Page 31 of Perfect Sin
“Shit, what’s that douchebag up to now?” Shane asks.
Ford scrubs his hand down his face. “I told you he was accused of assaulting a cheerleader. As you see, he didn’t get kicked out of school. He was, however, kicked off the team.”
“He played football with you?”
Ford nods. “Yeah, my first year here. He was the starting quarterback, and was set to transfer this year to USC. The scandal prompted them to pull his offer along with his scholarship.”
“The girl, I think her name was Ashley, quit school and moved. The guys Jesse lives with made her life hell. They spread rumors about her, both in person and on-line,” Shane adds.
“Not all the guys,” Ford says. “One of them stood up for her and told everyone the guys in the house play this sexual bingo game. There’s different types of girls, and the one who hits ‘Bingo’ gets the largest room in the house. That’s sick enough, but Jesse is worse. He doesn’t take no for an answer. A bunch of girls spoke up about him drugging them.”
“How much do you want to bet one of the squares on this year’s Bingo is a married woman?” Shane suggests.
“She’s never left alone. If she needs to go to the bathroom, we clear it and wait outside the door,” I demand.
“No arguments from me,” Ford agrees.
“I just wish I had classes with you. I’ll do what I can from the vocational program,” Shane volunteers.
“Why is he still here?” I ask.
Ford shakes his head. “I heard his family has connections. Someone pulled some strings, and now he’s here and she’s gone.”
“Those connections need to be severed if he sets his sights on my wife.”
Holbrook uses his key and lets himself in the front door. “How did your first day go? Did you notice any of the agents on campus?” he asks.
I smirk. “You mean the janitor outside the first class I go to, the gardener who seemed not to really do anything with plants, and the teacher’s assistant that seemed a bit too old to be a TA?”
“Of course you’d pick them out,” he grumbles.
I pat him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. I don’t think anyone else noticed.”
“What were you guys discussing when I walked in? It’s tense as hell in here,” he asks the three of us.
Ford recaps Jesse’s history for the agent. When he’s done, Holbrook drops down on the couch. “You guys have the worst luck. What are the odds you’d deal with controlling and abusive parents only to stumble upon the campus sex offender?”
I crack my neck trying to relieve the tension building up. “Considering it’s us, I guess pretty high.”
“Sin, you didn’t do anything to deserve this,” he reassures me.
“At least Raven hasn’t,” I mumble. Changing the subject, I ask, “Have my parents made any moves?”
“Nothing we’ve picked up on. It’s disturbing. After the lengths he took to separate you and Raven, I find it hard to believe he’d give up.”
I agree with him. Arthur is up to something, and I need to figure out what before he springs his trap.
“What about Damien? Has there been any action on the club Lucien worked at?”
“We raided the club, found drugs, guns, but no girls. It looks like people were living in the basement for a while, but they’ve been moved. The club has been shut down, but they’ll just set up somewhere else.”
“Let me guess, nothing leads back to Blackthorne?”
He shakes his head. “Nothing. We haven’t located Jess’s body either.”
“I told you you’d never find her. He’s got an entire crew that cleans up his messes. They are a forensic team’s nightmare, because a couple of them are forensic scientists,” I tell him.
He sighs. “Well, that’s disturbing. We still have you, though. Is there any way we can prove you were living with Blackthorne since you were a child?”