Page 50 of Make No Mistake

“Oh, that’s right across from me. I’ll be right over.”

I picked up my bag with my laptop and hurried over. The sooner we got this done, the sooner she could rest.

I knocked on the door with the right number and heard a faint “come in”.

The handle was unlocked so I let myself in to a mirror image of my apartment.

“I’m in here.”

I wandered into her living room where she was lying on the couch.

“Hi, Kensie.” I sat on a chair next to her. “How are you feeling?”

It was a stupid question, but I was curious since she seemed so relaxed.

“They gave me a lot of drugs, so right now I’m pretty good.”

I smiled at her loopy laugh.

“Good, I’m glad they took good care of you.”

She nodded with an easy smile. “So, what can I help you with?”

“I’ve interviewed the other two victims and found some similarities. I want to see if it was the same in your situation.”

She nodded. “Cool. You’re like a mini detective.”

I laughed even though I wasn’t quite sure what she meant. “Let’s start at the beginning. Can you describe what you were doing when the attack happened?”

“Do you promise not to get mad at me?”

“Why would I be mad at you?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “You had just told everyone not to go out alone. But I did. I took out the trash. By myself. I thought it would be okay since the other two were on campus.”

“Oh Kensie. I’m not mad at you. You have every right to take out your trash whenever you want to. You shouldn’t have to worry about being attacked in your own home.”

She smiled. “Thanks for not being mad.”

I nodded and hoped she would stay focused. “So you took out your trash.”

“Yeah I took it out to the dumpster over there.” She lifted one hand in the air and pointed in one direction before changing to the opposite. I knew what she was talking about since there was only one dumpster on our side of the complex.

“I was wearing flip flops and teddy bear pajama pants. The ones with the tie dye background. I was in a hurry ’cause I didn’t want anyone to see me.”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing at her very detailed description.

“I threw the bag in and turned to go back when something hit me. I blacked out instantly and when I woke up, I was lying on the ground with paramedics looking over me. It was humiliating.”

“I bet they’ve seen worse.”

She nodded and looked like she was considering it. “True. At least I had pants on.”

I agreed. “Did you see anyone while you were throwing away the bag?”

“Nope.” She popped her lips with the word. “I didn’t see anyone or hear anyone come behind me. It all happened so fast.”

“Did you only have one wound?”