Rumors spread quickly, especially on a college campus and before she knew it, the whole University was abuzz with gossip about the attack on Avery. Girls were worried to walk alone or even in small groups of less than at least four. The day of the attack was a Saturday morning and now it was Friday afternoon and Talisa was in her office on campus, fine-tuning a lecture for the coming week. As she picked up a red pen to cross out a line of speech, her phone buzzed beside her on the desk.
"Hello?"
"Hi there, is this Talisa Oliveira?"
"It is. Can I help you?"
"Hey, yeah, this is Detective Carisi from the Special Victim's Unit."
"Of course. Sonny, right?" She smiled into the phone.
"You got it." She was pretty sure she heard him smiling back. "Listen, we've got Avery down here and she IDed the guy out of our lineup. So the next step is to start putting together the case against him. And as Avery's outcry witness you'll be a part of that."
"Absolutely. Whatever I can do." Talisa interjected.
"Great. I'm going to give your number to our ADA. His name is Rafael Barba and his assistant, Carmen, will contact you in the next few days to arrange a time to meet and go over your testimony."
"That will be no problem. I can make time for this no matter what." She stated firmly. "I'm so glad you've already apprehended this maniac. And I'm sure Avery is going to be able to sleep better now."
"She's been a real trooper. Really seems to have it together." He said.
"I agree. She's an excellent student and I don't think she's going to let this horrible time in her life disrupt the path she's on. I've always been impressed by her and continue to be. I don't know if I could do it."
"Better not to have to find out, right?"
"Heh. Right."
"Right. Well, thanks again for being so available. I guess I'll be seeing you at the courthouse."
"Okay then. Thank you for calling and keeping me updated. I really appreciate it, Sonny."
"You're certainly welcome. Bye now."
"Bye." She hung up the phone and stared down at her notes and sighed. Maybe taking it home would be better. She gathered everything up and stuffed it into her computer bag, slinging it over her shoulder.
Monday morning had begun and Talisa sat at her breakfast bar in her cozy two-bedroom apartment. She loved her place. It was a decent size and she actually had a doorman and an elevator. No more fourth floor walkups for her. That time in her life was over. She gripped her coffee cup and enjoyed the warmth that oozed into her hands through the ceramic mug. She'd worked hard to get to where she was and truly enjoyed the fruits of her labor. She did so well in her undergrad at UVA that she got a substantial scholarship to go to Georgetown University where she finished a masters and a doctorate in religious studies. With numerous recommendations and the support of several faculty at Georgetown she was given an associate professorship at her alma mater immediately after she graduated. Being twice published in prestigious journals during the five years she worked at Georgetown meant that she was noticed by other universities looking to hire a full time religion professor. She passed on a few offers before deciding, almost on a whim, to leave Virginia and DC for New York City. When the offer from Columbia came in she was just a few months off of a break-up. Not a bad one, really, more like a fizzled-out relationship, and she really needed a change. New York was definitely the change she was looking for and it was everything she wanted. The University treated her wonderfully and she'd made some good friends among the faculty in the four years she'd been here. Not to mention she completely adored the access to shows, plays, and comedy that the city presented. As far as her romantic life went, there had only been one man in her life for longer than two dates. Again, it had been a relationship that lasted about a year and then just fizzled out towards the end. Talisa was on the look-out for a partner that could bring some passion into her world. Taking a small sip to test the temperature of her coffee she started a little as her phone buzzed in her back pocket.
Not recognizing the New York number, she answered anyway. "This is Dr. Oliveira." She didn't always use her doctoral title, but every once in a while she threw it out there just to hear it.
"Talisa Oliveira?" Came the deep voice on the other end.
"Yes, this is she. Who is calling?"
"Ah. I didn't realize you were a doctor… this is ADA Rafael Barba from the Manhattan DA's office. I believe you were notified that I'd be calling?"
"Yes! Of course. Detective Carisi let me know last week. Sorry to throw you with the 'doctor' bit. I don't think I ever told the police about my PhD."
"I see. That's no problem." He paused. She heard papers shuffling. "I'm needing probably about an hour or maybe two with you to go over your outcry witness testimony. Are you available tomorrow? I know it's soon…" He trailed off expectantly.
"Tomorrow is fine for me. I'll make any time work. I really want to help Avery in any way I can. You just tell me when and I will be there, Mr. Barba."
"That's excellent, thank you. Let's say 10am?"
"Absolutely. Tell me again where to go?" She got a pen ready to write down his instructions. "Perfect. I will see you in the morning." She said and they both said their goodbyes. Talisa got to work cancelling her class the next day that was at 1pm. Maybe she'd make it back in time, but she'd rather not risk it.