The Phyllis Files Ch. 03

"Did you see what color his hair was?" Cindy asked.

"No... in fact, he had no hair at all... all of it had been shaved off his back and legs and... and his crotch." Goldberg said, wincing at the memory of the man's crotch.

"Did he say anything? What was his voice like?" Cindy asked.

"He talked in kind of a whisper." Goldberg said. "I heard him grunting while he was raping my wife. He was saying 'I'm going to come inside you, bitch! I'm going to knock you up!'. After he finished with her, he was getting dressed to leave and he looked at me and said 'That's how a real man fucks a woman, you little cuckold. You'll never be able to fuck her like I just did!'."

"What clothes did he put on?" Teddy Parker asked.

"All black. Slacks and some kind of black sweatshirt with long sleeves."

"What about your wife?" asked Cindy. "Was she tied up? Gagged?"

"She had duct tape on her mouth, like I did." Goldberg said. Her hands were tied to the headboard."

"Did you happen to see a clock in the room?" Parker asked.

"No." said Goldberg. "I was on the far side of the bed, next to it. The clock on the table next to me was facing the bed, where I couldn't see it. I didn't really see the other one because of... them on the bed."

"Any identifying marks on the man, or anything that could help us identify him?" Cindy asked.

"Just... just that his penis was large... very large. I thought that it must really be hurting Lisa..."

"So what happened next?" Cindy said.

"The guy said 'Bye, Cucky!' to me, then put a rag with chloroform on it over my nose and I blacked out. I woke up the next morning, as Lisa was untying me. She said she'd worked free of the rope tying her to the headboard. I wanted to call the police then, but she started crying and telling me not to, that she was too humiliated. We argued about it all day."

"Parker," Cindy said, "we've got to get a Crime Lab team over to the Goldberg townhouse right away. Secure the sheets, the ropes, anything Mrs. Goldberg was wearing-"

"Detective," Paul Goldberg interrupted, "that's part of the problem: she washed the sheets and her clothes before I could stop her."

"What?!" Cindy gasped, then recovered. "She destroyed the evidence?"

"Yes ma'am." said Goldberg. "She also showered and douched. She said she wanted to wash what he left inside her away, that she felt polluted."

The look on Cindy's face was that special kind of exasperation in comprehending the stupidity of human beings.

-------

Coming into the anteroom, Cindy almost collided with Phyllis.

"Phyllis!" Cindy said. "You know the Commander insists that females be attended by female officers at all times! What are you doing out here?"

"Relax, Lieutenant." said Phyllis. "Patrol Officer Lydia Green is in Interrogation-B with Mrs. Goldberg. I was watching your interview with Mr. Goldberg. Fascinating, wouldn't you say?"

"I think 'stunning' is more likely what I'd say." said Cindy. "Do me a favor and keep me from losing my temper when I ask Mrs. Goldberg about destroying the evidence."

The two women went into Interrogation-Bravo. "Officer Green, please stay with us." Cindy said. "Corporal Kirkpatrick, you can go. Stay with Mr. Goldberg until I get back in there." Kirkpatrick left.

"Okay, Mrs. Goldberg-"

"Am I free to go?" Lisa Goldberg asked roughly.

"Mrs. Goldberg," Cindy said, "your husband just reported that you were forcibly raped. Don't you want to help us in our investigation?"

"No!" Lisa said, nearly yelling. "Now am I free to go, or am I being detained against my will?"

"Mrs. Goldberg," Cindy said, "I simply don't understand-"

"Detective, have you ever been raped?" Lisa Goldberg hissed.

"No." said Cindy.

"Yes." said Phyllis, touching Cindy's arm to let her know that she, Phyllis, was taking charge of the questioning, remembering how Jonas Oldeeds had helped himself to her (Phyllis) many years before.

Phyllis reached across the table and gave Lisa Goldberg's arm a reassuring squeeze, observing the woman's wrists as she did so. "And I understand how you feel, dear. But at this point, your husband has made a report to Police. It's in our hands now, and the genie is out of the bottle and cannot be put back in, so to speak. We can be discreet, Mrs. Goldberg, but at this point, we must make a formal investigation. Now, would you please tell us what happened that night?"

"I will not." said Mrs. Goldberg. "I will not answer any of your questions. I am invoking my right to remain silent. Now either get a warrant to arrest me, or let me walk out of here. Otherwise, you're holding me against my will illegally."

