next to Wiley and sat down.
“Forest, this is Rainey Bell. I’ve asked her to come talk to you. She may be able to help you clear this up.”
“Okay,” Forest said, barely looking up from the table.
Rainey smiled to put him at ease. “Forest, I’m not a police officer, but I’m acting as an agent for them, so I need to know that you’ve been read your rights and understand them.”
“Yes, I signed that paper waving my rights. Really, I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Wiley had filled Rainey in on the arrest details, but she wanted to hear what Forest had to say. She began with easy questions, things he would not lie about, facts easily checked, most of which she already knew from looking at the arrest report, but she needed a baseline of body language when he was being truthful.
“Okay, Forest. Let’s start out simple. How old are you? Where do you work?”
“I’m twenty-nine. I’ve been a paramedic with the fire department for seven years.”
Rainey noted that his head came up and his shoulders straightened when he mentioned his job. He made solid eye contact with her for the first time too. He was proud of his profession. It gave him confidence. Her next question was meant to test that confidence and was one of the reasons Forest was sitting in an interrogation room. He did not fit most of the profile Rainey developed for the rapist, but one aspect of Forest’s life sent up alarm bells.
“That’s right. I read that in the arrest report. It also said you applied to the police academy, and after being rejected, you enrolled in the forensic science program over at State college.”
Forest grew defensive. “I was rejected because I was sick during the PT test. I had the flu. I also realized that I really wanted to be in forensics instead of patrol duty, so I went back to school. I graduate in May.”
Rainey observed Forest lean forward, look her in the eyes, and defend his pride. He was being truthful. She knew that because Wiley had checked out his background, but it did put him squarely within the parameters of the profile. One other aspect of Forest’s demeanor made Rainey suspicious. He was not displaying the typical behavior of an innocent man, no demanding of his rights, no real outbursts of indignation at the charges, more pleading to be let go than professing of innocence. He was guilty of something. She pressed him for details.
“All right then, why don’t you tell me why you were arrested breaking into the backdoor of an apartment at quarter to five this morning?”
“I was supposed to,” Forest began, and then hesitated. “Man, she’s going to kill me.”
“Who?” Rainey asked.
“My girlfriend. This was her idea. I wouldn’t do something like this if she hadn’t, well, she pretty much insisted. She’s, uh, she’s—Oh man, she’s going to kill me.”
“Forest,” Rainey said, trying to focus him. “Let’s attempt to string a whole thought together. Just one at a time would be best.”
Forest ducked his head. Here was his guilt, his shame. “My girlfriend wanted me to break in her apartment and role play a domination scene.”
“You mean she has a rape fantasy and she wanted you to be the attacker.” Rainey stated it plainly, so the words would sink in.
Forest leaned forward, cuffed hands on the table. “I’m not like that. I didn’t want to do it. She insisted and she’s, she’s—”
“She’s hot, Forest. I saw her picture in the file. So, explain why she wasn’t at home when you planned your break in.”
“I have no idea. I thought she said last night.” He flopped back against his chair, exasperated, and Rainey caught the cologne scent again. “I’ve been on duty for three days. I left my phone in my buddy’s car, when he gave me a ride home from the firehouse last night, and I haven’t been able to track him down. Man, I am so going to catch hell for this.”
“What kind of cologne is that you’re wearing?”
“I don’t wear cologne. My girlfriend has allergies.” Forest sniffed of his shirt. “It was that guy that tackled me. He must have bathed in the stuff.”
The rapist did not wear cologne either, but every woman Rainey interviewed commented that the attacker had a robust manly odor, not overly unpleasant, but strong, pervasive. It lingered in their homes after he was gone. It occurred to Rainey that the rapist knew this, and masked his scent at other times with cologne. When they caught him, Rainey believed he would prove to have been chastised at some point for his manly odor.
Forest leaned forward again, looking from Rainey to Wiley and back. “Look, I know I was stupid. I can’t believe I actually did it anyway. The reason that guy saw me was because I was so nervous I couldn’t unlock the door.”
Wiley sat up a little taller. “Are you usually faster at picking locks?”
“Yeah, I’ve been doing it since I was a kid. I’m pretty good at it most of the time. My granddad was a locksmith. He taught me how.”
That was another reason Forest was in handcuffs. He was found in possession of a lock picking kit. The rapist was also adept at entering locked doors, prompting speculation that he possessed the same skills of which Forest was now bragging.
A knock at the door stopped the questioning. Officer Little stepped in, a sheepish expression on his face. “We found the girlfriend. She said the break-in was planned for tonight, not last night. She thought Forest was working last night and stayed over at a friend’s house. She came home a few minutes ago to get her phone charger before going to work because her battery died.”
Forest, feeling vindicated, said, “See, I told you.”
