Tainted Pictures (2 page)

He had taken two photographs of her laying on her bed, completely beaten up and barely conscious.  One photograph he had taken with him and the other photograph had been tossed at her and left for her, maybe as some sort of memento.  He had even told her to say thank you, thinking that he was doing her a favor by assaulting her.  Each bead of sweat that had dampened his ski mask reeked of narcissism.  

           Kate thought about Craig, the employee at the coffee shop that she frequented often.  She had just pointed out his mug shot to Detective Snow after hours of combing through a giant binder of mug shots.  She had been shocked to see a face she recognized and she wasn’t sure if it would even mean anything but the detective had said to tell her if there was anyone in the book that she recognized and she had immediately recognized Craig.  

           She considered what little she knew of Craig’s personality and it didn’t seem far fetched to think he would be a narcissist.  He seemed to be the exact opposite of his cousin, Jimmy, who had gotten him a job at the coffee shop and who had had a crush on Kate for years.  Kate had never paid much attention to it because he was much younger than her and had all the characteristics of a teenager, from his greasy hair to his pimply skin.  

           Kate had never actually had a conversation with Craig and had really only seen him one or two times, without really paying much attention.  However, she had remembered the intensity of his gaze and how when he had stared at her the first time she saw him.  The intensity of it made her skin crawl as if a thousand tiny insects had suddenly devoured her flesh, trying to force their way inside.  Derrick had been with her and even his instincts were alerted as he had pulled Kate tighter against him in an automatic form of protection.  However, neither one of them had ever given it more thought than that, the threat seemed minute and was quickly passed over.

           Kate took the metro to work every day and because she was a beautiful woman, she was used to getting the creeps from men who ogled her.  It didn’t occur to her that one of these random men might follow her home and attack her.  Who could predict something like that?  Kate continued walking down the sidewalk, towards her apartment, contemplating her situation.  Her stride was strong since the mug shot discovery this morning had given her a surge of confidence that she had not felt since before the attack. 

~~~~

           Kate was around five foot six inches so she wasn’t particularly tall, especially when she was standing next to Derrick who towered above her at around six and a half feet.  She was a few pounds over what she should be but luckily most of it was in places that just made her more curvy rather than plump.  She was used to attracting the wrong sort of men who only saw her for her heavy endowment up front or her curvaceous behind.  Kate also had dark brown, curly hair that hung all the way down her back and jumped about in any way it pleased, regardless of what she wanted.  Her skin was very pale in contrast to her dark brown eyes, brunette hair, and deep red lips that she inherited from her Grecian family lineage.  

           Unless Kate was going to work, she was usually dressed for comfort rather than style so she was currently sporting some yoga pants under a long sweatshirt and some tennis shoes.  Not particularly glamorous, but it was hard to feel glamorous when you still had residual bruises on your face and cuts scabbed over on your cheek.  She had put on some foundation and cover up before she left the house, but there was not enough powder in the world to hide the dark purple around her eye or the scabbed cut on her cheek.  Luckily, she was healing quickly, at  least on the outside.  

           The doctors told her that within another week the bruising should have dissipated to the point of not being visible to every stranger on the street, then a few weeks after that they should be gone entirely.  Kate couldn’t wait for that because she hated the constant reminders from every passerby that she still looked like a victim.  Sometimes she would forget about everything for a moment which was pure bliss and she longed for those chapters of her day, but inevitably someone’s stare would always ground her back into reality.  She was avoiding mirrors as much as possible so that at least she wouldn’t be one of those eyes that sting her to her very core.  

           Kate was almost home at this point and started pulling her keys out of her pocket.  She passed the alley next to her building and happened to look up towards her window, seeing the fire escape leading up there.  Her attacker had left her apartment via that exact fire escape and Kate had since locked and alarmed all of her windows, in hopes of comforting herself from the possibility of any reentry.  She shook her head as if to wipe those memories clean and headed past the alley up to her apartment building’s front door.