Cindy Ross simply could not hide the astonishment on her face, but Phyllis remained cool. "Lieutenant, I believe we should let Mrs. Goldberg go, but not let her go into her home until the search warrant is executed."

"Sounds good." said Cindy. "Officer Green, escort Mrs. Goldberg to the waiting room out front and wait with her until her husband arrives to take her home.

Part 2 - Roadblocks

"Did you notice Mrs. Goldberg's wrists?" Phyllis asked as Cindy drove to the Goldberg townhouse.

"Yes." Cindy said. "She had abrasions, as if she'd been tied up."

"Yes," said Phyllis. "Mr. Goldberg's abrasions were much worse, though. He was tied up very tightly."

At the townhouse, the Crime Lab team found that the sheets in question, as well as Mrs. Goldberg's panties, had been washed with a goodly portion of bleach. In addition, when Technician Christina Cho brought her fluorescent light to bear on the mattress, there was no fresh semen that had seeped through for her to extract as evidence.

"There's nothing fresh at all on that bed." said Christina. "I'd even suggest the Goldbergs have not been having unprotected intercourse on that bed for months." The same result was found with the guest bedroom's mattress: no fresh semen stains.

"I can clear that up." said Phyllis. She made her way downstairs, to the den where the Goldbergs were sitting... and sitting apart, not speaking.

"Mr. Goldberg, may I have a moment with you?" asked Phyllis. He followed her into the kitchen.

"Mr. Goldberg," Phyllis said in her most grandmotherly voice, "would you mind telling me the nature of your wounds... the full nature?"

Goldberg hesitated, then said "One piece of shrapnel got me right in the n- er, the testicles. They had to be removed. I can still have sex, using Viagra, but I'm totally sterile."

"I see, and I'm so sorry to hear that." Phyllis said. "So tell me about your deployment: when did you leave, and when did you get back?"

"I got back about four months ago." said Goldberg. "I'm in the National Guard. We were called up for a one year tour, then we were back a year, then called for another year... but that became almost two years. After I was injured, I was sent on home, but my unit is just coming back now."

"I see." said Phyllis, using a phrase her son used way too frequently. "Now I must ask you to be honest with me: are you being treated for PTSD?"

Goldberg again paused, then said "Well, the therapist keeps coming around and asking me questions, but I really am having no problems. I've refused to go in for appointments, even went to the JAGs about it, but they asshole doctors are still trying to say I have it. I think they're only doing that to try to keep me from being able to have a gun and be able to exercise my Second Amendment rights, so I've taken legal action over it." That was a huge national issue, Phyllis knew, as it got her son riled up at times, but she went past that for now.

"So you're not on medication for anything psycho-traumatic?"

"No ma'am." Goldberg said resolutely.

"Thank you, Mr. Goldberg." Phyllis asked. "Now let me ask you this: how did the criminal get into your home here?"

"I'm not sure." said Goldberg. "I'm thinking a door must've been left unlocked by accident. There's no damage to any of them. I also thought I'd set the door and window alarm that night, but apparently it didn't go off... maybe I thought I set it but really didn't."

"Don't stress on that." Phyllis said, again in her grandmotherly voice. "So do you have any idea why your wife is so adamant about the police not investigating this crime against her?"

Goldberg's face became angry. "I have no idea, and to be honest with you, Detective, it's pissing me off. I had to drag her to the Station to report the crime, and she fought me tooth and nail the whole way. She says she doesn't want to be humiliated, but I just don't buy that. Hell, I'm humiliated by what happened, but I want the police to find the bastard that raped my wife and put him in jail... let him get his ass raped and see how it feels..."

"Easy now, Mr. Goldberg." Phyllis said. "Just one final question: before this incident, how were relations between you and your wife?"

"Uh... they were pretty good, but it's been difficult after I came back from Afghanistan... in my condition. By the way, ma'am, how did you know that I'd been there? We've never met, have we?"

"Oh no, we've never met." Phyllis said, her eyes twinkling. "But take a look at yourself in the mirror and you'll easily see how I was able to deduce that you'd been in service in Afghanistan."

"She's a regular Mycroft Holmes." said Cindy, entering the kitchen. "Detective Troy, we're wrapping up here, unless you have something further you'd like to ask."

"Is Mrs. Goldberg still remaining silent?" Phyllis asked.

"Yes." Cindy replied.

"Mr. Goldberg," Phyllis said, "where does your wife work?"

