The Surf Leash Strangler

Chapter 7

(Disclaimer: This chapter contains graphic depictions of rape.)

The drive from San Diego to Samantha Whitmore's home was less than ideal; Veronica found herself alone in one of the FBI's standard SUV's and all she could do was think about the very strange, awkward, yet nice date – not a date – she had just had with Logan. It had been easy, for a few minutes, to fall into their old pattern, teasing one another. It reminded her of the happy memories that she cherished more than anything. But then there were the other things, the memories, the actions Veronica wished didn't exist, but they did. And every time she remembered the good, she was overwhelmed by the bad. She just didn't know what to do or how to feel, and really, all she wanted to do was for it to stop.

Locking away her past, putting up those walls and not letting anyone in had worked – somewhat – for eight years, and knowing that Logan was very capable of bringing those walls down and making her face her fears scared the shit out of her. But it wasn't just her mistakes that she locked behind those walls; it was how she felt every time she thought about him. Hearing his laugh, seeing that smirk, just made her remember how much she had loved him and how much she still did.

But she needed to focus. Veronica couldn't be falling apart when she had a possible lead. She needed to be on her A-game, not just for Samantha – who deserved to be heard – but for the other eight women as well.

Samantha Whitmore lived on the edge of Neptune; the house that she lived in – by herself – was an old-fashioned Tuscon styled home composed of three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an open living area, as well as a downstairs office. It was in a gated community, with a lot of green lawns and manicured gardens. Not exactly a place that a girl working a minimum wage job would normally be able to afford.

The name Whitmore explained the house more; George Whitmore, known for his crude and incredibly sexist point of view, had his very own talk show and was Samantha's Uncle. And what a doting Uncle he must have been, because the house and Samantha's car, were all in her uncle's name. The contracts were only a few months old, telling Veronica that Samantha had only recently moved into her new home and that it probably meant that Samantha hadn't felt safe after her attack.

Veronica had also learned that Samantha had become somewhat of a hermit. She used to be the typical young woman, but now she worked hard and spent her spare time at home, behind the safety of twenty-four-hour security.

Veronica saw herself in Samantha. After waking up in that bed after Shelly Pomroy's party, Veronica didn't know how she could ever feel safe again. She didn't know if it was better that she had a black hole in place of the actual event itself, but Veronica understood why Samantha had locked herself away.

Standing at Samantha's front door, Veronica pulled out her badge and knocked. After a full minute, she hadn't heard anything, so she tried again. A harsh sigh echoed through the door, followed by the sound of multi locks being turned. The door was yanked open by a very different looking Samantha Whitmore. Gone was the long brown hair, and in its place was a shoulder-length bob styled cut that had been dyed red.

"Can I help you?" she snapped.

Veronica held up her badge and offered a tight smile. "Special Agent Mars, Miss Whitmore, I was hoping to talk to you about the day you were assaulted."

Samantha's eyes darkened, and it was noticeable how her body tensed. "I was told that they couldn't find the guy."

Veronica nodded. "It is true, the original investigation into your attack didn't lead to anything that could result in an arrest. However, I am currently investigating a series of rapes and murders, and I believe that the man responsible could be the same person who attacked you."

Samantha's hands started to shake, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

Veronica wanted to comfort her; she remembered how, in the weeks following her own attack how she had tried to do everything she could to pretend it didn't exist. "Miss Whitmore, I don't wish to cause you any distress. What you have been through is horrifying. I wouldn't have come here if I didn't think you wouldn't be able to help me."

Samantha took a shaky breath and unlocked the screen door that had been separating them. "Come in."

"Thank you."

Once Veronica had stepped inside, Samantha closed the door behind them, locking the door securely again before turning and leading Veronica through the foyer and into the kitchen. The house's interior was newly renovated, a more modern design replacing the original Tuscon design.

Samantha reached her stove and asked, "Would you like some tea?"

Veronica nodded. "Yes, thank you."

"Have a seat." Samantha gestured to the bar stools on the other side of the island.

Veronica sat down and waited for Samantha, who picked up the kettle, filled it with water and placed it on the stove to boil. She opened a cupboard and pulled out two cups, then asked, "Did you have a preference? I have earl grey, black, or green."

"Black, thank you."

Samantha nodded and dropped the tea bags into the cup before turning around and leaning against the cupboard; crossing her arms over her chest, she said, "What did you want to know?"

"If you feel comfortable enough, I was hoping you could walk me through the attack and the events leading up to it."

Samantha swallowed. "I can try."

"There's no rush," said Veronica. "And if at any point you want to stop, we can. What I will ask is that you tell me every detail, even if it is something you think isn't relevant."

