Page 60 of False Evidence
They dusted for prints—the only proof the two men had been there, but it was Brent who’d held the phone, and he’d spent many hours in the apartment prior to today.
The only things she knew for certain Russ had touched were her and the cord to the BlackBerry headset. The cord was too thin to hold a fingerprint.
“He was here,” she whispered to the police officer. “They both were.”
“How did they get in?”
“Either my roommate gave Brent a key, or he had one copied from her keychain.”
The officer’s gaze swept down her body, taking in the cocktail dress and heels. “You got home at 10:15 a.m.?”
She nodded. They’d gone over that already.
“Who were you with last night?”
“What does that have to do with the men who invaded my apartment and assaulted me?”
“Can anyone confirm the time you arrived home?”
“I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”
“How about we go to the hospital and get you checked out?”
“My head hit the wall, but not hard enough to warrant a trip to the hospital.”
The other officer spoke. “Still, it’s a good idea. Make sure everything is fine. For our report. If this guy just got out on bail as you say he did, it will work in your favor for getting a restraining order. You can get a blood draw too while you’re there. To show you aren’t using GHB recreationally.”
She felt the blood drain from her face and wobbled on her feet at the implication. They didn’t want her to go to the hospital out of concern forher. They took one look at her morning-after dress and pegged her as someone deserving sexual assault and were suspicious of her claim against Russ.
“Do you treat all women like this, Officer Lindberg, or am I just lucky?”
“Like what?”
“Like I’m the one who needs to prove my innocence when I’m the victim here.”
“We’re just crossing our Ts here, Miss Vargas.”
“No, you’re not. You’re looking for ways to paint me as the villain. A man who intended to rape me was in my home, right after getting out of jail. He cut off my call to nine-one-one and shoved me into the wall. ButIneed to give you a blood sample?”
“I don’t see why it’s a problem if you don’t use drugs.”
“I don’t, but that’s neither here nor there when it comes to the man who assaultedme.”
“I think we’re done here,” Officer Williams said.
She followed both men to the door and locked it behind them—fat lot of good that would do if Russ now had a key—and leaned against it. She slowly slid down to the floor and let tears fall.
This was far from over, and if Russ Spaulding was going to face prosecution, it was clear she was the one who would be on trial.
Kendall arrived home thirty minutes after the locksmith arrived. He was still changing the dead bolt when she entered the living room with a flushed face. She cast a worried glance toward the entry hall where the locksmith worked. “What’s going on, Alex?”
“Your boyfriend and his buddy were in the apartment when I got home. They threatened and assaulted me.”
“Brent wouldn’t?—”
“Hedid, Kendall. When I said I was calling the police, Brent withheld the cordless handset from me.” She nodded to the phone, which still sat on the kitchen table. “I told you I never wanted him in our apartment again, and you gave him a fuckingkey?”
“I didn’t! He never had a key.”