Chantale arrived ten minutes early to the Ranch and sat in her car, reviewing her questions. Her plan was to let Autumn do the talking and only ask questions which hadn't been answered during the initial phase. She had no idea what she was facing, but she knew she had to be sympathetic - which wouldn't be hard.
Grabbing her briefcase, she was about to get out of her car when a streak of yellow bounded towards her. The dog sat in front of her door, clearly waiting for her to make the next move.
"She's harmless." Chantale looked up to see a woman approaching. "Her name is Tiffany and she loves company."
Sufficiently appeased, Chantale slipped out of the car. Seth had shown her how to greet animals, so she held out her hand, palm up, knuckles folded. The dog took a really good sniff then swiped a quick lick across her hand. Before she had met Seth's dogs, Chantale might have been grossed out. Now that she was more accustomed to canines, she simply reached out to pet the dog. Soft fur, she noted.
As she straightened, she offered her hand. "I'm Chantale Baldwin."
"I know. My name is Rainbow Dixon. Kennedy and Autumn are my sisters." The woman was absolutely stunning, Chantale thought. Long blue/black hair which went almost to her waist and eyes the lightest shade of blue she had ever seen.
"I've heard a rumour there are eight of you."
Rainbow's laugh was quick and light. "There are," she confirmed. "And we all look the same except Kennedy. We joke that she's the mailman's child."
"Or maybe the rest of you are."
Rainbow's eyes turned mischievous. "That might be impugning to my mother, but she would appreciate the thought."
"She must be quite a woman."
"Oh, you can bet on that. Six of us were planned while the twins - Autumn and Summer - were an unexpected bonus."
"No brothers?"
That rich laughter bubbled up again. "I don't think a boy would have survived with us. Nope, we broke the odds." She began walking to the ranch house and indicated that Chantale follow. Tiffany kept pace with them.
"She's a Labrador Retriever, right?"
"You know your dogs," Rainbow confirmed. "And if you're not too exhausted afterwards, I would love to introduce you to her little ones."
Chantale wasn't sure what to make of the exhausted comment, but the thought of little ones filled her with joy. "Puppies?"
"You bet. She just had a litter of nine. They're six weeks old and cuter than you could possibly imagine."
Chantale had a pretty good imagination, but she still wanted to see. "I would love to see them."
"Okay. I'll also give you a tour of the place." Rainbow held the door open for Chantale who entered the huge main room. The space was two stories, about twenty feet tall, with soaring wood beams and a huge stone fireplace. One corner had an open plan kitchen while another held what appeared to be an informal dining room and the rest of the space was made up of groups of seating areas. Done in rich and dark colours, the entire room was inviting.
Rainbow pointed off towards one wing. "This is the counselling centre. You're going to be in Kennedy's office today. They're waiting for you."
As Chantale stepped into the office, she found three women look up at her. Rielle was there, of course, with a smile. Long blonde hair and amber eyes which bespoke of interest. The next woman was a statuesque brunette with brown eyes which were evaluating. The final woman was the exact replica of Rainbow except her black hair was in a sleek bob. Her eyes were questioning.
Stepping forward, Chantale gave Rielle a quick nod.
"Chantale, this is Kennedy Dixon and her sister Autumn. Ladies, this is Chantale Baldwin."
Autumn reached out first. "It's nice to meet you Ms. Baldwin."
"Chantale, please."
The young woman's eyes softened. "Chantale," she repeated. Her grip was firm, but her hand was trembling.
Then Chantale turned to Kennedy. The older woman's handshake was strong and her eyes gave a warning. Mess with my sister, they said, and you'll have me to deal with.
In response, Chantale gave her a smile which tried to convey that she was not a threat to anyone in the room.
"I hope you don't mind if Tiffany stays," Kennedy said. "She's a trained comfort dog and very close to Autumn."
"I don't mind at all," Chantale assured her. "I love dogs. In fact Rainbow offered to show me the puppies."
Kennedy didn't look thrilled with that prospect, but held her tongue. She was protective, Chantale acknowledged. Protective of her own and she definitely had a mother bear attitude when it came to her sister. Sisters, Chantale corrected herself. She would place odds that Kennedy would lay down her own life to protect all of her kin.
