Page 26 of Still Her

No.The guy does PR for crying out loud. He knew exactly how he wanted his message to be received.

Ugh. I’ve had enough stewing on this for now. I get up and grab my laptop. While I really just want to take out my aggressions on a dance floor right now, we still have a while left on the road. Distracting myself with a movie or book on my Kindle is the next best thing, so I head in the direction of the bedroom to switch devices, Jack reaching for my hand and giving my fingers a quick kiss as I walk by.

12

Jack

A black SUVpulls up alongside our tour bus. The back door opens and out steps Mike wearing… ripped blue jeans with motorcycle boots and a faded Led Zepplin t-shirt underneath a beat-to-death leather jacket. I hesitantly clasp hands with him and slap his back in greeting before stepping back and gesturing at his wardrobe.

“What’s with the, eh…?” I trail off, knowing he gets what I’m wondering.

“What?” he asks, indignantly. “I wear a suit day in and day out to the office and in court. Do me a favor and let me fully experience being on tour with a rock band, even if it’s just for a couple of days.”

I laugh and nod, letting him have that sentiment as he turns to introduce the man that stepped out of the vehicle after him. He’s lean and about my height, also dressed down but not slumming it quite like Mike. He’s opted for black slacks and a button-down blue shirt.

“This is Eddie Morris,” he says as I reach out to shake the guy’s hand. “College buddy of mine turned one of the lead detectives at his precinct in New York.”

“Good to meet you. Jack Krasinski,” I greet him, while a few roadies haul their bags onto our bus. They’re going to join us for a couple of nights since the band and I have a crazy schedule and there’s a lot to discuss.

“I know who you are,” he returns. “Big fan of your music, I’m excited to be here.”

“Well, thanks for coming.”

“Talk inside?” he nods his head towards the bus, signifying that we should probably get down to business, and do it in a more private setting.

When we step on the bus, I give Mike a chance to get all of his excitement out. He’s rich enough to afford one like this himself, but he’s totally awestruck to be on a band’s tour bus. Morris takes it in too, but is a lot more reserved with his enthusiasm which is fine. I like that he’s keeping his game face on; it shows me he’s taking his reason for being here seriously.

I call for Mayzie who’s back in the bedroom, and a few seconds later, she ambles out in her sweater and jeans. She gives Mike a hug and shakes hands with Morris before we all sit down in the booth across the table from each other. We wait for Ron, who joins us moments later, pulling up a chair to the head of the table.

In true Mayzie fashion, she’s put on a brave face for all of us the last two days, but I can tell she has the weight of the world on her shoulders. She hasn’t been sleeping well either, getting up in the night to wander the bus a couple of times. I’ve stayed up with her, just holding her in the window seat and watching the world go by in a blur of darkened landscapes alternating with city lights.

I sit beside her now, as Mike and Morris prepare to advise us on what we can do about this. I turn towards her, holding one of her hands giving her silent support.

“So Mayzie, Mike told me what’s been going on, but can you tell me in your own words, your experiences with Eli Costa?”

Mayzie smiles and gives a gentle nod as she delves in, starting with the plane ride, taking them both through the photo shoot, and ending with the incident at the hotel in Jacksonville. She’s keeping her tone light, like she’s telling them about the weather, which I think she does more for herself than for any of our benefits. Detective Morris pulls out his laptop and starts taking notes, while Mike takes notes on a legal pad. Even though what Mayzie is saying is making my blood boil all over again, I have to hold in a chuckle at seeing Mike dressed like a roadie while seriously taking notes with his lawyer face on.

“So that’s all of it,” she concludes. “Is there anything that can be done?”

“Well, I’m afraid it’s like the cops in Florida told you,” Morris begins, leveling us with a serious yet sympathetic gaze. “At this point, there’s not enough to go after him. Plus, I’m out of jurisdiction. But…” he takes a deep breath before looking between us, “this is not the first time I’ve consulted on, or investigated Eli Costa, on the grounds of sexual harassment.”

Mayzie’s eyes go wide and she draws in a breath. Ron’s face snaps up towards Morris with his mouth open, and my head jerks back in shock. I’m taken aback by the reality that comes crashing down on me when Morris uses those two words out loud, but even more so when I hear that Eli’s name has come across his desk more than once. Although that second one shouldn’t surprise me, what with Eli’s reputation, but it still throws me. I press my lips gently against Mayzie’s temple and she closes her eyes briefly, letting my gesture calm her.

“I don’t understand,” she shakes her head. “You know who he is?”

Morris gives a curt nod. “Yeah. You can imagine my surprise when I not only get a call from this guy,” he tilts his head at Mike, “but the name he gives me is none other than…” he finishes with a shake of his head, clearly not over the coincidence.

“So, there are other cases involving him?” Mayzie presses forward. “Does he have a record?”

“Other complaints, yes,” Morris confirms, “but they never amounted to anything that would give him a record. He divides his time between L.A. and New York, about sixty/forty. In the last three years, five women have filed reports in my precinct, but none went to court.”

“Was it because they didn’t have proof? Like me?” Mayzie asks.

“That is a big part of the reason, yes. In the cases where we had leads, Eli was able to buy a witness’s silence, pay the victim off to drop the charges, or just plain intimidate them with his army of lawyers, leading them to drop the case on their own.”

“So he covers his tracks well, and in the few cases where a victim has sought out justice and tried to press charges, they’ve gotten cold feet once they’ve gotten a good look at his legal team,” Mike adds.

“We’ve found a few common trends between cases,” Morris continues. “Each woman had something to lose or gain in the situation, usually struggling to either move up or stay up in the industry. He lures women with promises of what he can do for them, or what he can take away. I’m willing to bet that in the cases that are unreported, he makes them feel indebted. And of course, in each case, there is little to no proof. It always boils down to a ‘he-said-she-said’ situation.” He lets out a sigh before continuing, “In all five cases, we’ve offered to obtain proof by setting up a sting, but by then, three of the victims had been scared away and wanted nothing more to do with it. The other two were all for it, but in their cases, Eli was done with them and had no further interest, thus couldn’t be lured.”

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