by Stacy-Deanne
“Keith?” She touched her lips. She hadn’t expected her voice to tremble. Keith scared her to death. Unlike Sarah, Melody found it smart to listen to women’s intuition. Besides, it hadn’t steered her wrong before. She wouldn’t entertain Sarah’s “benefit of the doubt” attitude any longer. Keith had a serious problem. And it went way beyond the subject of control.
She went toward the kitchen. Keith walked out with a dishrag. She’d had nightmares about that famous smirk.
“Hello, Melody.” His eyes scanned her entire body.
“Keith,” she exhaled. “What…what the hell are you doing here?”
He shrugged. “Just look, relax and don’t run off screaming.” He grinned. “Sarah hadn’t realized I had the day off. She said I could come by when I wanted so I wanted to make dinner for her. You know, as a surprise.”
Melody figured something had to be wrong with her hearing. Could someone be so bold as to come into someone’s house when they weren’t home? She looked at Keith as he stood there as if he owned the place.
“I thought I heard a car door,” he continued. “A moment later, I knew it was you.”
“Oh yeah, why?” She shook from anger.
“I smelled you.” He crossed his arms.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“That perfume. It’s not easy to ignore, you know.” He tilted his head. “You seem flustered, Mel. Is something wrong?”
She chuckled. “Is some…of course, something’s wrong, Keith! What in the hell do you think you’re doing coming in here like you own the place? This is our home, it’s not yours! Who do you think you are? I want you out of here!”
He sighed. “I thought we were finally starting to accept each other, Melody.”
“Look, I want you to get the fuck out of here right now! You have no right to come in here and I never want you here again.”
“I have every right because Sarah gave me a key. She told me I could come by whenever I want and I plan to do just that. I don’t know why the hell you’re so angry.” He scoffed. “Jealous because I said I was cooking for Sarah? You can have some of the damn steak, too, if you want, Melody.” He headed for the kitchen.
“Don’t walk away from me, Keith!” He stopped. “I want you out and there are gonna be no negotiations!”
“Sarah does so much for you. Can’t you at least be civil and let me surprise her? I only came here because I care about her. I didn’t even know you’d be here.”
“Oh!” She laughed. “Well, I live here, Keith! I have a reason to be here.”
He sighed. “Can we please just start over, Melody? This is becoming exhausting, to say the least.” She shook her head. “I didn’t mean to cause any problems, I swear. I was only gonna make dinner, then leave. I didn’t think you’d be here. Sarah told me you had errands to run.”
She rubbed her forehead. “This isn’t right. I have a big feeling that this isn’t right, Keith.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know what to say. All I can tell you is why I’m here. I know we got off on the wrong foot. Why can’t you just give me a chance, Melody? We both love Sarah. You have no idea how much I care about her.”
“Do I look like I want to hear this?” She pointed to the door.
“At least let me finish the steak before I go. You can finish everything else. I’ve got wine chilling in the refrigerator.” He stared at her. “You look tired.”
She rubbed her forehead. “I went to see Lucas’s father about the job.” She didn’t know why the hell she felt like explaining that to him.
“Did you get it?” He grinned.
She watched him. “Yes.”
“That’s wonderful, Melody! You should be proud of yourself.”
“You seem more excited about it than I do.”
He shrugged. “I can’t help thinking how wonderful it would be having you there, Melody.” His eyes went to her breasts, then back to her face. She crossed her arms to divert his attention. “You know, I could show you the ropes.” He walked toward her. She moved to the couch.
“Yeah. Mr. Lawson told me how impressed he is with you. I had no idea you were so qualified.” She walled her eyes. “I guess people think you’re God on earth, huh?”
“Usually, most people do.” He grinned. “Does that threaten you, Mel?”
She sighed. “Does what threaten me?” She moved her hair from her face.
“Well, how people react to me? That people appreciate me. Does that threaten you?”
