Suffer II (12 page)

Emily awoke disoriented and scared. She blinked away the haze as a wave of nausea passed through her. Moving in slow motion, she pulled back the covers and eased her feet to the cold floor.

Her mouth was bone dry and her head was throbbing. It took a few moments to steady herself before shuffling in the direction of the bathroom. Bloodshot eyes and cracked lips looked back at her as she moved past the mirror. Dropping to her knees in front of the toilet, specks of white light danced across her vision.

She pulled her hair back with one hand and held onto the vanity with the other. Her only thought was to get whatever was inside of her out. She heaved, but her dehydrated body had nothing to give.

When the waves settled, she leaned against the bathtub for several minutes. She had experienced one hangover in her life, but she was never confused about where it came from. She didn’t remember drinking any alcohol. She only remembered Christmas trees and unfamiliar faces.

Easing up to her feet, she grabbed the towel rack. When the bathroom stopped spinning, she made her way into the kitchen. Sipping at first, she drank two large glasses of water before picking up the phone and calling her friend.

“You look awful,” said Brittany, walking into Emily’s room.

“I feel awful,” said Emily, shifting in her bed.

“Tyler’s outside,” said Brittany. “He ended up staying over after he brought you home. I tried to get you to stay, but you kept yelling at me that you needed to leave and go take care of your mom.”

“I’m sorry,” said Emily. “I don’t remember yelling at you.”

“It’s okay,” said Brit. “You weren’t acting like yourself. I thought maybe you were kind of drunk or something.”

“I don’t remember drinking at all, Brit. That’s the problem.”

“I know you had a few eggnogs with a little rum in it, but that’s about it. What do you remember?”

“I remember Tyler picking me up and taking me to your house,” said Emily, propping herself up on her elbows. “I remember going inside and…”

“And what?”

“That’s it,” said Emily, falling back down on her pillow. “That’s where it all ends.”

“It’s better that you don’t remember,” said Brittany. “I’m going to go get Tyler.”

“Why?”

“Because he saw everything too.”

“Saw what, Brit?” asked Emily.

Brittany didn’t give her an answer and left the room. When she returned with Tyler, Emily was sitting up in bed. He walked into a corner and folded his arms across his chest.

“What’s going on?” asked Emily.

“Are you sure you don’t remember anything else that happened last night?” asked Brittany. “Anything at all?”

“You’re scaring me,” said Emily. “What did I do?”

“I think you were drugged, Em,” said Brittany, reaching out for her hand. “You really weren’t acting like yourself at all.”

“What was I doing?” asked Emily, breathing heavily.

“You went outside with Mark Hall and one of his friends,” said Brittany. “You started making out with them by the pool.”

“I did what?” said Emily, jumping to her feet. “No, Brit. Please tell me that you’re kidding.”

“She isn’t,” said Tyler. “I saw it too.”

“How do I not remember that?” asked Emily, putting her hands over her face.  “I don’t care how drunk I was, I never would’ve done that.”

“Em, please sit down,” said Brittany. “There’s more, but you need to sit down.”

“There’s more?” asked Emily, sitting beside her friend.

“After a while, we couldn’t find you,” said Brittany. “Tyler thought maybe you passed out in one of the rooms upstairs. When we did find you, you were with Mark and his friend.”

“What do you mean?” asked Emily, taking her time with her words. “What do you mean I was with them?”

“You were having sex with them,” said Tyler, lowering his head. “Both of them.”

Emily stood and walked to her bedroom door. After closing it, she covered her mouth and grabbed a small trashcan from beside her vanity. When she heaved for the last time, she sat in her chair in front of the mirror.

“I’m so sorry, Em,” said Brittany, crying. “I didn’t know what was happening. I yelled at you, but you just laughed at me and then told me to get out. They were laughing too.”

“You saw it?” asked Emily, looking over at Tyler and tightening her robe around her.

“Yeah,” said Tyler. “I saw it.”

“You didn’t think anything was wrong?” asked Emily, raising her voice. “You didn’t think that maybe they had done something to me?”

“You weren’t fighting with them,” said Tyler. “You just kept yelling at us to get out, Em. I didn’t know what was happening either.”