Chantale sat in the appointed seat and opened her briefcase. "I know that this is an informal meeting, and I sincerely appreciate your willingness to do this, but I'm wondering if you would be okay with me taping this."
Autumn looked like she was about to agree when Rielle spoke.
"No. Sorry Chantale, but this is off the record. Nothing said in this room can be used against my client."
She'd had no notion of doing that, but she would have probably done what Rielle was doing if their positions were reversed.
"I understand that. Do you mind if I take notes?"
This time, Autumn was quicker. "That's fine, Chantale. I'm sure of what I'm saying."
"Okay," Chantale said, positioning her notepad on her lap. "Where do you want to start?"
"Mr. Byrne did not rape me."
Direct and to the point.
"How do you know? I mean, you seem awfully sure."
Autumn met her eyes directly. "The man who raped me was much heavier, bulkier. I do martial arts and I know my opponents' bodies. Although the height was similar, there was a heft to this man. Mr. Byrne, he has a runner's body. Lean and tight. The man who..." She faltered and Kennedy's arm went around her. "The man who attacked me was also stronger."
Declan had looked plenty strong to Chantale, but she didn't say anything about that. "Can you tell me what happened?"
"I don't think," Kennedy began, but she was interrupted by Autumn squeezing her hand.
"We talked about this, Kennedy." Autumn's eyes flashed. "You knew this might happen. If you can't handle it then maybe you need to leave."
Her sister looked stunned. "I'm staying," she said impassionedly. A look passed between the two sisters which bespoke an intimacy which Chantale envied. She and Jocelyne were closer than they had ever been in the past, but still not as close as these two sisters.
Autumn turned back to Chantale and took a deep breath. "It was the last weekend in November. My sister Summer and I share an apartment in town. She was dating an American and went down to the States to spend American Thanksgiving with his family. I didn't think anything of it because she would go down at least once a month and he came up at least that much. They really loved each other, even though they were so young." There was a wistfulness in her expression, but no envy Chantale noted.
"Friday night I was up late studying for finals. I'm a bit of a bookworm who loves school. I was rereading some of the material for English class when I fell asleep on the couch." She drew a breath. "I fell asleep with the lights on, but woke up in the dark. There were shadows from the streetlamps, but everything was a blur. One moment I'm asleep and then next I'm being hauled up by my wrists and dragged to the bedroom. I fought so hard that he pulled my shoulder right out of its socket. The pain was unimaginable." Chantale could see her slipping into the memory.
"I fought and I tried to scream, but he hit me under the jaw so hard that I bit my tongue. I tried to scream again and he slapped his hand across my mouth, silencing me. I believed him he would kill me and I knew why he was there. Jade's a good friend of mine and she confided in me what had happened to her. I just knew what he was going to do to me and I fought him all the way." Now, her voice trembled. "He hit me in the gut. Really hard. The pain was so bad I almost passed out and he used the advantage to pin me to the bed and tie me up. My shoulder was throbbing, but still I fought. I clawed, I kicked, I tried every manoeuvre I know, but he had a good foot of height on me and about a hundred and twenty pounds."
Autumn was about five-and-a-half feet tall and quite slender. How she could fight off someone so strong was beyond Chantale, yet she could see the woman had tried.
"He blindfolded me," Autumn said. "All I could think was that I was going to die. Then he took scissors to my pyjama bottoms and underwear." She reached out blindly for Tiffany who lay her head in the woman's lap. "He was on top of me and then inside of me. I remember thinking that I couldn't understand how women enjoyed this. I mean, I know they do, but it felt so painful, so awful. Then he thrust his tongue in my mouth and I almost gagged. Then I bit him."
There was a hint of a smile which quickly turned dark. "He hit me so hard I thought I was going to pass out. I wish I had, because then he pulled out and penetrated me..." Her look was one of misery.
"I get the picture," Chantale said quietly.
"I could tell when he came because he let out this grunt." Autumn's colour was a grey pallor. "He slapped me around some more and then I heard him leave. At least I hoped it was him leaving because I thought if he touched me again that I would simply die.
"Summer found me Sunday night."