~~~~

           “Craig McDermott.  Twenty-two years old, living in South East reportedly with his grandmother, his aunt, and his cousin who he also works with, a high school kid named Jimmy.  Recently paroled and working at the Java Jolt per the terms of his parole regarding steady employment.  Looks like his cousin helped him to get the job.  He is just under six feet tall, of Hispanic origins, brown hair, and brown eyes.  Nothing much that would stand out if you were to pass him on the street.” Detective Mike McCraig spouted off, reading from a yellow folder as he leaned back in his chair with his feet up on the desk.

           Mike was partners with Detective Liz Snow and while she was the lead in Kate’s investigation, he was doing a lot of the background research based off the information that Liz was bringing in.  Liz had told him this morning about Kate identifying Craig’s mug shot, even though she couldn’t be sure it was her attacker.  All she knew was that she had met him before and had gotten an uneasy feeling from him.  Liz had gotten leads from less in the past, so she was confident that this wasn’t one to ignore.  

           “What’s his sheet say he did?” Liz said, referring to Craig’s criminal history.  She was sitting on her desk about five feet away from her partner, tossing rolled up paper balls into a trashcan across the room.  She wasn’t athletic but something about the rhythmic motions helped her concentrate.  

           “Just did three years out of ten because of good behavior up in New York.  He was busted after a college girl fingered him for raping her while she was passed out drunk.  Apparently he had been drinking too.  It was a big frat party, and a witness was able to support her statement saying he saw them having sex, but hadn’t realized that she was passed out from the angle he was at.  Craig denied it and I’m guessing still denies it because I don’t see anything about a confession anywhere in here.”  Mike told her.

           “Did he plead not guilty?” Liz asked.

           “Yeah, swore he was drunk and doesn’t remember that night but knows he wouldn’t do that and that he hadn’t had sex.  His defense was he can’t get it up when he is drunk, so how could he have raped anyone.” Mike snorted as he scoffed at the report he was reading.  Sometimes he couldn’t believe the things that criminals said to try to get themselves out of hot water.  

           “Shitty lawyer, that’s a crap defense.” Liz mused, wondering what the real story was behind that case.  

           “You called it, took the jury thirty minutes to return their verdict.” Mike said, sitting up and closing the folder.  He took his feet off the desk and plopped the folder down on top.  

           “I think it’s a hot lead we need to follow.  It would be a pretty insane coincidence if she happened to pick out a rapist from the binder who wasn’t her attacker.  He looks pretty good for it.”  Mike said, standing up and stretching then searching through his top drawers for some quarters to get a soda from the vending machine.

           “You think?” Liz asked, following him to get a soda.  Mike glanced at her, shooting her a puzzled look saying he didn’t understand her hesitation.

           “I mean there are a crap ton of rapists in that binder.  The district is big but it isn’t entirely out of the realm of possibilities that she would recognize someone that had nothing to do with her attack.” Liz argued the other side.

           “Don’t get stuck in tunnel vision.” Mike consolidated what Liz was saying, nodding his head in agreement.

           “Exactly.” Liz agreed and popped her coins into the machine, hitting the button for a highly caffeinated soda.  The partners headed back to their desks.  

           “Okay, let’s find out every bit we can find about Craig.  See if there are any ties we can make to Kate aside from the coffee shop.  I am going to look to see if they ever collected his fingerprints or DNA.  Maybe if it’s in the system, we will have some luck.” Liz said to Mike, although she was mostly just thinking out loud.  Mike didn’t need any instruction into how to investigate a case.  He was a seasoned professional and she had learned a lot in her time working with him.  

CHAPTER TWO

           “You look beautiful.”  Derrick said to Kate as she opened the front door for him and he walked into her apartment.  She blushed and rolled her eyes.  She was wearing blue pajama bottoms with snowmen on them and a gray tank top.  Her hair was in a loose French braid down the back of her head and she was not wearing any makeup.  She knew exactly what she looked like and beautiful was not it.  Especially when you take into consideration the stubborn bruises and lacerations on her face, arms, and chest that poked out around her tank top.  