Rainey smelled the cologne again, heavy in the air as before. She watched Officer Little walk over to Forest and remove the cuffs. He fit the rapist’s height and build, as described by the women he attacked. He also fit Rainey’s profile, the alpha male cop involved in the investigation, and she remembered seeing him at Maybelline’s. She listened as he spoke to Forest, watching for clues.
“I’m sorry you had to go through this. Under the circumstances, with all the rapes going on, you can understand why we had to take a close look. You were breaking into a woman’s apartment in the wee hours.”
Forest stood up, rubbing his wrists. “Yeah, well, that’s not going to happen again. She can find another boyfriend if that’s what she’s into. I’m done.”
Little chuckled. “She’s a firecracker, all right. She’s downstairs waiting for you.”
Forest looked stricken. “Can you show me the back way out of here?”
Little handed Forest off to another officer in the hallway and then stopped to talk to Wiley and Rainey.
“Sorry to have caused a false alarm
. I really thought he was the guy,” Little said, watching Forest slink away toward the back exit.
Rainey watched Little. “Hey, what’s that cologne you’re wearing?”
Little wrinkled his nose. “It’s not me. The campus cop that tackled the guy, he’s bathed in the stuff. It follows you everywhere.”
The observation room door opened and two men joined them in the hallway. With them came the strong smell of the cologne. Rainey knew one of them—a detective working on the rape cases. The other man was younger, maybe late twenties, dressed in black pants and turtleneck, much like the police tactical teams wore. He was also the source of the cologne. Wiley stuck out his hand toward the younger man.
“Thank you for your help on this.” Wiley turned to Rainey. “Jason is an officer with the State College police department. As their liaison, he’s been working on the serial rape case with us. Jason Brand, this is Rainey Bell. She developed the profile we’ve been working with.”
Jason smiled broadly. “Yes, I know who you are.” He extended his hand for her to shake. “It’s an honor to meet you.”
Outwardly, Jason seemed calm and at ease. When Rainey clasped his hand, she felt him vibrating beneath the surface.
The whole time she was in the room with Forest, Rainey had been wondering why an experienced investigator like Wiley Trainer needed her to tell him they had the wrong guy. She glanced at Wiley and saw the twinkle in his eye. This was the real suspect Rainey had been summoned to evaluate. His interrogation was taking place right here in the hallway and Jason Brand had no idea.
Something was also tickling Rainey’s nose. Since she started living with a woman, Rainey had noticed that she could smell men more readily now. She could detect the lingering odor of a man in her home, long after they had gone. It had been one of those things at which Rainey marveled, the way her brain readjusted to what she now found pleasurable, the scent of a woman. What may have tripped her sexual antennae before Katie no longer held appeal. The human brain was an amazing thing, and hers was telling Rainey that a strong male musk was detected and it did not like it. Under all that cologne, Jason was concealing his manly scent.
Rainey decided her plan of action immediately, and set out to crack Jason’s outer calm.
“Yes, I think I’ve seen you before.” It was a guess, but a good one. “You were at the lecture I gave Monday night, but didn’t Wiley say you were an officer at State College?”
He was about to lie. Rainey looked for the tell tale signs and they were there. It was thought to be nearly impossible to fake a genuine smile. Called a Duchenne smile, it engaged the muscles around the mouth and eyes. A fake smile cannot induce the same effect, especially the wrinkles at the corners of the eyes. Rainey had no doubt that Jason’s smile was forced.
“I heard you were speaking. I thought I could learn something from your lecture that could help me in future investigations, and of course this one, too. It was very insightful. I’m glad I went.”
His eye contact was very intense. Rainey recognized that, too. People who lie a lot know one of the signs of deception is averting the eyes, which they overcompensate for by holding eye contact too intensely. The concentrated effort to focus on a person unnaturally could cause the liars blinking rate to change as well. Correspondingly, Rainey knew he was searching for her reaction to his explanation, watching to see if she bought it. She called that peeking.
Even the most accomplished liars peeked out from the veil of innocence they desperately tried to hide behind, giving themselves away in the split second she glimpsed the real person behind the facade. Jason’s peek was well disguised, but she saw him hiding in the deadness behind those baby blue eyes. Like the blink of a shark’s eye, Rainey saw the same cold, nothingness of an apex predator. Jason Brand was a small Tiger Shark swimming where Great Whites had been. He was no match for the sociopaths in Rainey’s realm; the monsters in boxes with tightly closed lids in the corners of her mind. Jason Brand was out of his league.
Rainey knew how to pry the mask of innocence away for a peek of her own. Okay, Jason, she thought, how good are you?
“That’s great,” she said. “I wish more officers would take the initiative to learn about sexual assault. I’m very happy you could be there.”
Ah, there it was, the mark of deception only the best, most sophisticated of liars could control, the urge to gloat over their successful duplicity. Jason smiled, this time a genuine Duchenne smile. He was demonstrating duping delight, a common phenomenon among liars. They cannot help the smile they produce when they think their falsehood has been accepted as truth. Sometimes it was just a slight upward turn in the corners of the mouth, or like Jason’s, a full grin, but it was usually there.
