A Woman Scorned

Then she asked if I had been aroused, and if I'd climaxed, after assuring me that this was perfectly natural, even during terrifying rapes, since the body's coping strategy during rape was almost always to lubricate, the body's way of protecting itself against dangerous trauma, and that actual climax, although not universal, was not uncommon, even during an aggressive assault such as I described.

I assured her that, although I had lubricated, which had made his invasion less painful after the initial terrible pain of his invasion of me, I had not reached climax, nor anywhere near it.

"I suppose I might have done in better circumstances, but he treated me with hostility and contempt from start to finish, and I'm not at all a masochist, and have never been attracted to sadistic or vicious men in any way, so this was not some sort of bodice-ripping fantasy for me. I endured, that's all, and said whatever I thought might please him, because my father had told me that it's important in dangerous situations to convince your assailant that you sympathise with him, at least at some level. I did inform him that what he contemplated was rape, and that I didn't consent, but didn't belabour the issue once he'd started, nor did I scream for help, because it seemed a useless exercise. I was inside a closed car, and that was inside a closed garage, beyond of anyone's sight or hearing, so I didn't think that anyone could possibly hear me if I had done."

"Why do you think he raped you from behind like that?"

"I'm not exactly sure; possibly because he wanted to treat me like an animal to degrade and humiliate me? Possibly because he might have thought that I'd be less likely to be able to identify him if I couldn't see his face in close proximity to mine? I don't know, and he didn't explain. The situation wasn't at all conducive to heartfelt talks or the sharing of intimate confidences, nor did I trust him to do anything but lie. Hetoldme that he'd let me live, but I had no particular reason to trust him. I'dseenhim do an obvious 'pigeon-drop' manoeuvre with the supposed 'bribe' money, carefully showing me real money which he made an elaborate show of sealing in a stamped envelope, then ostentatiously depositing it in his pocket whilst he 'explained' that I shouldn't open the 'valuable' envelope until some time had passed, for some bullshit reason offered with glib assurance, so I'm fairly sure that he's pulled the same general sort of scam before, so his rap sheet might well include short cons as well as robberies and rapes. In any case, he then pulled out of the same pocket an envelope whichseemedvery similar to the stamped envelope with money in it and handed it to me with the assurance that this was my 'gift' in return for not calling the cops right away. The whole scene looked about as 'real' and 'convincing' as a game of three-card monte, and I was meant to be the 'mark,' so it looks like that he's had a lot of practice, unless he happens to be an amateur magician."

Officer Fredericks interrupted at that point to say, "Your assessment of that particular situation was right, by the way. The envelope you gave us in evidence was filled with worthless scrap paper, all cut to the size of real bills, and he had an identical envelope on his person containing a thousand dollars in ten hundred-dollar bills," just as you described to us. From your description of his faux 'bribe,' we expect both envelopes to have his saliva and DNA on them.

"I thought as much, so I can't say that I'm surprised, although I have to admit that the moneywouldhave been very handy, had it been real." I shrugged. "It's been pretty much of a crappy day, so I didn't expect ice cream and cake at the end of it."

"Well," he said, "don't give up hoping quite yet. One of our officers on the scene described your ordeal to your employer in a completely non-specific way, other than that it was horrific and terrifying, and rather carefully explained that your courage and quick thinking saved his company quite a lot of money, not all of which would have been reimbursed by his insurance company, since it was all in unverified cash receipts, which we recovered when we arrested him based upon your tips. I suspect that he'll be giving you some sort of reward, and the City has a 'Crime-Fighters' fund which pays out on verified evidence which leads to an arrest and prosecution, which of course is true in your case, and for a crime of this magnitude you'll definitely receive at least a thousand bucks, perhaps more, since I don't keep track of what's on offer for various crimes. Armed robbery and rape would count twice, so I think the reward is fairly substantial if both are proved in court and result in convictions, which I don't doubt will happen in the slightest, since we've got him dead to rights. We have a lineup scheduled for late tomorrow afternoon sometime, to which many of the store employees and customers present during the initial crime are invited, and we'd like you there as well, if it's not too disturbing for you."

