Page 26 of Forbidden Secrets
“Why did you?”
“Because he was one of the guys there that night, at the bootlegger.”
“What the hell’s a bootlegger?”
“Didn’t Walker and Delaney tell you we’d been at a bootlegger the night I was assaulted?”
“They said there’d been a party.”
She shrugged.“A bootlegger is a party, but not at someone’s house.Kids would get together in the hills away from adult supervision.We’d have a campfire, play music.There was definitely underage drinking.That’s a bootlegger.Didn’t you do that kind of thing when you were a teenager?”
He shook his head.He’d been too busy doing what he could to keep his sister alive and working to pay bills to do typical teenager things.
“There were a lot of kids there because it was going to be the last bootlegger of the year.It was October and getting too cold to be outdoors like that at night.We had a big fire going.I’d had to beg my mom to borrow the car so I could meet my friends there.She made me swear on everything holy not to drink or smoke weed or anything.She didn’t want me driving under the influence.A bunch of upperclassmen from the high school were there, along with some like Walker who’d graduated in the few years ahead of us.It was fun, until it all came crashing down.”
She swallowed.“That night marked a thick black line through my life, separating before and after the assault, childhood and adulthood.”She shook herself, he thought, like maybe she was trying to shake off the emotions that undoubtedly still echoed.“Anyway, that’s why I agreed when Chase asked me out.I want to know what he remembers about that night and the people who were there.Meeting him in public seemed safe.I didn’t expect the memories to hit me so hard.”
Gage frowned.“Why do you want to know what he remembers?”
“Not only him.I’ve made a spreadsheet and listed every person I remember being there.I plan to talk with as many of them as I can get a hold of.”Her brows lowered as she spoke.“Rhonda Lockwood was there that night.She acted weird when I asked her about it.She’d been dating Josh Lockwood, but when Chase and his friend Greg Delano showed up, I recall her and Greg beingveryfriendly.She denied being with him.”
Melanie looked thoughtful.“Then I ran into Chase and he asked me out.I thought I could find out what he remembers about the bootlegger and see if he recalls Greg making out with Rhonda.”She shrugged.“I doubt what Rhonda was doing that night is all that important, but it’s a piece of the puzzle I’m trying to put together.But Chase wasn’t any help either.”
“Wait a minute.They weren’t help with what?What do you want to know?”The target letter was confidential so he couldn’t tell her Chase was the subject of an FBI investigation, but what she was telling him added another layer of complexity.
“The person who assaulted me was probably at the bootlegger.I know that’s what the detectives were thinking because they got DNA samples from the guys who were there.One of the men on my list could be the assailant.”
“What exactly are you planning, Melanie?”He was getting an idea where she was going with this, and it set off internal alarm bells.
“To figure out who it was.The person who attacked me got away with it.I want him arrested, put on trial, and sent to prison.”She squared her shoulders.“Because I was a minor, the statute of limitations hasn’t run out.I want it all over social media.I want it in the newspaper.I want him publicly humiliated for what he did.I want everyone to see him for the contemptible human being he is.”Her voice was fierce.“It haunts me that he was never held accountable and may have gone on to assault others.”
He studied her face in the shadows.“Fuck.”
She crossed her arms over her chest.“That’s not the response I expected.”
“Okay, let’s try this.It’s your right to seek justice, and for this asshole to be exposed and held accountable.I want that too.But it could be risky.Putting yourself in danger to expose him?Hell no.”
“I’m not putting myself in danger.I’m simply acquiring information.”
“If the assailant is still around, he’d likely have a lot to lose if you out him.That makes him dangerous.”
“My friend Esme said the same thing, but too bad.He’s been a monster in my nightmares for too long.I don’t like the power that gives him over me.The person who assaulted me was weak and used sexual violence to exert dominance and control.I want to take away his power to scare me.And when I get new evidence, I’ll ask the sheriff’s department to reopen the case.”
“Fair enough.”He could admire her grit but still worry about her safety.“But realize that anything could’ve happened to him.He might not live in the area.He might be in jail.He might be dead.”
“True.Or he might be living here in town hiding his depravity behind a socially acceptable façade.I need to know.Peopleneed to know.He shouldn’t be free to live in the open while practicing evil in the shadows.I’m going to talk to everyone I can.”
“Bradford was irritated.What did he say?”Now Gage knew why his body language had turned defensive.
Her dimples had disappeared.“He was affronted I’d brought it up, like it’s not something to be mentioned in polite society.After it happened, I was so ashamed, and I put a lot of pressure on my mom to leave town.My aunt encouraged us to move to Portland where she lived.I was all for it at the time, but I’m done with that.I won’t be ashamed because I was raped.It’s the person who attacked me who should be ashamed.I’ll ask Chase about it again some other time.He can get over his delicate feelings.”
Gage tipped his head back, looking out to the street as a truck went by with a noisy muffler.The details he knew about Chase Bradford made him want to keep Melanie well away from the bastard.
He wanted to tell Melanie to leave it alone.Not that she had any reason to listen to him.He wanted her safe, but she had a right to justice.
“I’ll look into it for you.”
“As an FBI agent?”