"Where did you want me to start?"

"What did you do that day?"

"I was at the beach with a group of girlfriends. We thought it would be fun to play hooky for the day and just relax. We swam, sunbathed, played volleyball. And then around lunchtime, we were hungry, so we went to a bar."

"The Fishermen's Catch?"

"Yeah."

"What happened after you arrived?"

"We sat down in a booth, ordered some food and drinks. We sat there for about an hour and then I decided I wanted to dance. They have an old jukebox in the corner, so I picked a song and pulled up one of my friends…Amanda to dance. We were laughing, and Amanda spun me around, straight into this guy."

The kettle whistled, making Samantha pause. She turned to take it off the stove and poured the water into the waiting cups.

"Milk?" Samantha asked.

"Just a dash," said Veronica.

Samantha added the dash of milk before sliding the cup across the kitchen island towards veronica. She held her own tea in her hands and took a sip before she continued.

She said, "He was cute. Short brown hair, green eyes. His laugh was sweet. I was so embarrassed that I had hit him, but he just smiled and offered to buy me a drink. I agreed; after all, who would say no to a free drink from a cute guy." She took another sip of her tea. "We stood and talked at the bar for a while, he flirted, and I flirted back, and then he leant in for a kiss. And while I'm not shy, I thought I was teasing when I denied him."

"How did he take the rejection?"

"It was odd. I thought he would call me a tease, but instead, he seemed somewhat pleased. He reached over and stroked my cheek before tucking my hair behind my ear. Then he stood up, pressed a kiss to my cheek and whispered, 'It's better to wait.'"

Veronica wasn't sure what to think. Was it possible that the unsub was testing her? Was a women's demeanour important?

Samantha continued, "I was a little stunned to respond, and then he left. I went back to my friends, and we laughed it off, thinking he was just a weird guy."

"Did he ever tell you his name?" she asked.

"No. I never even told him mine; actually, he never asked."

Veronica nodded. If the unsub was looking for a particular woman to fit his fantasy, then it was possible he didn't see Samantha as they spoke. He was probably looking at the woman he wanted through his mind, and to him, he already knew her name.

"What happened next?" Veronica asked.

"We stayed at the bar for another hour, I think. It was around three when we left. I was ready to go home, so I said bye to my friends and went the other way to get the bus. The stop is around the other side of the bar, on the main road. And there's a shortcut behind the bar; it leads you behind the row of shops and out onto the side street that's connected to the main road."

Veronica knew where it was going.

"I thought, middle of the day, alleyways aren't so scary in broad daylight." Samantha let out a mocking laugh. "He parked his van just out of view of the boardwalk and the main street, so from either end, no one would see. Hell, I didn't even notice it." She placed down her cup and let out a sigh. "He was leaning against his van as I passed him. I noticed his movement out the corner of my eye, but he grabbed me before I could react." She swallowed and picked up her tea to take a sip, her hands shaking.

Veronica wanted to reach over and comfort Samantha. It was always difficult for victims to go through the details. Some things they could get out, but certain details could trigger all sorts of reactions. She asked, "Are you okay to continue?"

"Yeah." Samantha nodded and let out a shaky breath. "I just haven't really spoken about it since it happened."

Veronica tried to offer her a comforting smile, a form of encouragement. "You are doing incredibly well. A lot of victims struggle to even mention it."

"I was always good at compartmentalising. Sometimes too good if you asked my parents." Samantha picked up her tea and blew on it before taking a sip.

"What happened next?" asked Veronica.

"He pressed me up against his van. He was turned on; I could feel it against my back. He told me, 'I was going to wait, but your teasing got me all excited.'" Samantha blinked as tears filled her eyes. "He opened the side door of the van and shoved me inside. He climbed in behind me and shut the door before rolling me onto my back." A tear slid down her cheek. "He tore the top of my dress off, along with my bikini top and started to touch me all over."

"Did he say anything else?"

"Yeah." She sniffed. "Told me that he liked it watching me dance. Told me that he wanted to fuck me in front of everyone, so they knew I belonged to him." Samantha wiped away the tears. "He made my body react like I wanted him to do it, even though I begged him to stop." She squeezed her eyes closed. "He made me orgasm before he forced me to touch him with my hand and my mouth. He made me swallow his…." She shook her head and pushed away from the counter.

"Did you need a minute?" Veronica watched Samantha as she looked out the window.

"No." She didn't turn back to face Veronica, but she continued. "The first time he forced himself inside me, it didn't last long. The second time he forced me onto my hands and knees, and that seemed to never end. When it did, though, he sat to the side, pulled me to sit against him."