“So you just dumped me at home?” asked Emily, remembering she was wearing pajamas when she awoke. “Did you do anything to me?”

“What?” said Tyler, dropping his arms. “No!”

“You took off my clothes and put me in bed,” said Emily, looking down at the floor. “How do I know you didn’t?”

“I’ll be outside,” said Tyler.

“Neither one of us knew, Em,” said Brittany, watching Tyler walk out of the room. “He tried to get you to leave, but you wouldn’t. And then you came downstairs afterwards like nothing had happened. You smiled at us and made another drink.

“You don’t remember how you were acting. We do. We were both in shock, but you were just walking around and talking to people like everything was fine. An hour later, you said you wanted to go home.”

“I can’t believe this is happening,” said Emily, crying. “They drugged and raped me.”

“I know, Em,” said Brittany, walking behind her and wrapping her arms around her neck. “I’m so sorry. Do you want me to wake up your mom?”

“No!” said Emily, reaching up and grabbing her arm. “No. Call your parents, please. Tell them we’re going to the hospital.”

“Em,” said Brittany, crying harder. “They took pictures.”

“Oh my God,” said Emily, hyperventilating. “How do you know? Please, God, don’t tell me they posted them.”

“I don’t know who sent them to me,” said Brittany, handing Emily her phone. “I don’t recognize the email address.”

Tyler watched as Emily and Brittany walked down the front steps. Brittany was holding onto her arm. He was surprised and concerned by Emily’s demeanor. She was calm, but distant. He opened the passenger door and helped them inside. An uncomfortable silence went with them to the hospital.

When they arrived, the receptionist called the police at Emily’s request after she explained the reason for her visit. A nurse escorted her to an isolated room in the ER while Tyler and Brittany waited outside. As Brittany had hoped, the sheriff arrived with two deputies.

Being called to the hospital for a suspected rape was a rare occurrence in the small town of Boudreaux. As soon as it came in, Sheriff Lewis grabbed his hat and raced out the door. He recognized the two faces walking toward him after he stepped out of the car, but couldn’t recall their names. He was more familiar with their parents after the introductions. His heart sank when they told him the name of the victim.

“You two were there when it happened?” asked Lewis, raising an eyebrow.

“We were,” said Brittany. “That’s how we know she wasn’t raped.”

“Okay,” said Lewis, taking a deep breath. “We all need to go inside and get this worked out.”

“I can’t talk in front of her, Sheriff,” said Brittany, working up panic in her voice. “We’re her best friends and she needs help. If she thinks we’re turning against her, she’ll never speak to us again. You can’t tell her we talked to you.”

“That depends on what you have to say, young lady. Do you understand how serious this is?”

“It’s the reason why I’m talking to you now,” said Brittany. “I don’t want to see Mark Hall and Greg Jones get into trouble for something they didn’t do.”

“Mark Hall?” asked Lewis, taking off his hat. “Judge Hall’s son?”

“Yes,” said Brittany, holding up her phone. “Does she look like she’s being raped?”

“Good Lord.” said Lewis. “Where did you get those?”

“They were sent in an email. I don’t know the address. It came this morning. It’s when Emily got really upset and came up with the story she’s telling the doctor now. She made us swear to tell the same story.”

“What’s her story?” asked Lewis.

“That she was drugged and raped,” said Brittany. “It’s the only way she can explain the pictures.”

“And how they ended up on the internet,” said Lewis.

“They’re not on the internet,” said Brittany. “They came in an email.”

“Sweetie, trust me,” said Lewis. “You’re not the only one that got those.”

“Oh, no,” said Brittany, pushing tears. “That’s why she’s freaking out so bad.”

“You’re saying she wasn’t drugged and raped?” said Lewis.

“No,” said Brittany, “she wasn’t.”

“So what did happen?”

“I invited her to my Christmas party,” said Brittany. “She came with Tyler. As soon as she walked inside, she started drinking. She told me she wanted to blow off steam because her mother was stressing her out. Do you know her mom?”

“Ms. Karla,” said Lewis. “Yes, I know her well. I knew Hank too. That family has been through hell, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any better.”

“This is hard for me, Sheriff,” said Brittany, pushing more tears. “She’s my best friend, and I hate that she’s doing this to herself.”

