Bringing it up triggered some kind of response—the kind that made your stomach turn sour and your heart beat a little faster. The report said he didn’t rape her, but at this point did it really matter? That shit still fucks with someone, even if you get away before he could.
“I don’t know anything about him,” she said. “I didn’t see his face—he was wearing a mask.”
“A mask? Can you describe it?”
“It was just a face. A white face. No expression, just white. I could see his eyes staring through the holes cut in the plastic. They just watched me. I don’t think he ever even blinked.”
“Do you know what color they were?”
“Um… brown… maybe… no dark blue… or green. I-I’m sorry. I can’t remember.” She covered her face with trembling hands.
“That’s okay. Was there anything else that stuck out to you?”
“I-I don’t know.” She brought her knees up to her chest under the covers. “I mean… he smelled good.”
“Okay, that’s good. Was it like body wash or cologne or?—?”
“I think it was a cologne. It smelled fancy. Oh, and he had really nice shoes. Like dress shoes.”
“So he was dressed up?”
“I don’t know. But they had mud on them, and he had—had a longer coat… the kind with double buttons… like a trench coat… and maybe black leather gloves.”
“Did he say anything to you?”
Mia wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging them tight. “Is this going to go on my permanent record?”
I looked up from my notepad. “He asked about… his permanent record?”
“No. Mine.”
I paused for a moment, knowing that my response could stop her from giving me the information I needed to catch this bastard.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Mia. He attacked you, right?”
“Yes, but about what he said…” She locked her eyes with mine. “I can’t let my parents know. They’ll cut me off.”
“You’re an adult. They won’t have access to anything you don’t want them to.”
“But if I press charges, when you catch him… they’ll know.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’ll be in the papers. The news.”
“Mia, if it means catching this asshole, I’ll do everything I can to keep whatever it is you’re hiding quiet.”
I knew she didn’t believe me, but I would. No matter what it was—even if it was illegal—if it meant keeping Maggie alive… I’d bury that secret for her.
After a moment of what I assumed was an internal conflict, she finally opened up.
“I made a few videos.” She looked up at me, ashamed. “Sexual… videos,” she said slowly.
“You have nothing to be ashamed of. You know who you’re talkin’ to, right?” I said, trying to lighten the mood. “Did someone force you to make them?”
“No.”
“Coerce you?”
“No. I did it on my own. I sent them to my boyfriend and that’s all.”
I blew out a breath. “What did the guy who took you say to you?”