"Would you say he was treating you like it was romantic?"

"Yeah. I think the twisted bastard thought he was making love or some bullshit because he kept telling me that he loved me that he was never letting me go again." Samantha's shook her head, and she shouted, "What kind of sick fuck does that!"

"This man, whoever he is, wasn't seeing you when this happened."

"What?"

"Men like this have a twisted psychological problem. He, at some point, has had a girlfriend or partner leave him, and he is trying to recreate what he lost."

"So because some bastard couldn't keep a girl, he is raping other women?"

Veronica nodded. She asked, "What happened next?"

"I don't really know how long it went on her. He did get a message on his phone and said his boss was an impatient asshole. The final time, he…he…." Samantha cringed. "When he was finished, he called me Alice." She turned and grabbed a tissue from a box that was sitting on the counter. "I snapped and told him my name wasn't Alice, and that pissed him off. He hit me, a few times. Slammed me face down on the floor and started calling me an 'ungrateful bitch'. He started looking for something while he held me down, but he either couldn't find what he wanted or needed another hand because he let me go. It was the first time since he'd dragged me into his van that he wasn't holding onto me, so I reacted. I kneed him in the crotch and shoved him to the side. I sat up and reached for the door, and it opened. I managed to get out of the van, but he grabbed my arm. I twisted away from him and yanked the door across, and it slammed against his arm hard enough that he let me go."

It had been pure chance that Samantha had managed to escape. If she hadn't taken the chance to fight back, Veronica believed that what the man had been searching for was the surfboard leash. She had broken the unsub's fantasy by throwing the name Alice back at him; it was most likely that the other victims at some point had also broken his fantasy, leading him to strangle them and start all over.

Samantha excused herself for a moment and disappeared down the hall. Veronica waited, checking the notes she had made and circled the name, Alice. It was a common name, and it was also possibly a nickname. She would need to have Jimmy search for all Alice's, Alison's, Ally's, and similar names to see if anything popped out.

"Agent Mars, can I ask you a question?"

Veronica looked up at Samantha. She had washed her face and had her arms crossed over her chest.

Veronica nodded. "Anything."

"Will it ever stop?"

Veronica wanted to tell her yes, that things would be fine. But it was hard to say. Every victim went through their own process, and for Veronica, it had taken a lot of time and being around those she loved to let herself heal. Logan had been her lifeboat, helping her to open herself up and heal after learning the truth.

"It can," she said, "but not by hiding in this house."

Samantha nodded. "I'll leave this house once you catch him."

Veronica said, "I swear to you, I will find him."

The look on Samantha's face showed doubt but also hope. Veronica didn't want to disappoint her, and she would do whatever she could to make sure that Samantha could learn to move forward.

"Even if he isn't the man I'm after, which I strongly believe he is, I will make sure he pays for what he did to you."

Samantha nodded and bit down on her lip.

Returning to her car, Veronica took a moment to sit in the seat before starting the engine. There was a lot about her job that she loved, and working for the FBI was very rewarding, but sometimes, it sucked. It was a rush chasing after criminals, fighting for what was right. But what they didn't ever talk about was the pain. Veronica found herself meeting people who had suffered more than some people could ever comprehend. She didn't think it was possible for anyone to feel worse than she had, but Veronica realised that while she had suffered, she had always had people there to lean on. Unfortunately, there were others that had no one.

As she pulled away from the curb, Veronica felt thankful that Wallace had dobbed her into her father. The idea of seeing Keith, eating lasagne and watching a movie was just what she needed. A small reprieve from everything else would help clear her head. She also missed her father.

Veronica dialled Jimmy as she reached the main road.

"Hey Mars, tell me you got something for me?" he answered.

Veronica said, "I might do. I just finished talking to Samantha Whitmore. She gave me a more detailed story on what happened to her."

"And she was able to give you the guy's full name, date of birth, social security number and car registration?" he asked.

Veronica raised her eyebrows. "If only. Apparently, the unsub kept calling her Alice."

"Alice, okay."

"I want you to do a search of all Alice's, with any similar names that Alice can be short for included. Add that one top of all the other victimology details we've given you and see if anyone comes up. Dead or alive."

"I'm on it."

"Great, get back to me ASAP."

"Will do."

It was something. If they could find the subject of their unsub's fantasy, they'd be able to find him. Veronica wanted to be able to come back to see Samantha and tell her that she had done as she had promised.

I would love to hear what you think. Even if it's as simple as a 'can't wait', all feedback is appreciated.

See you soon with the next chapter.