“Why in hell would it threaten me? I could not care less.” She looked at the fresh tan carpet they’d put in last month. Sarah said it would accent the room perfectly. She’d been right.
“Would you uh, like to try my steak?”
“No. Keith, I just want you to leave.”
“Come on, Melody. Try, damn it!” He laughed. “I’m not that bad of a guy once you get to know me. Sarah likes me. Doesn’t that say something?” She walked to the television. “We shouldn’t have to go through this song and dance every time we meet.”
“You mean that, Keith? You really want us to become friends?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you threaten me this morning and nearly scare the shit out of me?”
“I don’t remember this. When did I uh, threaten you?”
She couldn’t even raise her voice for being so appalled. “I’m sick and tired of this game, Keith. You know damn well what I’m talking about. You grabbed me in the kitchen this morning and told me how much you liked being in control.” She panted. “That was when I knew I didn’t want you anywhere near my sister or me.”
“I see.” He sucked his bottom lip. “I got angry, Melody. You were questioning me and you practically insulted my relationship with Sarah.”
“Oh, you didn’t seem insulted, you seemed…you seemed…”
“What?” He walked toward her. “Seemed what?”
She exhaled. “Aroused.” She nearly fainted from her own admittance. Yet it had been true. Keith seemed to enjoy that strange moment in the kitchen. She wondered if he could adequately deny that, too.
“Maybe I was aroused.” He ran his hands through his hair. “It’s natural to be, you know? You are a very attractive woman, Melody. And I had my hands on you.”
She moved away. “And you had no right! I won’t put up with this anymore, Keith! I don’t care what your motives are; we’re not doing this!”
“Doing what?”
She shook her head. “Stop fucking with me! You know what I mean. I want you to stop all of this now! I don’t think it’s cute and I don’t think it’s funny!”
“Jesus.” He backed away. “Am I…scaring you, Melody?” He pointed toward the kitchen. “That’s the song from Jayson’s. The one you danced to with Lucas. You remember? I love this song. Does me playing it bother you?” She sniffled. He rubbed her shoulder.
“For some reason, I think you like scaring me, Keith. Why can’t you just leave Sarah alone? Believe me, you’re not the one for her.” She moved away.
“I can’t do that, Melody. I’m with Sarah now and you have to accept that.” He swayed to a different slow song. “Come on and let’s start things over right now.” He took her hand. “Let’s dance. We can have a polite and friendly dance.”
“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
He smiled. “I’m trying to be nice, Melody. You could at least see me halfway.”
He pulled her close before she could object. She didn’t understand a thing, anymore. Keith flipped her entire world upside down. She hated how he could talk his way out of everything. She hated that he’d been so good-looking and charming. He made her feel stupid, childish. He had gained control of Sarah’s heart. Melody would do her best to keep him from gaining control over her own mind.
“What are you thinking?” He lightly twirled her around.
“I’ve never met anyone like you before, Keith.”
“Oh? Should I take that as a compliment?”
>
“No, I didn’t mean it as one.”
He laughed. “God, you’re a hard piece of stone to crack, Mel. What do I have to do, huh?” They swayed angelically. “Is there anything I can do to win you over?”
“No.” She remained rigid.
“God, it amazes me how different you and Sarah are. Yet, you’re also very alike in so many ways.”
“How?” She looked him in the eyes. He had beautiful eyes. Yet that didn’t change her opinion of him.
“I bet people nearly fall out when they see that you’re sisters.” He grinned. “I know I nearly fainted when Sarah told me she was half-Latino. I mean, I had no idea. There weren’t any signs. You’re also different when it comes to your tastes.” Melody walled her eyes. “You’re both gorgeous, but Sarah’s beauty is more apparent.”
“Oh, thanks a lot.” She sighed.
He smiled. “Wait and let me finish here.” He twirled her around. “Yours is apparent, too, but it goes deeper than that. I mean, with Sarah, you see her and you go crazy. What man wouldn’t? She’s beautiful and we all know this. But you’re like a fine painting. You know how some paintings may not strike you as much at first, but when you keep looking at them…” He stopped. “You realize more and more how fantastic and lovely they really are.”