"I'd be glad to come, of course. I have an obligation to see this man brought to justice, if at all possible, and I suspect that any decent defence attorney could make a lot of mileage out of any failure to identify the man on my part, despite any other available evidence. Juries, as I understand it, trust eyewitness testimony almost implicitly, even though it's one of the least reliable indicators of guilt or innocence in actuality."

Officer Fredericks smiled. "It's very clear to me that you're Rick Hamilton's daughter. He had the same sort of clear and incisive mind, as well as the same dedication to justice."

"Thank you, Officer Fredericks. I consider that high praise, although I'm sure I don't come up to my father's skill and dedication. If I really did, I wouldn't be stuck in a dead-end salesclerk job."

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Tess. You've had some tough breaks, that's for sure, but maybe it's time your luck turned itself around, and call me Frank."

"Frank Fredericks? You're kidding. Did your parents watch one to many Sesame Streets sponsored by the Letter F?"

"Actually," he confided in me, "it's Francis, but keep it quiet. I wouldn't like the guys at the station to get any weird ideas about me. My mother had a thing about animals, and managed to convince my Dad that I should be named after St Francis of Assisi."

"You're Catholic?" She smiled.

"Yep. The whole nine yards, Catholic school, altar boy, and guilt."

"Same here, except that I somehow missed being an altar boy."

"Well, two out of three ain't bad, considering that you're definitely a girl, and lot better looking than any of the altar boys thatIwent to school with."

She blushed and said, "Well, you're definitely not seeing me on anything like my best day."

"Are you kidding me? I've seen you underfire, as cool and collected as a cucumber in a situation that would have made a lot of women fall into a million tiny pieces. Hell's bells! You even had the presence of mind to identify the make and model of thegunhe pointed at you! Begging your pardon for the curse word, but I've seen a lot ofcopswho didn't see anything but the hole at the end of the barrel in a situation like that!"

"That's okay, Frank. I've felt like cursing several times today myself. My father told me many times that I had to keep calm and keep thinking in a situation like that if I were to have any chance of surviving, so I played it by my father's playbook from start to finish. Iknewthat the creep might kill me if he thought that I hadn't been fooled by his con, since 'dead men tell no tales,' and the best witness from a criminal's viewpoint is one who can't testify later. Anyone who carries a gun to commit a crime has already made up his mind to kill if things don't go his way, and holding up a store full of people at gunpoint is an entirely different kettle of fish than some street punk knocking down a little old lady for her purse."

"Yeah, well, he may have talked tough to civilians, but he folded pretty damned quick when he was surrounded by five cops with their service weapons aimed at his heart, although it justmighthave been the sergeant with the shotgun that changed his mind about any James Cagney shootouts." He rolled his eyes expressively. "Iwassurprised to hear that he made a show of resistance at the last minute that forced our boys to take him down using minimal force."

She smiled. "I did notice that he wasn't quite as nattily-attired and groomed as he'd been when last I saw him. It astonishes me, though, that for all his clever planning, he was caught through very simple mistakes. He pretended to have a motorcycle, but couldn't bother himself to park a block or two away so I couldn'thearwhat he was doing when he walked out of the garage. And then the notion of robbing any store these days without considering the possibility of surveillance cameras was incredibly stupid to begin with."

"Not only that, Tess; he assumed that you were as stupid ashewas, and you know what happens when you assume...."

She grinned. "You let an ass lead U."

"Exactly!" He backed away from the examination table and said, "Look, Tess, I know it's too soon to ask you this, and I don't want to look like I'm taking advantage of any vulnerability, but in a week or two, if you feel like talking to me, about anything at all, I'll leave a note addressed to you at the front desk of the downtown cop shop. All it will say is my telephone number, so maybe you could give me a call sometime. Maybe we could talk about your dad, or something."

"Maybe we could, Frank, but let's both of us get back to work right now. I've got some thinking to do, and you... distract me."

"Not a problem. I'm here to sign forms is all, right now."