“I know this is hard, sweetheart, but you’re doing the right thing by telling me the truth. Now, go on. What happened next?”

“Tyler and I caught her in my backyard snorting cocaine,” said Brittany.

“Emily Pierce was snorting cocaine?” asked Lewis, cocking his head. “Come on, now.”

“Yes,” said Brittany, lowering her head. “It wasn’t the first time we caught her, but I didn’t want to tell on her. I thought we could help her stop. I was wrong. This is all my fault.”

“It’s okay, Brittany,” said Lewis. “It’s not your fault. You were trying to help a friend. Just calm down and tell me the rest.”

“Just like the other times, she told me it wasn’t cocaine,” said Brittany. “She said it was some kind of nasal medicine. I’m not stupid, but I didn’t want to upset her. When I tried to talk to her about it, she laughed it off and went inside.

“After a while Tyler and I couldn’t find her. We thought maybe she left with Mark because they were making out on the couch earlier. But they didn’t leave. They were all upstairs in one of our spare bedrooms. You know the rest from the pictures. Emily told us to join them or get out. I couldn’t believe she was saying that to me.”

“You saw all of this?” asked Lewis, looking over at Tyler.

“Yes, sir, I did,” said Tyler. “She wasn’t being raped. They all came downstairs joking and laughing. An hour later, she asked me to take her home, so I did.”

“I was hoping for a quiet day,” said Lewis, taking off his hat and rubbing his head.

“She needs help, Sheriff,” said Brittany. “It’s been getting worse.”

“Were your parents at home last night?”

“No. They were in New Orleans for a charity dinner. They’re coming to the hospital now. Emily wants them here instead of her mom. She doesn’t want her to know anything is wrong.”

“Do your parents know what happened?”

“No. I was going to tell them when they got here. Emily will lie to them too.”

“All right,” said Lewis, pulling out his phone. “I think I’ve heard enough for now. You two need to stick around. I’ll go inside and talk to Emily and the doctors. I won’t tell her we spoke. We’ll get her some help, Brittany, I promise.”

“Thank you,” said Brittany, hugging the sheriff. “I just want my friend back. That’s all.”

“One more thing,” said Lewis. “I’m going to need those pictures. You need to delete them after.”

“Okay,” said Brittany, taking his business card. “I’ll send them now.”

“Thank you,” said Lewis. “Y’all head back in. I need to make a call.”

Sheriff Lewis stood outside the ER doors while everyone else went inside. When Brittany’s message arrived, he took another deep breath and dialed a number. He knew all hope was lost for a quiet day when she answered.

“Good morning, Judge Hall.”

Tyler told Dawson, Chief, and Grey everything he and Brittany did to Emily. Most of the story came through tears. When he finished, Dawson didn’t say a word and walked out to the back porch. Grey gave him a few minutes before joining him.

“Do you mind if I sit down?” asked Grey.

“I don’t understand any of this,” said Dawson. “You don’t know Emily like I did. She was the sweetest girl I ever met. How could they do that to her?”

“That’s a tough question, buddy,” said Grey, taking a seat next to him. “I was an FBI profiler for years, and I can’t tell you how many times I asked that same question. On the rare occasion I did get an answer, it still didn’t make sense to me. Eventually, I just stopped asking.”

“Tyler was right,” said Dawson, staring out into the bayou. “I won’t be able to forgive him for what he did. I don’t want be his brother right now, if ever.”

“Well, it’s a bit too soon to think about forgiving anyone,” said Grey. “But you’ll find a way. He told you the truth. As much as it hurt him to hurt you, he told you the truth. That took guts.”

“I want to put him through a wall,” said Dawson, turning to look at Grey. “I want to beat him unconscious, wake him up, and then beat him again. It’s the reason I’m out here and not in there with him. I can’t even look at his face.”

“That part I get more than you know,” said Grey. “It’s why we’re here.”

“Are you going to hurt him?”

“Who? Your brother?”

“Yeah.”

“No,” said Grey. “We’re not going to hurt him. There isn’t much more that we could do to him. He made a mistake that’s going to haunt him for the rest of his life. I’m more worried that he’s going to hurt himself.”

