Distractions (2 page)

enrolled at the university long ago. He

was the professor of my genetics class

and struck by my thesis on the
Impacts

of Artificial Selection
. He took me

under his wing and I thrived under the

academic challenges he presented. The

opportunity to work with someone as

legendary as the Doc, which I so

affectionately call him, was an honor.

“What are your plans for the next

two weeks, Violet? I haven’t heard you

mention anything and I better not hear

that you were in here tinkering.”

Did he really know me that well? I

suppose previous experience would give

him that type of insight.

“Actually, Shepard is on his way

back from Vanderbilt and will be

helping me catch up on some painting.”

Doc’s face took on a strange

expression. “No family? What about

your sister Vivienne?”

“She’s not coming up here when

it’s this cold. She is making too much

money on the dolphin tours right now.

Who would leave Key West in

December, really?”

“Violet, I just worry about you, I

can’t help it. You need a life; you are too

young to sit holed away in this lab all the

time. The only time you even mention

anyone other than Vivienne is when you

talk about Shepard, and even then, it is

rare. What is the story with him anyway?

I saw your cheeks pink up a little when

you said his name.”

Nothing escaped this man; it was

disturbing. I felt the corners of my mouth

turn up slightly. It was true I was

becoming quite fond of my young

neighbor.

“I am too old for him; he just helps

me when he’s on break for extra cash.

His father is a piece of work; I think he

uses it as a way to avoid dealing with

him.”

“What’s too old? You are only

twenty-six, for Pete’s sake, and how old

is he? He’s over twenty, if I am not

mistaken.”

“Twenty-one – that’s five years

younger than me. He doesn’t need me

corrupting him.” I shook my head back

and forth, dismissing the thoughts as they

filtered into consciousness.

Taking another sip of scotch, it

burned as it coated my mouth with its

sharp pungent flavor.

“Where is all this coming from?

When did you suddenly become so

interested in my love life? I thought you

quite enjoyed my total dedication.” I

tried laughing, but this conversation was

odd, even between us. He paused again,

collecting

whatever

thought

was

pressing forward.

“I don’t like the idea of you being

alone – that’s all.”

He looked down at the floor after

speaking with a soft voice. I had no idea

what was going on, but he appeared to

age ten years before my eyes. I wanted

to ask, but refrained. I did not question

him, ever. I knew he made the discovery

over a year ago, yet for some reason, he

continued to have us run samples. My

silence seemed to reinforce his trust in

me; I figured he had his reasons.

I walked over to him and placed my

hand on his arm, rubbing affectionately.

“I am not going to die like some old cat

lady; I’m not the innocent girl you think I

am.”

His hand reached up to hold mine

against his arm. This intimate moment

weighted in sadness. “You may be

surprised to know that I have never

thought of you as being the innocent type.

More like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

I placed my hand over my mouth to

stifle the laugh; I could not believe what

he just said. “Say what?” My high-

pitched response finally drew the grin I

had been seeking. Although it was brief,

it was something. “Well, Doc, my

intentions are never malicious. I cannot

help that I am a too much trouble for my

own good. At least let me believe that.”

His face became serious again,

weaving back and forth through emotion.

“Violet, it’s not a bad thing. Wolves are

actually quite stoic creatures who have

earned a poor reputation. Wolves are not

malicious, either. They are highly

intelligent, loyal, and very protective…

kind of like someone I know.” After a

paused silence, his demeanor changed in

a flash becoming austere. “I am going to

walk you to your car tonight, okay?” His

voice was low and shaking.

I stood still for a moment; none of

this was making sense. Bringing my

heavy wool coat off the rack and placing

it on my shoulders, he leaned into my

ear. “Do you trust me, Violet?”

I stilled at the question. His facial

expression

grew

signs

of

panic;

something definitely was wrong. I

simply nodded in agreement. Opening

the door out to the darkened hallway, he

remained silent until we reached the

security desk.

“I am walking Ms. Phillips to her

car tonight, I will be right back.”

Rory, the main night shift officer,

grabbed the rim of his black ball cap and

tipped it politely to the doctor, then

turned to me and raised his middle

finger. I smiled as we walked out

through the double steel doors and into

the frigid night on the other side. My

nostrils flared, taking in the freezing still

air and breathing out clouds of steam.

“What was that all about, Violet?”

“Oh, Rory hates suspenders with a

passion for some odd reason; he goes on

and on about it. So for Christmas, I

stopped at that cute little German shop in

Mainstrasse and bought a pair of really

tacky ones with flowers on them as a

joke.”

“I see.” Not attempting to inquire

anymore about the incident, he brushed it

off as if it never happened. The Doc’s

mind was somewhere else. “Where did

you park at?” I watched his eyes scan the

perimeter of the building before walking

down the salt covered steps with his arm

holding onto my elbow.