Chantale felt the full force of that horror. For two days Autumn had been tied to the bed in what must have been agonizing pain. She wanted to ask how the young woman had survived, but she didn't dare.
"Summer untied me, lay a blanket over me, then called an ambulance and the police. I'll be honest and say I was pretty out of it by that point in time. The paramedics were so kind to me. They wrapped me in layers and layers of blankets because I was so cold. I was so cold that it took me two days to warm up. I had started to think that I would never be warm again." She paused. "Your sister was working at the ER that night."
Chantale was startled at that information. Jocelyne hadn't said anything. Patient/doctor privilege would have precluded an in-depth conversation, but surely her sister could have warned her.
"She set my shoulder and then stayed with me when the nurse ran a rape kit. It was bad, you know, not as bad as the rape, to be sure, but bad nonetheless. I kept needing to throw up, but there was nothing in my stomach so all I had was the dry heaves. All I kept thinking was it was amazing I was still alive." Her eyes watered, but tears didn't fall. "Summer, of course, had called everyone. There were seven sisters waiting for me when I was released. They brought me back here and I slept for two days. It was funny, because you would think I would have slept during that time in my apartment, but I kept waiting for him to come back. I kept waiting for him to come and kill me, finish the job."
What kind of terror had she endured? Chantale knew she could only imagine and was grateful she didn't know firsthand.
"On the third day I woke up and decided I wanted my life back." She smiled then. Still a watery smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Now, you have to understand the blanket of protection put around me. For those first few weeks, I didn't step off the Ranch without someone with me. In time, though, I fought to reclaim what was mine. Once the police were finished collecting evidence, my sister Torah led a brigade of cleaners and interior decorators. I barely recognized the place and although there have been flashbacks, I've tried to move forward."
Chantale could only feel admiration for this woman.
Then, however, that façade crumbled just a little bit. "Not everything has been so easy to reclaim. I still can't be alone. If Summer goes out then I have to either have someone come stay with me or I go stay with them. I live in fear of him coming back because I know he hasn't been caught."
Which brought them full circle.
"You went back to class," Chantale asked. "Mr. Byrne said you were in class the day he was arrested."
"My arm was still in a sling and my face was covered in hideous bruises, but I was there. I wasn't going to let him take my education away from me." Her blue eyes were flashing anger. "When Colton and Dorrie came to arrest Dr. Byrne, I actually stepped up. I stood and blocked their way, insisting they were making a mistake. Colton's my former brother-in-law and I thought he would listen to me, but he wouldn't. He insisted Dorrie move me out of the way. Short of throwing myself in front of them, I had no choice. I yielded, for which I will always have regrets."
Declan hadn't told her about this, but she could picture it. This battered woman trying to stand up to Colton and defending Declan, both men towering over her. She could also see Dorrie gently, but firmly, pushing Autumn out of the way. Dorrie was short as, but Chantale knew the woman to be incredibly strong. Then her mind did a double-take.
"Colton was your brother-in-law? Colton was married?"
"To our sister Sunshine," Kennedy said.
"I wondered if it was a conflict of interest," Rielle said, "but he promised me that he was objective in the whole matter."
Oh, he would, Chantale thought darkly. She also marvelled about how Colton had conveniently neglected to mention to her he had been married. True enough she had never thought to ask, but still it was something he should have mentioned. Chantale had dozens of questions surrounding that union, but she knew they would be inappropriate. His connection to Autumn, however, was not.
"He probably should have recused himself," Chantale said, all the while wondering if Rielle had told Kennedy and Rainbow about Chantale's relationship with Colton. It was becoming a tangled mess. Too many intersections and overlaps.
"Did you give a description to Corporals Pritchard and Duhamel?"
Autumn nodded, her hand absently running over Tiffany's ear. "I told them he was over six feet tall, not clean shaven, smoker, cheap cologne, beer breath, and poor oral hygiene. I told them he walks heavily and has large thick fists. I told them he's slow, but makes up for that with brute strength." Now, she was becoming agitated and Tiffany let out a low whine. "The man I described in no way resembles Dr. Byrne except for the height and there are lots of tall guys."
Chantale shifted in her seat. "Do you think you know the man?"
