Issues // H.S. // A.U.

Chapter Thirty-Three

"Mickie, Dani, you can follow me." Detective Reed waved us through the main doors to the meeting rooms.

I had been in several of these types of rooms, and although they weren't interrogation rooms, they still carried the sense of police entitlement. They were in charge and you were being judged. As nice and helpful Detective Reed had been through the beginning of the investigation, everything could change in a matter of seconds. Everything could be flipped to us, like we were the criminals instead of the victims.

"Have a seat. Do either of you want any water?" She asks.

"No, thank you." I say as Mickie gets out her own water bottle.

"Okay, well we have a few things to go over." She begins, "We have talked to numerous people from both of your stories, and had begun a small investigation at his old high school and college to see if we could find anymore victims. So far we have tracked down one girl after hearing some things. She's very reluctant to come forward, but there is a chance."

"How?" I ask.

Detective Reed looks directly at me, and furrowed her brows, "What do you mean?"

"How are you talking to her?" I rephrase my question, "If she's not ready, we can't force her into this."

"Yes, I know-"

"I want to make it clear that we don't want to pressure anyone to come forward. This could be incredibly traumatic and detrimental to someone's health." I press on.

She smiles kindly at me, "You're going to school to school to be a therapist?"

I purse my lips, "Yes. Child psychology will be my main focus in graduate school."

"You'll be good at it." She says, "I can promise you, Dani, that we will not, nor can we, force any person to testify against Clint. We will continue to stay in contact with her, but there will be no pressuring of any kind. She did ask about you two, though."

"Us?" Mickie asked nervously.

"I think that's our in. It'll help that two of you are already testifying. It calms victims down to know they won't have to do it alone."

I nodded my head, understanding that feeling completely. Alone is a feeling I am quite familiar with, and although it pains me that someone had to go through what I did in any capacity, it was nice to be with someone. That's how abusers keep their victims in line, why women stay with their husbands or boyfriends who attack them either physically or verbally. They make them feel as if they have no one but them. They are the only ones who actually care about the abused.

Clint led me into false security before ever touching me, making me feel like I was wanted for the first time in my life. It was probably easy for him, seeing as I was already alone and vulnerable. He didn't have to do the work to get me wrapped up in his thorns.

I wonder what the girl's story is. If it was more like Mickie's or mine, or maybe somewhere in-between. At the same time, I didn't want there to be anyone else. I was barely holding the guilt away as it was. Sitting in a court, listening to other girl's testimonials...

I cleared my throat, and sat up straighter, "So does this mean that the DA is going to prosecute?"

"We haven't got the hundred percent yes, because there are a few more things we've got to do, but I'm going to be honest with you girls." Detective Reed pauses before saying, "I would be surprised if we didn't press charges. If this is as big as we're starting to believe, then it could be some major jail time for him. But that also means that we'll go to trial-"

"But we might not have to, right?" Mickie asks, "I know it's only tv and stuff, but sometimes things get settled out of court?"

The detective takes a sip of water before answering, "We'll go to trial no matter what, but there's varying degrees of having you two testify. If he pleads guilty, then it's much easier, and we might not need either of you unless you chose to have a last word type of thing. Like the Larry Nassar case?"