"Forbes & Sehgal Engineering." said Paul Goldberg. "They're an Environmental Engineering company in the City, and my wife works at the local branch office here. It's in the Office District." The Office District was in the Northeast sector of Town, just northeast of Courthouse Square, stretching towards the University to the East.

"She's a paralegal for one of their lawyers, there." Goldberg added helpfully.

"God damn you, Paul, would you shut the fuck up and stop telling the police about me?" Lisa Goldberg said menacingly as she entered the kitchen.

"I'll tell them anything that will help them put the man that raped you in prison, Lisa." Paul Goldberg replied matter-of-factly.

"You bastard, you just won't drop it will you?" Lisa said, tears springing from her eyes. "You want this to get out, don't you? You want me to be humiliated in front of my friends, don't you... DON'T YOU!!"

"Come on, Mrs. Goldberg." Cindy said, leading the increasingly upset Lisa Goldberg out of the room.

Phyllis turned to Mr. Goldberg and asked "Who are your wife's friends, her social circle, especially while you were away with the military?"

"Most of her friends were work-related, especially the other paralegals. I've been able to talk to them about my legal issues, as well." Goldberg said. "And I think they'll be a lot more understanding than she realizes."

"Thank you, Mr. Goldberg." Phyllis said. "However, let me say this: your wife is right and you are wrong about how people will react if they find out about her being raped. They will look upon her as a defiled woman, as someone who is soiled and shamed. They will not understand how she feels, and while they might be sympathetic to her face, she will find that they are not the true friends she needs at this time."

"If that is all, Detective," Goldberg said coldly, "I think you should begin searching for the man that invaded my home and raped my wife."

-------

"Not a thing." said Crime Lab Technician Christina Cho. "No sign of forced entry, all doors and windows are fine. Patrolman have already knocked on doors, and no one saw any strangers last night, though they admitted they weren't exactly looking out their windows. Mrs. Goldberg totally destroyed the evidence of the rape, and this is not the first time I've seen a woman do that after being raped. So all we have is the husband's description of the rapist "

"Thanks Christina." Cindy said. "You and the Crime Lab team can head back when you're finished." As Christina left them, Cindy said "Well, this one is going to be hard."

"Nonsense, my dear." said Phyllis. "Let's get some lunch, and then we'll go out and solve it." Cindy knew enough to just shut her mouth and go with the flow.

Part 3 - Like A Good Neighbor...

"Oh, that was such a delicious lunch." Phyllis said as she and Cindy finished up lunch at a cafe near Town Fitness Centers that Cindy had wanted to try. "So, my dear, what do you think of this case, so far?"

"I know only ten percent of rapes are reported to police." said Cindy. "Still, I can't ever recall a rape victim taking the Fifth to avoid publicity. So this one is strange from the get-go."

"Indeed." Phyllis said. "And in the same vein, I can't recall hearing of a husband so eager for the police to investigate his wife's rape. Most men who are subdued and unable to help their wives, especially those forced to watch or be in the same room, are just as humiliated and don't want the publicity. But not Paul Goldberg."

"I overheard some of your conversation with him." Cindy said. "You think he's okay... or maybe they're right about him and he does have PTSD?"

"Oh, that one is more for the realm of my daughter-in-law." said Phyllis. "So, what shall we do next? If you have no other plans, I'd suggest we go by Mrs. Goldberg's place of work."

"I have a meeting with your son and the Police Chief when I get back." Cindy said. "I'll ask Patrol Officer Lydia Green to go with you. She's something of a feminist, so keep her in check. By the way..." Cindy said, then stopped, thinking.

"Yes, dear?"

"I'm just wondering how you're going to approach the co-workers." Cindy said. "Obviously you don't want to go in there shouting to the four corners that Mrs. Goldberg was raped in front of her husband."

"That's very true, dear." Phyllis said. "I think I'm going to call my son and get you out of that meeting, and ask him to let me borrow you for the day. We'll become a Police Psychologists, and if you'll be may 'wingman', I'll be asking about the relations with the husband."

"Be careful, there, too." Cindy said. "If the shit hits the fan on that, Don'll fire me for sure."

"Don't worry, dear." Phyllis said. "Don doesn't want to feel a blue crowbar on his own ass..."

Cindy burst out laughing at that sentence...

--------

As Phyllis and Cindy were escorted to the office of Kevin Granger, who was Lisa Goldman's boss at Forbes & Sehgal Engineering, Phyllis noted the modern office with cubicles, brightly lighted. It felt very professional.