           “Don’t roll your eyes at me, you know I don’t lie.” Derrick flashed his bad boy smile at her that made her knees tremble and a heat flare up through her core.  She couldn’t help herself from taking a moment just to enjoy the tawdry thoughts that slipped through her mind every time she looked at Derrick. They were uncontrollable and instantaneous every time those piercing eyes glanced her way, sliding right through her and taking hold of her heart.

           Derrick Kane was a twenty-seven year old lawyer that Kate had met over six months ago and it seemed that he had only become more and more handsome as each day passed.  He surpassed six feet by several inches and his skin was a delicious, creamy chocolate color that always glistened in just the right way.  His eyes were green and piercing, a striking contrast to his skin tone.  He kept his hair very short, almost entirely shaved and he pulled off the look exquisitely.  

           He worked in a law firm that partnered with public prosecutors, assisting in criminal trials and defending victims.  He had a passion for helping others, which was one of the similarities between him and Kate that had first drawn her to him.  She could feel the kindness in his spirit, but even more than that she had loved his humor.  She was always laughing when he was around and the two had an ability to effortlessly carry on witty banter that most would envy.  

           Derrick was still smiling at her, waiting for her to respond but she didn’t have anything to say because all she could think was that he looked unbelievably alluring in his leather jacket that hugged his biceps.  She reached out and touched his arm, feeling his muscle beneath firm and hard in her grasp.  He slipped an arm around her back and pulled her closer to him.  With one quick motion, he bent down and found her mouth with his.  He gently brushed his lips against hers and then pressed down with a bit more ferocity.  

           Kate smiled and kissed him back, letting her legs sag as she fell against him and let him hold most of her weight.  She moved her body against him and wrapped her arms around his neck.  She could feel his heartbeat against her breasts and it was picking up pace by the second.  Kate felt her own breath becoming ragged and her cheeks were soon warm.  She began to get a little nervous because she knew where this was heading if she did nothing to stop it, but she hadn’t decided if this is what she wanted.  Whenever the two of them were together, the chemistry was electric and they were rarely able to keep their hands off each other.  

           But Kate wasn’t ready for more than this.  Derrick and Kate had only just reconciled last night.  If you can even call that reconciling.  He had come over to apologize and she listened to what he had to say.  Then the couple spent the night cuddled together just enjoying the warmth of being wrapped around each other again.  None of that changed the fact that Derrick had betrayed her.  There really was no nicer way to say it.  Derrick had been her everything and then had taken her trust and tossed it into the trash like it had never even mattered.  Now here he was, turning her cheeks red and stealing her breath, as if nothing had changed between them.  

           But everything had changed.  

           There was a new nervousness and anxiety creeping over her and she couldn’t stop herself from giving in to its warnings.  She pushed him gently away from her, separating the two of them.  Derrick looked at her with a puzzled expression, tilting his head down to get a better look at her face.  

           “What’s wrong?”  He asked quietly, almost whispering.  Kate just shook her head and bit her lip, she was afraid that if she started talking she would begin to cry.  She had cried enough this last week, she didn’t feel like doing more tonight.  She took a step back and breathed deep, forcing herself to relax and breathe out her anxieties.

           “It’s too fast, Derrick.”  She made it simple for him and he nodded, knowing what she meant right away.

           “I would never push you to do something you are not ready for.  I would never want to hurt you.  I know you still need time to...you know, heal and everything.”  He awkwardly said, rubbing his hand over his head and sighing.  He walked into her living room and Kate trailed behind him.

           “No, it’s not that.  Well, I mean, yeah, it is that too. But...”  Kate paused, trying to figure out what she was attempting to say.  She wanted him to know that emotionally she wasn’t ready, she couldn’t trust him.  He was right that she wasn’t medically cleared to have sex yet due to what happened to her.  That would last another week at minimum, but it wasn’t about that.  Even if she could be with him right now, she didn’t want to.