She tried to move. “Keith…”
“You understand, Melody?” He placed his hands on her face. She tried to pull away. He firmly held her like he had this morning. She’d only known Keith a short while, but long enough to know he manipulated everyone around him. She refused to be taken in. Something told her that his bite wasn’t only misleading but potentially dangerous.
“Keith, I want you to leave now, okay?”
“Really?”
“Yes really.” She struggled in his arms. “Now, let me go.”
“I will if you say it like you mean it.” He squinted. “Convince me, Melody.”
She pushed him away. “Get out right now, Keith!”
He got on his knees. He pretended to hold a camera. “That’s good, Melody. Now, look into the camera, darling. Oh yeah, that’s it. Now take it from the top! Come on, say the line, Melody.”
“I won’t take this shit from you anymore.” She opened the front door. “Get the hell out, right now! If you don’t leave right now, I swear I’ll call the police, Keith. I don’t want to ever see you here again. Do you understand me?”
He stood. He got his car keys from the table. He stopped beside her once he reached the door. “I can’t read you for the life of me. But something tells me it’s going to be fun to try.”
She held the door. “Get out, Keith.” He pulled her close. He held the back of her neck until she settled in his arms. Melody desperately tried to move. Keith plunged his lips over hers. “Mmm!” She felt she’d die from the strangling kiss. She managed to snatch her head away. “Stop!” She pushed him away. “Get out! I will call the police, I swear to God, Keith!”
He wasn’t laughing. He wasn’t speaking. He wasn’t moving. His stare never left her face.
“Get out!” she shouted out the door in case she needed immediate help. He left without a word.
Melody watched until he drove away. She had to make Sarah believe her now. Each moment Melody spent with Keith pushed her closer to lunacy. She didn’t know the hold he had on her. She just knew she had to get him out of their lives before it became too late. She exhaled against the door and wondered if it was already too late.
“We need you! We can’t do this on our own!” Detective Steven Kemp paced around the dusty interrogation room. He’d made detective at a younger age than many for his skill at cracking cases. His temper had been his downfall. He never realized that patience could get you farther than frightening someone to death.
He sighed at the shaken young black woman sitting in the middle of the room. Steven ran his hands through his flaxen hair. His gorgeous face was torn with frustration. He penetrated everyone with those killer blue eyes. Detective Brianna Morris leaned over the table doing her best to talk some sense into her partner and ex-lover. Being a black woman, she had her own natural fears about the rapist. She could easily have been on his list. Being a cop didn’t matter.
She wasn’t only lovely, but a challenge as well. She’d been working the sex crimes unit long enough to know that most rapists loved challenges. She wanted to catch the guy the same as Steven. But she wouldn’t resort to scaring the victims in order to do it.
“Steven,” Brianna sighed. “I want to catch this bastard just as much as you do, but this is not the way. We can’t interrogate the victims like they’ve done something wrong!”
He looked at the woman in between them. “Look, I’m sorry if I frightened you.” He knelt beside her. “But you may be our only hope, right now. The man who tried to rape you last night could have been the Albany Predator.” Steven glared at Brianna. She sighed. “You gotta tell us all you remember.”
“You don’t understand.” The young lady shook. Her puffy ponytail resembled a black cotton ball. She looked lovely even in tears. The cops imagined she could be an even bigger heartbreaker otherwise. “Detective Kemp, you can’t know how this feels.” She sniffled. “You think that just because I got away that I shouldn’t be afraid? I’m afraid, okay. I don’t even think I can go back to my own damn home!”
He touched her knee. She jerked. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I guess me being a man, I can’t understand. But you were lucky, okay? You weren’t raped, and what you tell us could help.”
“Why badger me when this man has raped nearly half the black population in Albany? There’s a new victim in the paper every day!” Steven and Brianna exchanged glances. “Oh, I get it. The victims aren’t talking? So you want me to do their dirty work?”
