“Haywood.”
“Hey, Barb. Dwight Ordman here. Wonder if you and your officers in blue can help me out on a case I just started working on.”
“Sure Dwight. What’s up?”
“Well, the daughter of a good friend of mine got raped last night, and knows him by sight. His first name is Rob, and he’s about six-one or two; medium build. Unfortunately, that’s all we know. We need you and your officers to subpoena the video footage from the Capital Scene on the night of Saturday, August 18th. If you need, I can review them and point out where Shauna Williams, my clients daughter appears on the tapes.”
“Alright. I’ll have my forensics experts get right on it.”
“Thanks, Barb. Owe you one.”
* * *
Poisonous sat in the noisy burger joint in Georgetown where she had met Phoebe before. Across from her sat Phoebe and a friend of hers.
“This is an interesting development. Who have we here?”
“This,” Phoebe answered, “is my friend, Tanya, whose street name is ‘Toy.’ I’ve explained to her the way your system works, and she is interested in working for you as well.”
“Well, Tanya: nice to meet you. This is wonderful news. When can you start?”
“Right away,” said Tanya. “I’m tired of working for abusive pimps who cheat you out of most of your money. Besides, going after guys I’m interested in sounds a lot better.”
“Well, I assure you, you’ll like the way I do business,” she said.
* * *
Tuesday, August 19th
Dan Hightower looked over his notes. Fred had told him that the local LEO’s were working on a case of a recent rape. The girl had been drugged with GHB, and had been assaulted without her consent. He looked up as his boss came into the office.
“You might find this very interesting,” said Fred. “We got some video footage of the nightclub where the girls was raped, and guess who shows up in the video?”
“Our friend, the Indian woman?”
“Bingo; this time, in a clear shot showing her talking to the victim, a Shauna Williams, age seventeen. The perp is liable for Second Degree Sexual Abuse. He pulled open a book, whose cover indicated it was about the statutes of Tort Law for D.C. “The laws of the District of Columbia state, Second Degree Rape occurs if ‘the other person is incapable of appraising the nature of the conduct, incapable of declining participation in that sexual act, or incapable of communicating unwillingness to engage in that sexual act.’ Since she was drugged with GHB, she obviously was in no condition to express her unwillingness to engage in the act.”
“Wow. Guy sounds like a real bottom feeder. Is our person of interest liable as an accomplice?”
“Oh, you bet. Although Shauna herself doesn’t remember anything about the woman, she obviously participated in this transaction, so the Indian woman is liable as an accomplice to second degree rape. We also know that the perp’s name is Rob; he is about six feet two, and is of medium build. Unfortunately, that’s all we have to go on.”
“Well, I suggest we work with D.C. Police in this case, since it involves someone who is involved in all sorts of sleazy activities.”
“Agreed.”
* * *
Thursday, August 21st
The morning had passed like a snail on barbiturates, and looking at the time on her cell phone indicated it was 11:28 a.m. Her stomach growled, and she realized it was time to feed. Bored with nothing exciting happening, she thought for a few seconds, and finally said, “Huh. I might need to personally convince someone to join ISIS. That would be a challenge worth pursuing.
After doing some research, she decided to ease her hunger, and visit a Thai restaurant in the Dupont Circle neighborhood, which had outside seating. The warmth of the August day in D.C. felt good on her skin; heat always appealed to her. Taking the Metro train to Dupont Circle, she departed the station and walked the rest of the way to the restaurant. The face of the building was white, and a basement entrance led into the restaurant. After waiting in line for about fifteen minutes behind twenty other people, she finally sat at a table.
“My, this is a popular place”
The server asked her what she wanted, and she said, “I’ll have the Khanom Jin Nam Ya.” {catfish, krachai (or ginger root) and finger chilies}. “And I want it very hot, you understand?”
“You want Thai hot?” the server asked.
“I want it hotter than Thai hot. I want it to burn all the way down, and I want to feel that burn for hours.”
Her hunger satisfied, and her belly very warm, she walked back towards DuPont Circle. Almost immediately, she sniffed out great Western dystopia; someone obviously disliked the Western way of life. As she followed the scent, she happened upon a young man, who looked to be of European descent. Sitting next to him, she struck up a conversation.
“So what finds you here in DuPont Circle on such a bright and sunny day?”
The young man answered, “I’m just thinking about what I want out of life.”
“Do you want to do the typical thing and get married, have kids who you’ll support all the way through college, have a job for forty years, and retire?”
After some time and thought, he answered “You know; this country is too steeped in a meaningless way of life. I’m beginning to be fed up with the typical Western idea of acquiring of wealth, conspicuous consumption, and living for nothing more than to flaunt it.
