Chapter 3

Margo dreaded the next part of this as she helped Marianne into the hospital room. She had been through a rape exam both as a patient and as a cop and it was about as bad as the rape itself, but it was the only way to get the evidence needed to press charges. She had already told John and he went to get a rape kit and a female doctor, which would be more comfortable for Marianne. "I can't do this, I need a shower," Marianne said. "I know and I promise you can take a shower as soon as we finish the exam but we really need to do this," Margo answered her. Marianne knew she was right and nodded, "I just feel so dirty, I don't think I'll ever be able to wash this off," Marianne confided and then started sobbing. Margo took the frightened woman that she just met in her arms and held her while she tried to stop her own tears from surfacing.

After the doctor came in with a rape counselor, Margo felt no longer necessary. She stepped out into the waiting room as the events of the past couple of hours caught up with her. She realized for the first time that she was becoming increasingly nauseous and tried to take some deep breaths to calm her stomach. Unfortunately, it didn't work and she was forced to run to the restroom where she barely made it into a stall before losing the dinner she'd eaten just a few hours before.

A few minutes later, after she was feeling better, she and Jack met in the waiting room. When Jack walked in and saw Margo, he said, Whoa, you look like hell. She couldn t help but laugh; that was an understatement compared to how she felt. "Hey, thanks for getting here so fast," Margo greeted him. "No, problem. Tom said it was urgent. What's up," Jack replied. "I've got a rape victim in her early thirties. She fits the same description of two other rapes we've had in the past month ," explained Margo. "So, you think we're dealing with a serial rapist," Jack asked. "Oh, Jack. I pray that I'm wrong but my gut is telling me its much worse than that."

At the Hughes' home, Tom paced the living room trying to figure out what just happened. His thoughts went from concern about Margo to concern about Marianne and then something else as well. Something he couldn't put his finger on. There had to be something about this that Margo wasn't telling him. Why did she insist on going alone and then ask him to call Jack? She usually handled rape cases by herself, so why bring Jack into it, especially so late at night. Before he could think about that any further, Casey interrupted his thoughts. "Dad," Casey said for about the hundredth time. When Tom finally heard him, he answered, "yeah, son?" "That woman... she was raped.. right?" Casey had left the room not sure what to do, but he did hear enough of the conversation to put the pieces together. Tom thought for a minute and decided that Casey was old enough to discuss this. Yes, she was, Tom explained. Just like Mom? Casey asked.

This shocked Tom. They had never discussed Margo s rape with the kids. They were too young when it happened and after they were older, it just never came up. When Casey saw Tom s wide eyes, he quickly explained, Come on Dad, I know I was young but I heard you talking about it, heck I heard everyone talking about it, Casey told his dad.
Tom understood, it was all over the news and people gossiped about it. He just wished that he had found a way to discuss it with Casey and Adam, especially when Margo got sick with hepatitis. Tom opened up to Casey, I know we should have told you, but what were we going to say? Hey kids, your mother got caught up in a liquor store robbery where this monster dragged her into his car and forced her to have sex with him." After hearing his own harsh tone, Tom was immediately apologetic, "I'm sorry, I've just got a lot on my mind." Casey nodded, knowing it was hard for his father to talk about. Can I do anything? Casey asked.

Tom was touched by his son s obvious concern and said, Yes, you can keep being the guy that I am proud to call my son and that any girl would be lucky to have one day. They shared a long, heartfelt hug and then Casey went upstairs leaving Tom alone with his thoughts.

Is there something I m missing here, how can this be worse than a serial rapist? Jack asked Margo. Jack, we ve been friends a long time, can I trust you to keep this between us? Margo asked him wanting to be sure before telling him something she hadn t told anyone else. Jack nodded and Margo thought for a moment before explaining, All three of the victims have the same features, red hair, same eye color... Jack still didn t understand, most rapists had a specific description of victims they looked for. Before he could challenge her, she continued, They are all about the same age... she stopped, not sure if she should continue.

Margo wasn t sure if she should even be saying this. After all, it was just a feeling she had, and what if she was wrong? A lot of emotions she d rather not deal with would come up and a lot of people could get hurt. Same age as what, Jack asked knowing her sentence wasn t finished. Margo took a second to get her emotions in check and then finished her sentence, "The same age I was... when I was raped"