THE MORNING AFTER - CHAPTER 8
"I must say, Detective, that was rather clever of you back there. Using the element of surprise always works, doesn't it? Or was it that you were too scared to fight me head-on?"
Mac's eyes slitted dangerously as he leaned on the metal table. "You impudent kids never learn. Running from the police isn't going to get you anywhere. Seems to me that you were the one scared, Matt."
The younger man shrugged carelessly, casting his stone gaze over Stella and to the darkened glass that accompanied the interrogation room. On the other side, Danny stood frozen, glaring at the suspect with blood-shot eyes. The second Matt had entered the room, he felt his veins boil over with fury. He had no doubt that Matt knew someone was behind the glass.
"We traced a call from Amber Lenovo's cellphone. You phoned her two nights before she was raped."
"Doesn't mean I did it."
Stella smiled thinly. "DNA results confirm that it was your semen and blood in her bed. Care to explain how it got there, or do you want us to do the talking?"
Matt sneered at her. "So I had sex with her. Where's the crime in that?"
"On the contrary, you raped her. Unless that disgusting brain of yours can't comprehend, rape and sex fall under different categories." Mac opened the evidence file and tossed some pictures onto the table for Matt to see: a shot of Amber's arms covered in bruises and bloody wounds in the inner thighs.
As it was with all criminals, Matt snapped under the pressure. He pushed the pictures aside and spoke to Mac and Stella while staring at the double-sided mirror.
"I loved her. Lindsay and I – we were inseparable. Then one day I get caught cheating and she freaks out on me. So I decide to teach her a lesson, to make sure she never talked back to me again. I cut her good, but evidently it didn't do the trick. She's still the same selfish bitch she was back in college."
Mac sat down in the chair opposite the young man. He was so angry that the vein in his forehead was popping out, threatening to explode. "You raped Lindsay for a mistake you made."
"You're damn right I raped her!" Matt's voice increased several octaves. "I looked her straight in the eye as I was doing it, too. You know what I saw, Detectives? I saw fear and cowardice. Lindsay deserved to be raped after what she did to me. She made the mistake, not me."
"You son of a bitch!"
Danny burst through the interrogation room door, clearly enraged. His entire face was flushed with red, and his nostrils flared wildly. Matt could not explain the shudder that ran through him as he laid eyes on the angered Detective, but it was gone in an instant and he faced Danny boldly.
"So the eavesdropper finally reveals himself."
Danny held his ground, spittle flying in all directions as he gritted between clenched teeth, "You mud-sucking coward! What did Lindsay ever do to you?!"
Matt laughed in his face. "I won't waste my breath on the likes of you. You know damn well when she did to me."
"Lindsay has never hurt another person in her life. You stole something away from her that she will never get back, but you can never steal her spirit. She's alive, scum, and you're on your way to prison for life."
The young man swung a punch at Danny, connecting with his jaw. Stumbling back as stars danced in his vision, Danny could hear Mac and Stella crying out as they restrained Matt. The officer who had accompanied them tended to Danny, but he pushed him away and turned to the suspect, who was breathing heavily as Mac forced him to sit in the chair.
"You just assaulted a police officer, so you can add that to your long list of crimes." Danny wiped away a streak of blood with the back of his hand.
Mac lifted the suspect up and handed him over to the officer. "Get him out of my sight."
As Matt was taken away, Stella aided Danny, who had a small cut near his mouth. "I know you did that for Lindsay, but it was foolish. You have yourself to blame for this wound."
"Don't worry 'bout me," he grumbled. "Jus' as long as that scumbag is off the streets."
Mac shifted his eyes to his younger counterpart. "That was admirable, Danny, but Stella is right; you allowed your anger to rule your heart. Come on now, let's get you cleaned up."
---
Several hours later, Matt was leaning against the wall of his station cell when Danny approached the bars. The former glared at him through hot eyes, but Danny's gaze was merely apathetic. He recalled Lindsay feeling this confused when trying to solve the case of a murdered girl from her homestate, and just like her, he wanted answers.
"Why?"
Matt reared up from his hunched position and uttered a single word, eyes on Danny the entire time. "Revenge."
"You never did answer my question, even if I was behind that window. What did Lindsay do to you in college that made you attack her?"
The slightly younger man examined Danny from head to toe in one swift movement. "You love her. Is that why you're demanding answers from me? You want to know the truth?"
Danny gripped the bars tightly with both hands. "I already knew the truth; I can see it in your eyes. You said that Lindsay's gaze reflected fear and cowardice, yet that's all I can see now from looking at you. You raped an innocent person and left her for dead before running off into the shadows like the true coward you are. You hurt a lot of people, Matt, and no one can escape that."
Matt shook his head in pity. "I succeeded in hurting Lindsay. It's just an added bonus for me that others had to suffer as well."
Danny rattled the door loudly. "You may have hurt her, but she's still alive. She won in the end. It always works out that way; good triumphs over evil. Enjoy the view while it lasts, because once you're in prison you won't be seeing freedom or daylight for a very long time. I hope you burn in hell."
With one last shake of the bars, Danny turned on his heel and left. It had been a long and perilous journey, but now a rapist was behind bars and he could finally begin to reconstruct his life with Lindsay.
---
The sun had long set when Danny arrived at Angel of Mercy. He knew Lindsay was sleeping but wanted to be there lest anything happen. The path was still unwinding before them, but Danny was determined to be there every step of the way.
Moonlight filtered into the single room as he sat beside the bed, grasping Lindsay's hand lightly. "Montana? It's me. I don't know if you can hear me, but I want you t'know that we caught Matt Branson. He's gone now, an' he won't hurt you any more. I'll be with you when you give birth, an' I'll continue to be by your side no matter what decision we make. If we give the child up for adoption, I want them to know how lucky they are to have you as their mother. I'm so sorry this happened to you, but I'll never let you go. This could be our child, and if it is I want to share it with you. I love you, Lindsay Monroe."
Placing his head down alongside her arm, Danny closed his eyes and drifted off into slumber, but not before feeling Lindsay squeeze his hand ever so gently.
A/N: I have at least one more chapter planned, but it probably won't be up for a while as I start classes on Tuesday. Thankfully I have breaks every day except Monday and Friday, so it should be up sometime next week. Of course college can and will throw curveballs at you the very first week, so I'll probably have loads of homework for next weekend. Please bear with me on this. Um...reviews feed the plot bunny :)