Now, to apply the heat, Rainey challenged him to tell his version of the recent arrest of Forest Sutton. “It was very fortunate you were on the scene tonight. It wasn’t our UNSUB, but it could have been. Good police work. Do you live there?”
Jason crossed his arms over his chest, positioned himself with his feet facing the exit, and altered his voice to a lower pitch. “To tell you the truth, it was just luck.”
These were all red flags, especially the qualifying language, “To tell you the truth . . .” While not all those behaviors signaled deception, in combination they were screaming at Rainey, “BIG OLD LIAR.” He confirmed her suspicions even more by the level of detail in his lie, another red flag.
“I’m coming off the overnight shift, switching to afternoons. I’m not used to it yet. Sometimes I just drive around until I can settle down. I was driving by, when I notice this patrol car pulled into the parking lot, kind of at an angle, like he was called there for something and rushed to park his car. So, I pulled over to see if I could help. It took me a while to find him. It also crossed my mind he might shoot me, if he saw me in the shadows. I tried to stay where he would be able to see me clearly, but I couldn’t yell out in case he was about to catch the guy. I saw the suspect running and heard Officer Little yell at him to halt. He ran right past me so I tackled him.”
Little offered more. “I couldn’t tell who I was chasing there for a second. I was responding to a prowler call in the next unit, when I saw the Sutton guy behind another one. I yelled at him, and then this other guy comes from between the buildings. They were both wearing all black. Then Jason tackled Sutton. That’s how I knew which one to cuff.”
Wiley slapped Jason on the back. “Good work. Too bad it wasn’t the right guy, but maybe we’ll get him soon. Word of advice, wear some identifying hat or jacket next time. Would have been a shame if you were shot or mistaken for a suspect while trying to help. I’ll be sure to put in a good word for you on that State Police application.”
Jason relaxed into his duping delight smile. His lies had been accepted. He was clear to continue doing what he was doing without suspicion, or so he thought. They said their good byes, leaving Rainey standing in the hall with Wiley.
As soon as they were alone, Rainey said, “You know that’s him, right?”
Wiley grinned at her. “Oh, yeah. Knew it the minute he walked in. Give Officer Little credit, he suspected him too. He put on a good show in there, all to make Mr. Jason Brand very comfortable. We’re already pulling records and getting warrants in order. While we’ve been occupying him here, his supervisor was checking his workstation and patrol unit computers. He ran the license plates of at least three of our victims that we know of so far.”
“You’re going to find he was stalking someone at that apartment complex.”
“The woman you spoke with at the hospital this morning, she lives there too. He ran her plates three months ago. The 911 call came from her neighbor who heard Jason leaving her unit.” Wiley said, a real Duchenne smile wrinkling his eyes.
“And you needed me, why?” Rainey asked, smiling back.
“Just wanted verification and to show you that your profile was on the money. Thank you, and now, whatever you need, you just call. I know you will be cleared on this mur
der charge, but I’d worry if I were you. Somebody is out to get you, Rainey Bell. Watch your back.”
“Funny, but that’s the message I seem to be getting from everyone these days.” Rainey remembered that Wiley knew her father. “Do you have any idea what my father did to Rex King?”
“I believe the word for Rex would be cuckold. He managed to wrangle a pretty woman, but she was not the most faithful gal. That I know is fact. I don’t know the details of your father’s involvement, but there were rumors about twenty years ago. They started up again after Billy’s death. Some people thought Rex had something to do with that.”
“Oh, really?” Rainey was intrigued. “We know who killed my father. He was just a kid making his gang bones, wasn’t aiming at anyone in particular. But you say Rex was a suspect, that’s interesting.”
“Only for a bit. Mackie tracked that kid down pretty fast, so the rumors died out, and then you moved back. He’s been hell bent on keeping you away from this department since then. I believe he thinks if he harasses you enough you’ll refuse to consult with us.”
“It takes a mighty small penis to take out your frustrations on the daughter of the dead man that may have screwed your wife,” she said. “Are you sure he has one?”
Wiley slapped her on the back gently, laughing. “You sure as hell are Billy Bell’s daughter, no question about that.”
Chapter Eight
“Are you okay?” Rainey asked, hoping for a positive reply.
“Yes, I’m just angry that they are doing this to you,” Katie replied through the phone.
“They didn’t make a mess or anything, did they?”
“No. It was a couple of guys who know you. They seemed rather apologetic through it all. They did run into a bit of trouble with Gunny, when they found the Glock in her car. We’re going to discuss that, by the way. She’s a little pissed they took it.”
“I bet she is. That’s her baby,” Rainey said, completely dodging the discussion comment. “Have you heard from Thelma or Ernie? How’s Mackie?”
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