Faye Kellerman - Street Dreams

She was flinching as she related the incident. I said, “And after David was put in the trash can, what happened next?”

Her voice was as soft as new snow. “They pushed me down and tore my underpants. Then… the first one did it… the sex. It hurt real bad. I wanted to yell for him not to do it, but I didn’t want to make him mad… because when David yelled, it made them all mad. I didn’t want my nose to bleed. So I closed my eyes and didn’t say anything.”

“That was very smart,” Decker said. “See, I told you, you were smart.”

Her chin was pressed against her chest, her eyes still shut.

Decker said, “Do you remember how many boys had sex with you?”

Slowly, she held up two fingers.

“Two boys had sex with you.”

She held up three fingers.

Louise blanched. I took her hand and squeezed it. Dad said, “Three boys?”

She nodded.

“Okay, Sarah. Now this is very important. What happened after they were done with the sex?”

“That’s when they made me promise not to tell. They said if I told the police, they would kill me. I believed them!”

“Yes, of course. And then did the bad boys leave the bathroom first or did you?”

“The bad boys did.”

“And what did you do?”

“I pushed the trash can over to help David. It was real heavy and I hurt from the bad boys and I was crying…”

“You must have been very scared,” I said.

“I was!”

“But you don’t have to be scared now because you’re safe,” Decker said. “Sarah, I want you to tell me this. When you pushed the trash can over, was David all right?”

She shook her head no.

Decker rubbed his face. “Was he moving?”

“His face had lots of blood on it.” She started to cry in earnest. “I wanted to help him. But I promised I’d keep it a secret. I didn’t know what to do!”

“You did the right thing,” my dad said soothingly. “What did you do after you saw David’s face?”

Her crying got stronger. Louise put her arms around her sister and let her cry on her shoulder. “It’s all over, Sarah. Don’t worry, it’s all over.”

But everyone in the room, including Sarah, knew it wasn’t over.

Decker kept his voice even. “Sarah, did you leave David in the trash can?”

She sobbed loudly. “I ran home. I washed myself. I was real scared.”

“Of course, you were.”

We waited until she had cried it out. It took quite a while. Finally, she looked at me. “I went to school the next day. He wasn’t there. He doesn’t come to school anymore. I want to ask Mr. Klinghoffner about it, but I’m too scared.”

“Then how about if I ask him for you?” I said.

“Thank you.” She smiled with wet eyes. “I don’t see him anymore. Maybe he didn’t like that the other boys had sex with me.”

“I’m sure that’s not the reason,” I told her.

“I didn’t want to do it. They made me.”

I told her I understood. “What did these boys look like?”

She closed her eyes. She was conjuring up something. “Maybe two were Mexicans.”

“Mexicans?” I repeated.

“Yes. Like the janitor in the school. His name is José. He’s Mexican. But he’s a nice Mexican. Sometimes he gives us candy and treats. The bad-boy Mexicans were mean.”

“Did they speak Spanish?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“So you think that two might be Mexicans,” Decker said. “You said there were other bad boys. What about them? Can you tell me what they looked like?”

Again she closed her eyes. “One was bald. He was the meanest one. He hit David first.”

“Was he white-skinned or black-skinned or brown-skinned?”

She made a face. “Not brown like José, but not pink like me. The not-bald one had lots of pimples. The bald one was the meanest. He didn’t have pimples.”

“And the other two were Mexican?” I asked.

“Yes. They had black hair and dark skin and looked like José, the janitor at our school.”

“Anything else?” Decker said.

“No.”

Decker said, “Sarah, do you think if I showed you pictures that maybe you could pick out the bad boys to me?”

“Maybe.”

“Ms. Sanders, we’d like to bring Sarah in and show her some mug books. See if she could pick out anyone.”

“Perhaps a little later, Lieutenant Decker. We have a court case on Wednesday. I need to settle things before I have her go through another ordeal. I hope you can understand that.”

“Okay. Later then.”

It was my turn to get some information. “Sarah, was David a black person?”

Sarah glanced at her sister. Louise said, “It’s okay, Sarah. You can answer the question.”

“Yes.” She bit her lip. “I’m sorry, Louise.”

“What are you sorry for?” Louise asked her.

“ ’Cause I liked David. You said to stay away from black people. That they do lots of bad things. But David was nice. He wasn’t mean… except he did the sex. But he was nice about it.”

By this time, Louise was bright red. After all she’d gone through, I decided to give her a little solace. “Everyone makes judgment calls, Louise.”

“I’m just trying to keep her safe…” She let out a mirthless chuckle. “I haven’t done a very good job.”

“Walk a mile in my shoes,” I said.

She laughed loudly. “You should have been a therapist.”

Sarah said, “Is my baby okay?”

“The baby is fine,” I told her.

“Can I see her?”

Louise said, “We’re working on it, Sarah.”

I said, “Louise, is it possible for you to bring Sarah down to the Hollywood Station tomorrow just to make a statement? That way we could get something going.”

Louise said, “I don’t think so, Officer Decker.”

“No mug books,” I told her. “Just let her repeat her story to Detective MacGregor, because he’s in charge. We’ll worry about identifying the perpetrators later on.”

Her sigh was heavy. “Lunchtime-twelve-thirty. I’ll give you twenty minutes. Then I have to get back to work.”

“Thank you so much,” I said. “I’ll clear it with Detective MacGregor and call you if there’s a change in plans.”

“Your cooperation will be favorably looked upon by the judge,” Decker told her. “This is not for pressure, Ms. Sanders, just to let you know.”

“Right.”

The sarcasm was evident. We all stood except Sarah. Dad extended his hand to the girl. “Thank you for talking with us, young lady. Tomorrow, Louise is going to bring you to the police station to talk with Detective MacGregor. Do you remember him?”

Sarah nodded.

“You’ll need to tell him exactly what you told us.”

“Okay…” Sarah was tentative.

“Don’t worry,” Decker said. “It will be easier the next time you talk. I promise. You’re a very good girl, Sarah.”

“Mr. Man?”

We all smiled. Louise said, “His name is Lieutenant Decker.”

“I thought her name was Decker.”

“We both are Decker,” I told her.

“Oh… you’re married.”

“Father and daughter,” Dad explained. “Was there something you wanted to tell me?”

She nodded.

“What, honey? Tell me anything you want.”

“Are you sure it’s okay to tell bad secrets?”

“Positive.” My father regarded her face. “Do you have another bad secret you want to tell me?”

“No.” But Sarah responded way too quickly.

“It’s okay,” Decker soothed. “If you want, you can whisper it in my ear.”

“Is David dead?” she asked.

“I don’t know, Sarah,” I told her. “I’m going to find out.”

“Will I get into trouble?”

“No, sweetie. It’s okay. You did the right thing by talking to us.” Decker gave her his card. “Anytime you have a bad secret, you can call me, okay?”