Autumn's lips pursed. "If I thought I knew who he was, I would have gladly told the police that information."
"Do you have any ex-boyfriends? Guys that were hassling you?"
Light blue eyes darkened. "I don't date men." Her tone was low and sure. "Since I was young, I knew I was a lesbian. I didn't even bother with an experimental phase with boys because I knew who I was. I have," she sucked in a breath, "had a girlfriend. I had never been with a man before that night and I have no plans to repeat that hell."
"What happened to your relationship?" Soft, persuasive.
"It didn't survive. It couldn't. I'm not the same person I was before and I never will be." Now tears did trickle. "I'm soiled and unclean. I'm damaged goods and I can't get those images out of my mind." She let out a sob which tore at Chantale. Kennedy's arms wrapped around her sister and she pressed a kiss to her temple.
"You're not damaged goods, baby girl." She made little soothing noises and rocked them before turning to Chantale. "Paloma was very jealous before and not very understanding after. My sister is better off without her."
Still, Autumn was radiating pain which Chantale could relate to. Wanting to give the sisters a moment, she turned to Rielle. "Is there anything I've missed?"
Rielle considered. "Not really. Autumn's story hasn't changed at all since that first night in the hospital. I agree Colton should have recused himself, but I came late in the process. I would definitely use it against him, though."
That wasn't the only thing Chantale planned to use against him.
"Is there anything I can do?"
"Find a way to get Byrne declared innocent so the police can go after the real perpetrator. Every day they spend building their house of cards against Byrne, Autumn has to live in fear of her rapist coming back," Rielle replied.
"He's out there," Autumn whispered brokenly. "Every time I go to class, I look at the male students and wonder if one of them is my attacker. I keep wondering when he's going to come back."
Chantale felt the weight of Autumn's need to get back her sense of security.
"You think he was a student."
She nodded. "He must have been. All of us were in Dr. Byrne's literature class, so this guy has to have some kind of connection to the campus."
Chantale considered. "Did he speak?"
Autumn shook her head. "Colton said it was because Dr. Byrne would have known we could identify him by his accent, but what if it's the other way? What if he has a voice which is identifiable?"
The woman's thoughts mirrored Chantale's exactly. Then, sensing Autumn's sudden and overwhelming fatigue, Chantale tucked her notepad in her briefcase and pulled out a business card. "You can reach my anytime if you think of something else."
"Will you do something for me?"
"If I can."
"Will you tell Dr. Byrne I never believed what they said? Tell him I know he didn't do this and I'm sorry for what they are putting him through."
The woman's generosity and magnanimous gesture was breath-taking. That she was thinking about Declan with everything else that was going on around her spoke of a maturity beyond her eighteen years. "I will be sure to tell him." She hesitated, then continued. "And he wanted to express his sorrow of what you've gone through. He's deeply concerned about you and the other women."
Autumn offered up a smile. "That's him. He's facing prison and he's thinking about us." She paused. "I was supposed to take the second part of his class this semester. Dr. Renaud is a good instructor, but it's not the same thing. Tell him we want him back in the class as soon as possible. You'll make that happen, right?"
In her optimism, Chantale thought, this woman was showing her naïveté. "I'll do my best."
It was Autumn who stood first with the others following suit. "I think I'm going to lie down. Kennedy and Rainbow will take care of you." She turned to Rielle. "Thanks." Then she left, Tiffany hard on her heels.
For a moment, the room was silent.
It was Kennedy who moved first. "You said you wanted to see Tiffany's puppies. I'll take you. Rielle?"
Rielle shook her head. "I might be tempted to take another one and Gage would kill me. I have to be getting home to the kids, but I'll walk out with you."
The walk, Chantale noted, was made in silence. Rielle made a wave and Kennedy pointed off towards the barn.
"Autumn alternates between great strength and great despair."
"I can see that," Chantale replied. "It was incredibly brave of her to talk to me today."
"There was no dissuading her." Kennedy gave a rueful laugh. "In my job I try to get people to talk about their trauma and yet I don't want my sister to do exactly that. I'm close with all of my sisters, but Autumn and I have a special bond. She's close with her twin Summer, but they have vastly different personalities. Summer is effervescent - like Rainbow, while Autumn is more introspective and intuitive to other people's emotions. She would make a good therapist, if she chose that route."
