“What’s the deal, Loo?” she demanded, her chin stuck out at them.
“Master Sergeant Des Mitry, kindly give it up for Sergeant Toni Tedone,” Yolie said with a grin on her face. “She’s Rico’s younger cousin.”
Des’s eyes widened. “No way.”
“Totally way,” Yolie said, nodding.
Rico “Soave” Tedone had been Des’s semi-bright weasel of a sergeant back when she was a homicide lieutenant on Major Crimes. Until, that is, she blew up her career-with a not-so-generous assist from Rico-and got demoted to resident trooper. When Rico made lieutenant he was assigned Sergeant Yolie Snipes. Now Yolie was a lieutenant and Rico was living large on the state’s Organized Crime Task Force, strictly because he was a Tedone and therefore hard-wired into the Waterbury Mafia-the Italian-American clan of brothers, uncles, cousins and in- laws who pretty much ran the Connecticut state police. The Brass City boys were a force within the force. And there were so damned many of them that, well, Des supposed it was inevitable one of them would turn out to be a she.
“Rico is all up in my face about you,” Toni informed Des. “I’m supposed to watch how you walk, talk, work the room. I was, like, do I have to follow her into the bathroom and watch how she takes a crap, too? And he’s, like, just pay attention, okay? And I’m, like, you think I suffer from A.D.D. or something? And he’s like, whatever.”
Des waited for her to come up for air. She was definitely a Tedone-raring to go, chippy, knew it all. “Pleased to meet you, Toni. How long have you two ladies been partnered up?”
Yolie glanced at her watch. “Two days, three hours and seventeen minutes. So who’ve we got here, girl?”
“A sweet, innocent, eighteen-year-old girl named Kinitra Jameson.”
“No one who’s eighteen is innocent,” Toni shot back. “Trust me, I went to Catholic schools my whole life.”
“Kinitra washed up on Big Sister early this morning in her underwear, half drowned. She had bruises around her throat and wrists and she was terrified. She’s a talented young singer who’s been living in one of the waterfront mansions on Turkey Neck with her big sister Jamella-who is married to Tyrone Grantham.”
Yolie’s eyes widened. “Okay, this just got a lot more interesting.”
“Tyrone’s cousin, Clarence, threw a big party at the mansion last night. Kinitra claims she got high on wine and weed, took herself a midnight dip and accidentally got swept up in the river current. But her doctor at Shoreline Clinic found no trace of alcohol or drugs in her blood. The rape kit results were negative but the doctor did find scarring from repeated, forcible vaginal and anal penetration. Kinitra’s also eight weeks pregnant. Jamella went nuts when she found out. Says the girl’s never had so much as a boyfriend.”
Yolie peered at Des. “And what’s Kinitra saying?”
“That she’s in a consensual relationship and they like it rough.”
“Which you don’t believe?”
“No, I do not. Someone’s been raping this girl, Yolie. Someone who either lives in the mansion or has access to it. I think she jumped in that water last night to get away from him-and then decided to try on suicide for size. They’re keeping her here overnight for a psych evaluation. Slipped her in under the media radar. Nobody knows she’s here. Her family would like to keep it that way.”
Toni raised her hand. “Can I ask something, Loo?”
“Put your damned hand down, will you? This ain’t no classroom. What is it you want to ask?”
“Who’s the complainant?”
“There isn’t one.”
“Then what are we doing here?”
“Responding to a resident trooper’s request for assistance.”
“But we’re the Major Crime Squad and, hello, no crime’s been committed.”
“Des thinks otherwise. Sometimes you have to come at things a little sideways.”
Toni shook her big hair. “But how do we write it up?”
“We don’t. Not yet, anyhow. And we stick together. We don’t go running our mouths about this to our cousins and uncles over Sunday dinner, got it?”
“I don’t have Sunday dinner with them anymore,” Toni said defensively. “I’m tired of them trying to fix me up with every wop cop in Connecticut who’s single and under thirty. Like I want to hang with someone who’s exactly like me. I mean, I’d go completely nuts.”
“Let’s go talk to the girl,” Yolie said, starting toward the door with Des.
“What’s my role here?” Toni asked, scampering along behind them.
“Listen and learn,” Yolie answered between gritted teeth.
“Okay, I can do that.”
Kinitra had a private room on a high floor with a view of the Connecticut River. Her orange-streaked up-do was combed out and she wore some grape-colored gloss on her plump young lips. Jamella was seated in a chair next to her bed leafing through a fashion magazine. She’d brought Kinitra a whole stack of them. Also her iPod, which Kinitra was listening to when Des arrived in the doorway with Yolie and Toni.
Kinitra removed her earbuds and smiled. “Hey, Trooper Mitry,” she said in that sing-songy little-girl voice of hers.
Des asked Jamella to step out into the hallway for a moment. Jamella hoisted her huge self out of the chair and joined them. After Des had made the introductions, she said, “We’d like to talk to your sister alone, if you don’t mind.”
Jamella’s eyes narrowed. “You think you might get more out of her if I’m not around. Is that it?”
“We might. It’s certainly worth a try.”
She hesitated. “How do I know you won’t try to bully her?”
“Because we don’t work that way,” Yolie said.
“That’s my baby sister in there. I’m trusting you. Don’t make me sorry.”
“We won’t,” Des promised her.
“I’ll be in the waiting area,” Jamella said, waddling off down the hall.
“God, I love those,” Toni said, watching her go. “I wonder who made them.”
“Made what?” Yolie demanded.
“Her gold sandals.”
“Keep your eye on the ball, Sergeant!”
They went in the room, closing the door behind them.
Kinitra looked at the three of them a bit warily. “Where’s Jamella?”
“She’ll be back soon,” Des said. “These are my friends Yolie and Toni from the Major Crime Squad. They’d like to talk to you some more about what happened.”
“You don’t want to wait for Jamella to come back?”
“It’s just going to be us, okay?” Des kept her voice gentle. “And whatever you tell us stays with us. We won’t repeat a word of it to her if you don’t want us to. You’re an adult. So we’re treating you like one, understand? Now how about you tell us what really happened last night.”
She rolled her big brown eyes. “ Nothing happened. I already told you.”
“The evidence tells us otherwise. So just talk to us, okay? We know you’re afraid. That’s why we’re here. You can count on us to protect you. And we’ll make sure he gets what’s coming to him.”
Kinitra’s hand went to her bruised throat, fingering it gingerly. For a brief moment she seemed genuinely frightened and ready to spill. But then the moment passed and she lowered her hand to her lap and said nothing.
Yolie started in now. “Des told me you’re carrying your boyfriend’s baby.”
“So?…”
“So is he the one who attacked you last night?”
“I wasn’t attacked. I already told her that.”
“Girl, we do this for a living. Stop disrespecting us, will you?”
She blinked at Yolie. “I don’t know what you want from me.”
“For starters, why don’t you tell us about your boyfriend?”