She smiled at him, "Thank you, Frank. One of the many things I like about you is that you know when to back off a bit, but are still bold enough to let a girl know that you're interested, and gentleman enough to say, 'It's up to you.' It's a very attractive quality in a man, at least arealman."

When the examination was done, the last specimen bagged, labeled, signed, and countersigned, she asked to speak to Doctor Ramachandran alone, so everyone filed out of the examination area with her thanks and good wishes, which were warmly returned. Then she said bluntly, "Doctor, I know that there's a possibility not only of venereal disease, but also pregnancy, given timing of my monthly cycle, and I'd like you to treat me prophylactically for both, if you would."

"Of course, Miss Hamilton. I have two syringes already prepared, but didn't want to discuss such personal details with an audience. Are you ready now?"

"I am," she said.

"The proper dose for disease prevention is fairly large, and it should be deposited deep with a muscle, so the best location is in the buttocks, but I fully understand, given your recent experience, if you might prefer it if I divided the dosage between several other locations."

"That's alright, Doctor. I understand the difference between a doctor and a rapist." She got up and leaned over the examination table, presenting her bottom to him with some trepidation, where he promptly and gently administered her two shots — one in each buttock — with such consummate skill that she barely noticed. When he stood back, she commented, "Say, Doctor, you're about the best at giving shots I've ever had the pleasure to encounter." She stood up and arranged her hospital gown as modestly as possible, turning to look at him at the same time.

He smiled at her. "Eight years of medical school, two of internship, and five years service in the emergency room may have honed my skills a trifle. I'll give you some privacy now, so you can dress, and when you feel quite ready, go to the front desk, where the receptionist will have a packet of information ready for you. If you feel any aftereffects within the next few days, or notice any unusual discharge or odour, please don't hesitate for a moment to come in for further treatment or referral."

"Thank you, Doctor. Is there a public phone nearby? I'd like to call a few people to let them know where I am and how I'm doing."

"Of course," he said, reaching into his pocket and handing her a fistful of coins. "There's a bank of phone booths to the left of the reception desk."

"Thank you again, Doctor. I'll pay you back as soon as I get my purse from work. I left in rather a rush and didn't have time to get it... Just as well, I suppose, since the robber would probably have stolen it."

"Please don't trouble yourself, Miss Hamilton. If there's any spare change, you'll notice a donation box on the reception desk, just drop whatever you wish into the box, where some of it will go to pay all our salaries." He grinned with genuine good humour.

"I will, and thank you so much again!" she said as he left to attend to other patients, or so she imagined. There was a mirror over the lavatory on the rear wall, so she did her best to rearrange her hair, noting the terrible state of her makeup without any way to repair it, so used a tissue to remove what was left before she left the curtained area and went into the main lobby, where she saw Officer Fredericks waiting.

She waved at him as she sailed off to the reception desk, picked up her packet, and then raised one finger to him as she walked over to the phones. Her first call was into work, where she reported her safety, and let the receptionist know that she probably wouldn't be returning until the next day, explaining that she was in the hospital without divulging any other reason than that she'd had to go in to be treated, after she was rescued by the police. She did describe the ambulance ride, her first, but assured them that she'd be going straight home to rest, and evidently had a ride, since there was a policeman waiting for her.

"Don't worry about it," she was assured. "Old Man French was so tickled to be told that he was going to get his money back that he'd given her two days off with pay in what passed for gratitude in his otherwise flinty heart."

She smiled. Hewasa bit of a tightwad, but told the receptionist to thank him very kindly, none-the-less, then rang off with mutual good cheer.

Her next call was to her father's lawyer. She explained her circumstances and, after he expressed his shock and sympathy, told him the main purpose of her call. "The robber's name is Evan Morrison, and he's local; I overheard them mention it in the Emergency room, where he was brought in by the police to attend to his own injuries after resisting arrest. He abducted me as a hostage after robbing the store I work at with menace of firearm, then raped me rather violently when he'd reached a place of safety that he'd prepared as an interim getaway location. I'd like to file a civil suit for damages and trauma as soon as possible, before his attorneys get hold of it, and understand that he has a very valuable motorcar, and possibly other assets. He has a criminal record, if that's any help in finding him, and his automobile is a Dodge Charger Redline, whatever that is. I've never been all that interested in cars, so that's all Greek to me."