“What do you mean?” asked Dawson. “Suicide?”

“He’s been carrying a lot of weight,” said Grey. “He just let some of it go, but he did it because he couldn’t bear it anymore. As strange as it sounds, he did what he did because he was in love with her.”

“You’re saying if he couldn’t have her, he wouldn’t let anyone else either,” said Dawson. “That’s sick.”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying. I am saying that he was manipulated into believing, if he helped Brittany, he’d have a chance at being Emily’s hero. He thought when the smoke cleared, he’d be the only one left in her corner. I agree that it’s a little twisted, but for him, he was running out of options and time.”

“He killed her, Grey. He may not have done it with his own hands, but he killed her.”

“I can’t argue with you about that,” said Grey. “I’m thinking there were probably a few occasions when he could’ve put a stop to this. If he had spoken up, she’d probably be alive today. He knows that, Dawson. He knows that she didn’t survive what they did to her. He’s now wondering if he should.”

“You brought me here to get him to talk, didn’t you?” asked Dawson.

“I did.”

“Well, it worked. Why do you care about what happens to him now?”

“Because Emily does,” said Grey, surprising Dawson. “She wouldn’t want to see him get hurt. Even after everything he did, she would’ve forgiven him. I believe she would’ve forgiven Brittany as well.”

“How can you be so sure about that?” asked Dawson. “You didn’t know her.”

“I know her better than you think. When you finish reading her journals, you’ll understand why. All of this started because Tyler thought he saw something that didn’t happen, but he convinced himself that it did. Unfortunately, he also convinced Brittany. In their eyes, she betrayed them in the worst way.”

“I don’t care what they thought she did or didn’t do,” said Dawson. “She’s dead because of them.”

“They didn’t kill her,” said Grey. “But because Tyler told us the truth, we’re much closer to finding out who did. You need to understand that this goes much, much deeper than Brittany and Tyler. What they did to Emily was horrible and inexcusable, but neither one of them wanted her dead. We’re going after the people who did.”

Dawson turned away and resumed his stare into the bayou. He knew Grey was right. Emily would have forgiven them for being wrong about her and Conner. She would have looked at it through their eyes and understood their anger.

He looked at an empty space on the porch and imagined Emily standing there with a disarming smile. She would have told him to look after Tyler and make sure he was okay. She would have reminded him of all the pain they endured when their mother died and their father’s spirit died with her. She would have told him that he was all Tyler had left in the world.

“Okay,” said Dawson, standing and then walking inside. Grey followed.

“Do you remember the promise we made to Emily’s father?” asked Dawson, pulling Tyler up from the floor.

“I do,” said Tyler, wiping away tears. “I think about it every day now.”

“We promised him we’d look after her,” said Dawson, turning towards Chief. “We promised him we’d never let anyone hurt her.”

“I was ten,” said Tyler, clearing his throat. “It was the first day we met them.”

“We broke that promise,” said Dawson, looking back at Tyler. “We both did. We let him down, but we’ll have to wait and deal with that when we see him again. Until then, we’re going to make him a new promise. One you and I are going to keep.

“We’re going to find the people who hurt her, and then we’re going to hurt them. We’re going to find the people that killed her, and then we’re going to kill them. Do you understand, Tyler?”

“I do.”

“I’m going to need your help,” said Dawson. “I wanna punch you in the face right now, but I’m trying really hard to find a way to forgive you for what you did. That’s going to take some time. I’m still your brother, and I always will be. Nothing will ever change that. You did the right thing by telling us what happened. It’s the only thing that’s keeping me from tearing your head off right now.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes,” said Tyler, standing taller. “I swear. I’ll kill them myself.”

“No,” said Dawson. “You’re not. You’re not going to do anything except answer their questions and tell them everything you know. After that, you’re leaving town.”

“Leaving?”

“Can we make that happen?” asked Dawson, turning to look at Grey.

“We can,” said Grey. “That’s a very good idea.”

“Dawson, I can’t just –”

“Yes, you can. You need to go be with Ms. Karla. She’s surrounded by a bunch of security people she doesn’t know. When you get there, don’t tell her what you did. That’ll come later when this is over. She needs to see a familiar face. That face is going to be yours. That’s how you’re going to help. Don’t even think about arguing with me.”

