“Let’s go back to the attack, Miriam. Why do you think he used the knife? Was there something you said, maybe, that got him angry?”
“I don’t know.”
“You remember what he was saying at the time?”
“No. Like I told you, I think he felt like he was losing control.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I just think he needed to scare me, to show me he could use the knife. I think he could have killed me.”
“Why didn’t he?”
“I talked him out of it.”
Miriam’s voice firmed up a bit. She looked around the room and returned to Vince.
“I read about it in People magazine. If you’re being raped, the best way to survive is to talk to your rapist. Make him see you as a person. So that’s what I did. Told him about my life. About my brother’s visit. About T-Kat. Where is T-Kat?”
“I don’t know, Miriam. We have an officer looking around the neighborhood.”
“Oh no, T-Kat is here. He never leaves the house. Neither one of us likes to leave the house very much. Anyway, I told him about T-Kat and about my job. About the shows I watch at night. American Idol. Anything I could think of. After a while he put down the knife and just listened. Then he took me down the hall and into the bedroom.”
“What did he do then?”
“Well, he didn’t rape me anymore. He just lay down beside me.”
Nicole touched Vince’s arm.
“Hold on a second, Miriam.”
Nicole and Vince conferred for a moment, then Vince returned to the victim.
“Can you show me exactly where he was lying?”
“Sure. Right here on the left side. I think he might have been crying at one point. That’s when I knew he wouldn’t kill me.”
Vince’s PDA beeped again.
“That’s the ambulance, Miriam. We’re going to take you to the hospital for the examination I told you about.”
“Will I spend the night at the hospital?”
“Probably.”
“Where’s my brother?”
“He’ll be at the hospital, too.”
“Okay. But you guys have to find my cat. His food is in the kitchen.”
“You got it, Miriam.”
The ambulance rolled out five minutes later. Vince came back into the bedroom. Nicole was just finishing up.
“I called in a couple more techs,” she said. “They’re going to process both bedrooms, living room, kitchen, and laundry room. They’re also going to take that carpet up.”
“What do you think?” Vince said.
“I think he probably used a condom. If he was wearing gloves, he probably didn’t cut himself. But it’s worth a shot.”
“Yeah.”
Nicole pointed to a set of rolled-up bedsheets.
“The victim thinks he was crying. If so, we might have some tears.”
Vince smiled.
“And some DNA?”
“Maybe. I’ll let you know. Okay, I gotta run. I’ll call you.”
“Thanks, Nicole.”
The two shook hands. Very proper and professional. Too much so. Vince turned my way.
“Thanks for staying out of the way. Find it interesting?”
“Very much. For what it’s worth, your guy’s a killer.”
Nicole glanced up at that. Vince cocked his head and gave me a funny look.
“What makes you say that?”
“The way she described him. The guy was on his way. Almost there.”
“You think he was going to kill her?” Nicole said.
I looked at Vince.
“I think it was a close thing. Not sure why he stopped, but you can bet it had nothing to do with Miriam or her stories.”
“Or People magazine,” Vince said. “Come on out here for a second.”
Rodriguez led us through the kitchen and into a small backyard. It was dark now. Pieces of light from the kitchen window cast the scene into silhouette. A clothesline ran off the back of the house. A cop stood nearby. As we got close, I could see why. Miriam Hope’s cat was hanging from the line, stiff in the cold, a length of panty hose cinched tight around its neck. Vince shone his flashlight on the animal, then to the ground.
“We think he took the cat as he left the house. Found it like this. Didn’t want to tell the victim until I got a statement.”
Rodriguez snapped off the light and ordered the officer to cut the animal down. The highway was nearby, and traffic rolled into the night. Some chatter floated in from the open door of a tavern down the street. Otherwise, it was quiet.
“Call me when you work up the evidence, Nicole. Nice meeting you, Kelly. How long you been off the force?”
“Been a couple of years.”
“Well, you still got the instincts. Thanks for the input.”
Then Rodriguez was gone and it was just me and Nicole.
“No, I’m not sleeping with him, Michael. Not yet. And consider it your good fortune he doesn’t have a personal life. First year in Homicide. Probably the only detective in the city that doesn’t know you just got pulled in for some face time with the DA. Now buy me a beer and you can tell me just how much trouble you’re really in.”
CHAPTER 11
We sat under the El tracks on Webster at an ancient DePaul bar called Kelly’s. I had a can of Bud and a burger. Nicole had a Diet Coke.
“What made you take this gig?” I said.
“The task force?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s not what we’re talking about.”
“I know, but the other stuff will wait. Talk to me about this.”
I tried to hold Nicole’s gaze, but she broke off. I took a sip of beer and waited.
“I went back again,” she said. “Just last week.”
“Why?”
“Why not? It’s where we grew up.”
“You don’t want to forget, do you?”
“What I want doesn’t really matter. Some things just don’t go away. Probably be the last thing I think of when I pass over. First thing I remember on the other side. And that’s all right. I’ve learned to live with it. Learned how to grow strong from it. You should, too.”