"What can I do for you ladies?" asked Granger, as he had the ladies sit down. Phyllis noted that Granger was tall, with black, somewhat curly hair, and a solidly strong physique underneath his crisp, white, collard shirt and expensive, in-fashion silk tie. He was also very handsome, and had an engaging but commanding personality. And Phyllis was definitely impressed with the huge bulge in Granger's pants. He had a package, and Phyllis would not have minded trying Granger out... sexually, that is.

"Thank you so much for seeing us today, Mr. Granger." said Phyllis. "I hope that I may rely upon your total discretion for the questions I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask. It's about your employee Lisa Goldman, or rather about her husband, Paul. I'm conducting a routine investigation on behalf of the V.A. about his post-injury status."

"Uhhh, sure," said Granger, looking concerned, "but I'm not sure I can help you."

"Well, I'm hoping you can tell me if you've heard anything about Mr. Goldman's state of mind since coming home from the war."

"Well, not really." said Granger. "I know that he was wounded pretty severely, and... well, I don't want to break Lisa's confidence in me..."

"I quite understand." said Phyllis. "So Lisa is your administrative assistant?"

"Oh no, she's my paralegal." Granger said.

"You're a lawyer?" Cindy asked.

"No, I'm an engineer." said Granger. "I'm a principal with the firm here, authorized to sign contracts. She handles the contracts that come my way. By the way, madam, you look familiar to me. Have we met?"

"No sir, I don't think so." replied Cindy, realizing that Granger might've remembered seeing Cindy on the news when she received the Medal of Valor. She was a bit too public a figure to be doing this 'undercover' work with Phyllis, she realized.

Phyllis came to the rescue: "So Lisa has not said anything that would suggest Paul is having problems adjusting to civilian life?"

"No, only that he's had what I think are typical adjustments to civilian life after being in a war zone." said Granger. "Occasional nightmares he wakes up out of, things like that."

"I see." said Phyllis. "And no unusual problems in the Goldberg's marriage?"

"Uh... not that I know of," replied Granger, "and to be honest, I don't think I would want to tell you even if I did know. I don't want anything I say to be misinterpreted or to cause... problems with the Goldbergs."

"I perfectly understand." said Phyllis. "And I do hate having to trouble you and others with questions. We're simply trying to make sure Mr. Goldberg is doing well after his return. If I may ask, does his wife have any particularly close friends here at work?"

"She and a couple of the other paralegals would sometimes go out after work." said Granger. "I'll call them into the conference room next door for you."

"Oh, is that your family, Mr. Granger?" Phyllis asked, pointing to a picture of a pretty woman with brown hair and two small children.

"Oh! Why yes, it is." said Granger, his eyes lighting up.

"Oh, the kids are just precious." Phyllis said. "My son has two babies, and I'm sure yours are as much a joy to you as his are to me."

"Yes, they're wonderful." said Granger as he picked up the phone to call Lisa Goldberg's friends.

"So has your wife returned to full health?" Phyllis asked. Granger dropped the phone, which landed on the desk with a clatter.

"How could you possibly know..." he said, staring at her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Mr. Granger," said Phyllis, "I did not mean to intrude on your personal lives that way. I just can see the scar from her operation just under her hairline in the photograph. Again, I apologize for upsetting you."

"Oh my goodness, that was a trick worthy of Sherlock Holmes." said Granger. "And to answer your question, she's just about 100% now, though she tires easily."

"Ah, that's wonderful. I hope she'll continue her recovery." said Phyllis, getting up to leave a very startled Kevin Granger in the office.

A few moments later, two women came into the conference room. Phyllis gave her spiel about the V.A. "I know that I'm asking you to possibly break confidences, and I will be sure to be discreet, as I know you'll be about the nature of this inquiry. Can you tell me if Lisa said anything about her marriage or her husband that was out of the ordinary?"

"Well, she was very unhappy about him having to make a second tour." one of the women said. "And then they extended it. And then he was wounded and came home early, and he's been recovering from his wounds. He was hurt pretty badly, but they wouldn't give him combat compensation... said something about it being an accident and not a war casualty. She was mad about that."

"Since he's come home," Phyllis asked, "how has their marriage been, in your respective opinions?"

The two women looked at each other. "Lisa hasn't really said anything." one of them finally said. "But I can tell she's been under some strain. Especially the last two or three weeks or so. We wanted to take her out for a drink after work the other day, to talk about it, but she said she was swearing off alcohol and that she also needed to get back home."