“All right,” said Tyler, exhaling. “I’ll go, but you have to promise me you’ll stay in touch and tell me what’s going on here, okay?”

“I promise,” said Dawson.

“I just got a message from Abby,” said Chief. “They’re heading back to the house. They’re through with Brittany.”

“Dawson,” said Grey, “take Tyler home so he can pack. You both can stay with us tonight so you can answer some questions. We’ll make arrangements for you to fly out tomorrow.”

“Where am I going?” asked Tyler.

“You’ll know when you get there, son” said Chief. “And then you need to forget.”

“Listen to me, Tyler,” said Grey, getting his attention. “Nobody can know where you are. At this point, Ms. Karla isn’t in any danger, but that’s going to change. It’s going to change for you as well. You can call us or your brother whenever you want, but that’s it, nobody else. If you do, we’ll know and it’ll be the worst day of your life. Is there anything about my tone that makes you believe I’m not serious?”

“I believe you,” said Tyler.

Chief and Grey made their way back to the rental house. Abby and Kate were already there. When they walked inside, they were hit with the aroma of pizza. Chief inhaled with a smile as Grey stared at Abby.

“They weren’t delivered,” said Abby, pulling down plates from the kitchen cabinet. “We ordered carry-out.”

“You two crack me up,” said Chief, chuckling.

“We didn’t feel like cooking,” said Kate, grabbing a plate.

“This is fine by me,” said Chief, joining her. “I’m starving, and the rabbit food you guys eat is killing me.”

“That rabbit food has made you ten pounds lighter and ten years younger,” said Abby. “I just want you around for a long time.”

“I do look good,” said Chief, pulling out a chair after kissing Abby on the cheek.

“How did it go with Tyler?” asked Kate, sitting beside Chief.

“He sang like a canary. I wish you could’ve seen the look on his face when Dawson came around the corner. Priceless. After that, he was putty.”

“They set her up at the party like we suspected,” said Grey. “They drugged her and posed her so it would look like she was having sex with a couple of guys. They took photos.”

“Let me guess,” said Abby. “Mark Hall was one those guys.”

“Bingo,” said Chief, taking a large bite.

“All this over kissing a guy?” asked Evan, grabbing a slice and sitting at the table.

“Well, Brittany thought it was much more than a kiss,” said Chief. “Tyler told her they were having sex on the back porch.”

“But they didn’t,” said Evan. “I read that in her journal.”

“It doesn’t matter at this point,” said Chief. “We now know how all of this started.”

Grey pulled out his notebook and brought the team up to speed on their conversation with Tyler. When he finished, Abby was shaking her head, and Evan leaned back in his chair with an open mouth full of pizza. Kate sat in silence.

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” said Evan, finishing a beer. “No offense, Kate.”

“None taken,” said Kate, grinning. “But you’re right. Back someone like Brittany into a corner, and the claws will come out. Conner was the love of her life. She’d do anything or hurt anyone who stood between them.”

“She didn’t budge on her story,” said Abby. “She lied to our faces and faked a few tears along the way. It was pathetic.”

“She’ll come around,” said Kate. “Today wasn’t the day, but she will. I didn’t expect her to tell us the truth. We just needed her to make those phone calls.”

“Other than Tyler, who did she try to call?” asked Chief.

“I can’t confirm that just yet,” said Evan. “It was to an unregistered cell that was more than likely a disposable phone. She couldn’t leave a message because the voicemail isn’t activated. All I can tell you is that the number pinged off of a cell tower in New Orleans.”

“She wouldn’t have left a message anyway,” said Grey. “The phone call was a signal. They’ll be meeting in person.”

“I can track Brittany’s phone and car through the embedded GPS systems, but I went ahead and placed our trackers on hers and her parent’s vehicles. So far no movement from any of them.”

“Good work,” said Grey. “Can you hack into someone’s computer from here?”

“Piece of cake,” said Evan. “You want me to find those pictures, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“You think she still has them?” said Abby.

“I don’t know for sure,” said Kate. “But I do know Mark Hall does.”

“Okay,” said Evan, cracking his knuckles. “I’m on it.”