“Monica?” Brianna stood in front of her. “You got away, true. But don’t believe that you’re safe now. He is still out there and something tells me that he hates it when he doesn’t get his way.” Monica held her head. Brianna got on her knees. “I know how frightened you are. I’m a black woman myself, and I’ve been crazy since this started happening. I want to catch him more than anything, believe me.”
“Detective Morris, you’re also a cop with a gun and a police force to protect you. I think that’s the difference between me and you. This isn’t fair. You can’t expect me to give you all the answers.”
“Monica, we need you, damn it!” Steven hit the table. “Think about what you felt last night! Think about the fear you still feel! Now do you want another woman to feel this way? He may not stop if we don’t get him. He could even move on to another place! And we don’t know if he will stop at rape.”
Monica sucked her fingertip. “What do you mean?”
Brianna shrugged. “We don’t know how far he could go or has gone. We only know of the women who’ve come forward. We’re sure that many were too afraid to. Monica, you may have been the only one who’s fought him and lived.”
“Oh God. You mean he may even be…a killer?”
“You tell us.” Steven sighed. “Monica, I’m sorry for how I came down on you. But we need you right now. We need everyone who’s come close to this asshole to help us. We can’t bust him alone. Every time we think we have a pattern, he switches on us. He lays low for days, then he rapes like crazy for weeks. All we know is he’s white and…attractive.”
“He’s gorgeous,” Monica whimpered. “He wore a mask but I could tell by his mouth and eyes. You would think a man like that wouldn’t have to rape anyone. I’ve never come across someone so…so violent. I can’t get it out of my head how he shoved me down on the couch and…his hands…his lips were so…so hard. I never knew you could kiss someone so roughly. I kept begging for him to leave me alone. I couldn’t believe he’d been in my house all that time, almost the entire night, and I didn’t know it.”
“Don’t blame yourself.” Brianna took her hand.
“The mayor thinks a curfew is gonna stop this guy? Oh no, you have no idea who you’re dealing wi
th!” Monica shook. “He is a monster, I swear to you! He doesn’t care who he hurts. He likes to hurt he…he’s so sick…he’s…oh God!” she sobbed. “I can’t get it out of my head! He had me on the couch and I…I don’t know where I got the strength, but I kicked him. I kicked him and I ran. I ran as fast as I could!”
Brianna held her. “Shh it’s okay, Monica. It’s gonna be all right. You don’t have to tell us anything right now.” Steven walled his eyes. “But, we do want you to talk to the officer downstairs to go over your report, okay?”
Monica stood. “Thank you. If I can get myself together, I will talk to you. I’m not trying to protect him, but I’m just so scared.”
“We understand.” Steven nodded. “Your well-being is what’s most important here.”
“May I go now?”
Brianna nodded. “You have our number. Please use it. You can call us day and night.”
“Thanks.” She left.
“Fuck!” Steven kicked the chair.
“Steven, please, calm down, all right?” Brianna rubbed her temples. “Look, this has been a very grueling case and we need to regroup and…”
“What? Start from scratch?” He chuckled. “News flash, Bree, we’re sitting right smack in the middle of scratch because we haven’t found one fucking thing to bring us close to that maniac!”
“Don’t you think I feel the same way? Steven, I’m a woman myself! Do you think I like having other women terrorized by this man? If I had him now, I’d probably hang him by his balls, but that is not the way to handle things.” Steven shook his head.
“We’re cops, Steven. We are allowed to be afraid, but we’re not allowed to lose control.”
“Seems to me you need to start losing control before it gets too late, Bree.”
She ran her hands through her curly black hair. Her almond-brown eyes fluttered at the remark. “Is this personal, Steven?”
“Come on, Bree.” He sighed.
“No, I’m just wondering because you’ve been shooting remarks at me for weeks. Do you blame me for us not finding this guy? I’m only one woman in the department, Steve.”