"Don't worry about it, Tess. I'll find him, and then tie him up in so many knots by the end of the day that he'll wish thathe'dbeen kidnapped."

"I understand that he'll remain here in the hospital for some time before he's taken in to be booked, but there may not be all that much time to spare, because it all depends on how quickly the doctors here fix him up and then release him for booking. The last I saw of him he was sitting handcuffed to a wheelchair and waiting, because the waiting room in Emergency was quite busy, but I sailed on through the line because they had to collect legal evidence of his crime before it was washed away or degraded."

"Please do spare me the details, dear Tess. I remember you as a child, and it distresses me to think that you've been badly used."

"I'm sure that it will all come out, in any case. You know how rape cases go, so I'll be cross-examined mercilessly at his trial, but I'm as tough as nails, and I won't let him get away to do this sort of thing to any other women if I can possibly help it!"

"Then he's done this before?"

"I'm sure of it. He actually bragged about it during... my experience."

"How would you feel about joining together with other young women who've been similarly assaulted?"

"What would that entail?"

"We'd have to advertise, discreetly, and through an agency, I think, to remove ourselves from any direct contact, but rape cases tend to be very difficult, and the corroboration of other women might, or might not, be valuable."

"I can see it going both ways," she said, "since he offered me a bribe to essentially collude with him in getting away with a felony, although the bribe itself was a deceptive con game. But if he managed to rope some of these women in with his patter, they might be reluctant to come forward for fear of criminal indictment."

"Deceptive? Exactly how?"

"He pulled a variation of the pigeon drop in which he put a thousand dollars in an envelope, put it in his pocket for 'safekeeping,' then pulled out what was ostensibly the same envelope for me to keep as my 'reward' for not notifying the authorities immediately so he could make a clean getaway."

"And you believed him?"

"I did not. I recognised the set-up for the switch as soon as I saw it, but pretended to be fooled because he might otherwise have knocked me unconscious to achieve a similar delay, or even killed me, since it's difficult to know the difference between a blow meant to render someone unconscious and one that might kill someone, even if the fatality were 'accidental.' I didn't want to take a chance, and he was armed with an automatic pistol. He held all the cards."

"What happened when he left?"

"He tied me up, but since I'd convinced him that I was going along with his scam, he tied me fairly loosely, so I was able to free myself very quickly, then to almost immediately access the telephone in the home where I'd been taken and make a prompt police report using the 911 system, so I knew that they would know where I was, even though I didn't. It was early enough that the police were actually able to capture him whilst he was still in the process of making his getaway, because I disregarded his other false clues as part of the same pattern of deception."

"False clues?"

"He claimed that he was taking the Interstate out of town, and that he was riding a motorcycle, so that seemed quite likely to be exactly contrary to fact, which is what I told the police. As it turned out, I had it right, so they apprehended him whilst he was still in town. I actuallysawthe sorry bastard in the waiting room, which is how I know that he'll be delayed before his booking, and one of the policemen happened to mention that he wouldn't get his mandatory phone call before he was properly booked."

"So it's like that, is it? I don't know what it is about you Hamilton women; you're always falling for coppers."

She was moderately miffed that he'dalmosthit the nail on the head, but simply said, "It's early days yet, but hedoesseem awfully nice."

"Well, let's just get you sorted out here then. Do you need a ride home?"

"I don't." I blushed when I had to add, "That nice policeman offered to give me a ride home."

When I went back to the waiting room, Frank was waiting, so I asked him to take me home.

In the end, I didn't get all that much money from the lawsuit, since his assets had to be shared out with several other claimants, although I did get the Crime Fighters award that Frank had mentioned, and I'm driving a very nice car these days. Hey, Kevin wouldn't be using it, and it would have been a shame to have it go to waste, since he was in the slammer on five consecutive seven-year beefs, so I took it as my share. It was such a macho car, and Kevin had obviously lavished it with affection, so there seemed to be a small measure of poetic justice there.