Night, Forgotten

Original Edition - Chapter 31: Then

Liza looked up, suddenly self-aware. "Oh my god, Julie, I am so – I'm so sorry," she used her fingers to blot her eyes, which were damp. "I can't believe I just brought that up with you. How stupid of me."

"It's fine," I told her. "I'm actually glad you brought it up."

Marcus and his crew had pulled out of the driveway and the yard was empty now.

"You are?"

I cleared my throat. "Yeah." Finally, there was an opening to ask her what I needed to know. "I know you were in New York when we came by before going to the police station."

"Wait. You're talking about what happened to you at the party?" Liza asked in a low voice, sitting forward. "You ended up reporting it?"

"Marcus didn't tell you we stopped by?"

Liza blinked. "I guess not. Julie – why didn't you tell me?! What happened?"

"Well, we made a report." I pictured Officer Bose's smirk as he watched me from across the table. "But unless this happens again to someone else, I didn't get the feeling the detective is going to pursue it."

"You mean like a serial rapist?" Liza used the back of her wrist to wipe beet juice from her chin. "Can't you just use like, DNA from the baby to find out who it was?"

"Well, yeah, but that wouldn't prove to the court that the conception was non-consensual." Diana had been pestering me with pamphlets from her crisis pregnancy center, and some of the state-by-state legal information had actually been useful. "In Rhode Island," I told Liza, "you need to present 'clear and convincing evidence' to prove a rape happened, otherwise the rapist you just identified by DNA could try to claim parental rights."

Liza shook her head, incredulous. "Why would a rapist want to take care of a baby? Their victim's baby?"

I shrugged. "To avoid jail time, I guess. Has Marcus ever... said anything else? About what he saw that night?"

"He said he found you outside, alone. I told him he should have just taken you to the police, right then. But he didn't see a rapist hiding out there, if that's what you're asking."

It wasn't exactly what I was asking.

Liza seemed to believe that the only explanation was that a stranger had been waiting in the woods to attack me.

My voice felt like mud. "What if it wasn't a stranger who attacked me, though?"

Liza's face darkened. "You mean, you think it might have been someone at the party?"

I felt like I had to apologize for even suggesting it. "I don't know. But earlier in the night, did you notice anything? Maybe someone who was..."

Liza shook her head. "I would have told you."

"Or did you notice someone missing from the party at the same time I was gone?"

"No, Julie. I'm sorry."

"Hey, Ladies!" A man's voice interrupted us from the foot of the steps. "Can I ask you a favor?"

Liza leapt from her seat and leaned over the railing, shaking off the remnants of our conversation with a flick of her hair. "Anything for you, Donny," she cooed down at her favorite composer and houseguest.

"Can I play something for you two?" Donny held up the guitar he was holding by its neck. "I've been working on it for a wicked long time but I just finished it. Maybe you could tell me what you think?" His voice was earnest as he started to ascend the steps to the deck.

I couldn't imagine why my musical opinion would matter in the least to him and I suspected his attention had more to do with Liza, who squealed, "Seriously?! Yes. Yes!" She dragged her chair over next to the one where I was reclining, then quickly arranged a third chair facing us.