"A challenging career to be sure." Chantale was still walking when Kennedy stopped and whirled on her.
"I know about you and Colton."
Of course she did. For a relationship which had been executed in what they had thought was relative secrecy, it sure wasn't a secret. Everyone in Mission City seemed to know her business.
"Are you thinking it will affect my work in this case?"
"I'll be honest and say I don't know what to think. I won't be betraying any confidences by saying your sister has great faith in you which inclines me to believe you're on the up-and-up." She let out a long breath and Chantale realized the therapist was as frustrated with herself for being flustered as she was with the whole situation.
"Let me put your mind at ease. Yes, Declan Byrne is my client. What I said to your sister, about his concern for the victims, was genuine. He doesn't want the re-traumatized. He was contemplating pleading guilty so they wouldn't have to go through a trial."
Kennedy's eyes widened. "But if he's innocent then that means the monster is still out there somewhere."
"That's what I said to him. My job isn't just to prove him innocent, it's to force the police to reopen the investigation."
"You have to do that or Autumn will live in a perpetual state of panic. She covers well enough, but she's not sleeping and she's lost weight. She sleeps with a baseball bat next to her bed and she needs a nightlight." Kennedy looked off towards the grazing area where four horses were standing. "It doesn't just affect her. Her sisters...they hurt for her. Sunshine especially."
"Colton's ex-wife."
Kennedy's smile was rueful. "I think both of them would admit that it was a mistake. Sunshine has...a gift. An ability which I can't explain. She sees things which others don't. She saw something broken in Colton and she believed she could heal it. Same with her first husband Logan. Both marriages lasted under a year." She shook her head. "The night Autumn was attacked, Sunshine got really sick. She was in bed that entire weekend. She knew something was wrong, but she was afraid to speak up in case we thought she was crazy. She was devastated when she found out about Autumn because...she'd had readings of emotions and she'd tried to discount them."
Chantale wasn't sure that she'd heard correctly. "Readings?"
"I don't understand my sister and there's no scientific proof, so we don't talk about it. Her guilt, though, is real. It will only be alleviated when her sister is truly safe."
"I'll do my best," Chantale offered.
"See that you do," Kennedy replied. She began walking again and led Chantale to a barn. "I have to warn you, they're...gregarious."
Chantale had a smile on her face when Kennedy opened the pen. The sound was cacophonous as nine puppies all began yapping at the same time. They all came barrelling towards the women and Chantale was barely able to stay upright. Grateful she had worn her cowboy boots and jeans - Jocelyne had advised her on that one - she knelt down and let the wriggling bodies come to her. Then, heedless of the dust and hay, Chantale plopped down on her butt and reached for the closest puppy. She pulled it into her embrace and was rewarded by a thorough tongue bath.
"How are you able to let them go?" She couldn't imagine it.
"They go to really good homes which we vet ahead of time. Also, four of them are going to become working dogs. Our sister Torah trains dogs to work with the blind and disabled as well as comfort dogs like Tiffany."
"It was amazing how she handled that situation," Chantale remarked, sighing when the puppy curled up in her lap. Pure heaven, she thought. "Do you sell them?"
"We do," Kennedy confirmed.
Despite her best intentions, Chantale found herself asking, "how much?"
"One thousand dollars which includes training by Torah. Much of the money is donated back to the running of the ranch."
A little expensive, but Chantale knew of the good the ranch was doing. Her own sister was proof of it.
"I'll take this one. How soon can he - or is it she - can come home?"
Kennedy knelt down and scooped the puppy up in her arms. "She will be ready when she's twelve weeks old which is four weeks from now. Are you sure? Dogs are a lot of responsibility."
Chantale fought a feeling of annoyance as it felt like Kennedy was being condescending. "I know they are. Jocelyne and Seth have two and I've been thinking about getting one for myself for quite some time." When Kennedy returned the dog to her lap, she dropped her face into the fur. A sense of well-being washed over her. This felt so right. "Do you want a cheque now or when I come to pick her up?"
"You can pay for her when you come to get her." Kennedy moved over to a box and lifted the lid. She held up a collar. "Purple okay?"