“Lot C, where I always do. You

don’t have to do this, I will be fine.”

His grip tightened on my arm and

we began to walk towards the lot.

“Doc, you’re freaking me out.

What’s going on?”

Our pace quickened slightly until

we were just out of sight of the main

door. He softened his grip, yet his hands

remained locked onto my arm. In almost

a whisper, and through clenched teeth,

he started to speak.

“Violet, what I am about to do is

going to scare you, but you have to trust

me. I won’t hurt you, I promise.”

We had just reached my small

silver SUV when I reached into my

purse to fish out my keys, the leather

gloves making it difficult to feel through

all the clutter in there. Finding the fob, I

clicked the button to unlock the doors

and reached for the handle. As I turned

around to say good-bye to the doctor,

both of his hands immediately flew to

either side of me, trapping me against the

driver’s side. This was not happening.

“Hold still, Violet,” he pleaded.

My eyes were able to see his face

despite the low fluorescent lights in the

lot. It was full of sadness and fear. He

started to press against me with his head,

leaning into my neck.

“Please trust me. Tell me you trust

me.”

His voice was now full of agony,

creating shudders along my spine. Surely

he could feel my heart beating so

rapidly, it was about to burst.

The knot in my throat kept any

screams from coming out as the

sensation of ice-cold fingers sliding

down the front of my pants pulled all the

air in my lungs. Anticipating the pending

assault, my mind raced with what to do

to get away from this situation. I closed

my eyes, feeling the hot tears roll down

my cheeks, freezing before they hit my

chin. He pressed a small metal item

against the lips of my vulva before

removing his hand and placing it on my

side. He pretended to nuzzle along my

neck, holding his breath as he moved

back up to the shell of my ear.

“You need to leave now and go to

Jack’s. Stay there all night, do not leave,

and do not go home. I know you don’t

understand, but these will tell you

everything.”

I watched his other hand drop

another metal item from the sleeve of his

lab coat into his palm before he dragged

it under my shirt and up to my breast. My

eyes grew wide as I felt the cold item

slip into my bra.

“Why are you acting like I will

never see you again?”

His hand ran along the side of my

cheek and down my jaw. “You were the

daughter I always wanted; I will never

stop thanking God for you. Now you

need to scream and fight me away.”

I shook my head frantically in

refusal.

“You must, Violet. We’re being

watched; it’s the only way.” His

expression was shattered. “Do it –

there’s no time.”

The urgency in his voice gave

enough warning that he was serious. A

million questions ran through my mind.

Tightening the grip on my arm once

again, he pulled me back to the moment.

Dragging in the deepest breath, I

screamed like a banshee and began to

revolt against him. Trying my best to be

believable, yet without causing damage,

was difficult. It was mere seconds

before the campus police pulled their

cars up to the altercation. One officer

pulled me away while the other

restrained Dr. Robertson. My confusion

at the situation was easily mistaken for

anger.

“Get him away from me!”

I tightened my eyes shut so I did not

have to see the pain my words would

evoke. The officer placed him in the

back of the car, while the other stayed to

ask me a few questions.

“Are you hurt ma’am? Do you need

to go to the hospital? Do you want to

press charges?”

I

kept

mostly

silent,

only

responding when needed, except to the

last question.

“Can I decide later? I just want to

leave and I’m not hurt. Is that okay?”

Another

few

campus

police

vehicles quickly pulled up to the

incident as there was not much going on

elsewhere.

“Ma’am, I am sorry. Even if you

don’t press charges, we still need you to

come and give a statement since this

happened on University property. I also

don’t think you should be driving. Can

you call someone to come down and get

you?”

A moment later, another cruiser

pulled up and Rory hopped out with a

panicked look on his face. Seeing Doc in

the back of the car and me being

questioned, he broke through the other

officers.

“Ms. Phillips, what happened?”

Knowing he just saw us a few

moments ago, I could tell he was

blaming himself for whatever may or

may not have taken place.

“I’m okay, Rory. Can you call Jack

and ask him to come and pick me up?”

I pulled out my phone and gave him

the number to reach Jack. He was the

only person I could think of at this hour

who would come down to the station.

Nodding in agreement, he walked off

and immediately started dialing the

number off the small piece of paper.

The first person to respond to the

scene was Officer Stayton and she

insisted on being the one to take me in

for my statement. I assumed she was

bored with nothing to do and this would

get her out of patrol for a few hours. She

was a younger woman who I had not

seen making rounds before, which

probably explained her enthusiasm. As I

was getting into the back of the cruiser,

Rory ran up and tapped on the window.

“Jack is on his way. I’m sorry – I

didn’t think anything of it when Dr.

Robertson said he was walking you to