"Purple is perfect."
What had been hardest, after her dog had been collared, was walking away. Kennedy said she was welcome to come out on Sunday afternoons to visit and suggested Chantale might want to come up with a name.
So, as she was driving away from the ranch, Chantale began to contemplate female dog names. Nothing froufrou she decided. Labs were sturdy dogs and hard workers, so it would need to be a name to reflect that.
She was about to make the turn to go back into Mission City when, taking a moment to orient herself, she realized she was just a few kilometres from Declan's place. She should probably call first, but she knew she wouldn't. She wanted to catch him unawares.
Stopping first at the mailbox, Chantale pulled up the long driveway. Objectively, she could say it was a nice house. Post-modern in design, it was concrete and soaring glass. It was about as far away from an Irish cottage as she could imagine. Grabbing her briefcase, she made her way up the walkway and rang the bell.
Then waited. She glanced at her watch and waited until two full minutes had passed.
She rang the bell again.
Another two full minutes went by.
What if he had fled? What if he had decided to leave the property? His bail would be forfeit and he would be thrown back in jail...if they caught him.
Feeling panic, she pressed her finger to the bell and held it there.
The door flew open.
"What the hell?" There was no mistaking the fury in his voice or the anger glittering in those crystal blue eyes. "What the hell do you want?"
She wasn't sure she had ever received a colder reception. The brogue was also back in full force.
She straightened. "I need to talk to you."
His gaze raked over her. "You're dirty."
So she did a quick wipe-down of her jeans. "Better?"
He didn't look pleased, but he opened the door further so she could get in. She squeezed past him and was about to enter the house when he spoke up. "Don't even think about bringing dirt into my house. For God's sake, take off your boots."
She wanted to ask who had put the stick up his ass, but figured that might not go over so well. Wordlessly, she removed her boots, shucked her jacket, and wiped her hands down her jeans again for good measure.
Still, he directed her to the bathroom. "Clean yourself up."
Annoyance was beginning to war with decorum, but then Chantale reminded herself she had shown up unannounced. So she went into the two-piece bathroom and tried to clean herself up as best as she could. Now that she looked closely, she could see she was covered in a layer of dust. Still, as she swiped at the dirt, she couldn't help but remember the puppy. It was on that thought she left the bathroom and almost walked into Declan.
His face was a scowl. Without a word, he turned and headed for the kitchen. Figuring that was her cue, she followed him. He pointed to a stool by the island and she sat, watching as he put the kettle on to boil but pointedly did not put on a pot of coffee.
So much for hospitality.
"Why didn't you answer your door?"
He turned to face her and she got her first really good look. He looked...haunted. Hunted. Tired.
"I did not answer the door because I thought you were another reporter. They've been coming around with frequency. I would post a sign telling them all to go to hell, but I can't leave my house to walk down the driveway."
"Oh, that reminds me," Chantale said, reaching for her bag. "I picked up your mail."
Declan waved for her to drop it on the counter and she did. She was about to speak when she caught sight of something.
"Do you have rubber gloves?"
He looked at her as if she'd seriously lost her mind.
So she repeated herself. "Do you have gloves?"
"Yes, under the counter. Give me a moment." She heard him scrounging, but her eyes never left the mail.
"Here," he said, thrusting them at her.
She put them on and then gingerly pushed away the bills and the advertisements until she got to the paper which had caught her attention. It was scrawled in black crayon and was meant to look like a child's printing.
You're dead.
"I want you to call the police."
Declan looked over at the paper. "For that," he asked, his tone replete with disbelief. "I've had over a dozen calls saying the same thing."
She shot him a glance. "This is serious. There isn't a stamp on it which means they drove out here to put it in your box. They knew which box was yours. I would also bet that your number is unlisted."
"It is," he confirmed. "The university recommends we not list our numbers and addresses." He pointed to the note. "This is just a threat."
"You live in the middle of nowhere and can't leave, Declan. You're a sitting duck."
He let out a long suffering sigh. "You were the one who insisted I not be in jail, need I remind you?"
Still, Chantale reached for her phone. "Seth? It's Chantale. Can you come out to Declan's property? It's important."