Katerina Diamond - Truth or Die

‘What’s going on?’ Imogen called out, getting the DI’s attention.

‘A girl has been brought in. She’s in and out of it a bit, but she’s been completely brutalised,’ DI Walsh said.

‘Sexual assault?’ Imogen asked.

‘It seems highly likely at this point; I’m just waiting for the doctor to come and give me a clearer picture of what happened.’

‘Do we know who she is?’ Adrian asked.

‘Barely. I mean, you wouldn’t know it from her face; she has a lot of swelling and several nasty abrasions.’ DI Walsh seemed to stop dead in his tracks, obviously noticing the state of Adrian’s own appearance. ‘What happened to you?’

‘I got mugged last night, nothing serious though, I’m fine.’

‘You don’t look fine. Are you OK?’

‘Yeah, seriously. I managed to swing a couple of punches, so he didn’t get anything. Really, it’s no big deal. I’ll file a report on it later on, I was planning on it anyway, but I don’t have much information at all.’ Adrian wanted to stop talking about it now. ‘Tell us about the girl.’

‘She managed to tell us her name, but her throat is pretty damaged; looks like he strangled her. My guess is whoever did this is going to be very disappointed when they realise she didn’t die. She was beaten so badly, there’s no way they intended her to walk away from that.’

‘You said she told you her name?’ Imogen said.

‘Caitlin Watts.’

‘What?’ Imogen shot Adrian a look again.

‘You know her?’

‘We had her on a B and E the other day; all turned out to be fine though,’ Adrian said, his voice catching a little as he spoke. What the hell was going on?

‘Did she say if she felt like she was in danger from anyone?’ Matt Walsh asked.

‘No, not at all. She was in yesterday and she was fine,’ Adrian said.

‘So, you saw her yesterday?’ DI Walsh pressed.

‘She knew the professor; she came in to give us more information on the Norris case,’ Imogen explained.

‘She was the witness who came forward? Do you think this attack could be linked to the murder? Did she give you any indication who she thought might have killed Doctor Norris?’ DI Walsh asked.

‘No, but she was the one who told us about the kid who committed suicide. Owen Sager,’ Imogen said.

‘I dropped her off at home at around six and she was fine,’ Adrian added.

‘You dropped her off at home?’ DI Walsh queried, and there was an element of derision in his voice that Adrian didn’t like.

‘She said she couldn’t get home. I was making sure she got back all right,’ Adrian said.

Dr Hadley appeared at that moment and Adrian was relieved to have the spotlight off him. He didn’t appreciate the way DI Walsh was speaking to him.

‘She’s awake and she’s stable; you can talk to her for a couple of minutes. The damage to her throat at this time means she can only talk in a whisper. She’s been through quite an ordeal.’

‘Was she raped?’ Imogen asked.

‘Yes, she has extensive damage to both her vaginal opening and her rectal lining. She also has some cracked ribs, a supraorbital fracture and more bruises than I can count,’ the doctor said, clearly very angry.

‘Jesus,’ Imogen muttered.

‘I have done a rape kit and sent it straight to the lab,’ Dr Hadley noted.

‘Can we go in now?’ Adrian asked. Caitlin was a sweet girl, if a little misguided, and the thought of this happening to her, of this happening to anyone, was stomach-turning.

‘Sure. But be considerate; please, she’s been through a lot.’

They walked into the room and could immediately feel the heaviness in the air. The nurses were working with a solemn concentration, not speaking but still somehow comforting with their presence.

The sight of Caitlin was something to behold: her face was swollen and bandaged, and she was barely recognisable. The one eye that was on display was full of tears as she stared out the window.

Imogen went over to the bedside and sat in Caitlin’s eyeline. Caitlin blinked a tear away as Imogen gently placed her hand on top of hers.

‘Hey, Caitlin, do you remember me?’ Imogen spoke softly.

Adrian felt like an intruder. Even though they were there to get a statement so that they could find the bastard who did this, he couldn’t help thinking they should leave the poor girl in peace.

‘Hello,’ she whispered and closed her eye.

‘I know this is difficult, but can you remember any details of the attack?’ Imogen asked.

‘Yes, I can,’ she whispered, her voice rough and crackling with pain.

‘I’m sorry, but would you be able to tell us what happened?’

Caitlin blinked slowly and wheezed in a deep breath before speaking.

‘He put his hand around my throat and told me he would kill me if I called out,’ she said, tears flowing freely from her one uncovered eye. ‘I thought I was going to die. He punched me in the side of the head and I just felt the pain in my eye exploding; it was so horrible. I was dizzy. He told me to get on the floor, but I said no, and that’s when he punched me in the stomach and made me take my pants off. He got on top of me and I tried to push him away, I even hit him, but he still wouldn’t stop. I tried to fight him …’ Caitlin’s whisper disappeared into a breathy cry as she got more and more distraught. She was fighting back the tears.

How could anyone do this to someone else? Adrian never could get his head around this kind of crime.

‘Just take your time,’ Imogen said.

Caitlin nodded gently before taking another deep breath.

‘After he was done, he made me do other stuff, too.’

‘How long was he there?’ DI Walsh said.

Imogen shot him an angry look, but he ignored her.

‘A couple of hours, I don’t know.’

‘Did you know your attacker? Could you tell us his name?’ DI Walsh said.

For the first time since they had entered the room, Caitlin turned towards the men who were standing at the door. She lifted her hand and pointed at Adrian. What was happening?

‘He did it.’ She burst into tears as she said it.

‘Excuse me?’ Imogen removed her hand from the girl’s immediately as though a bolt of electricity had just shot through her.

‘After Detective Miles drove me home last night, he raped me,’ Caitlin said.

‘ What ?’ Adrian finally managed to push a word out of his mouth; he wasn’t even sure what word it was. His head was thumping and his ears were ringing. This was up there with his worst nightmares. This couldn’t be real. Being accused of rape was one of those unshakable accusations. Once it had happened, everyone would always wonder. Once the seed was planted, there was nowhere to hide. It would be a rumour that would follow Adrian for the rest of his life. He wanted to throw up. ‘Caitlin!’

‘Could you wait outside the room please, Detective Miles?’ DI Walsh said calmly.

‘This is not true. Caitlin, why are you doing this?’ Adrian said – he knew he shouldn’t say anything, but the impulse was too strong.

‘Just for a moment, I’ll be right out,’ Matt pressed.

Adrian looked at Imogen for guidance. She nodded that it was best for him to leave. He walked out of the room and watched intently through the glass of the door as they spoke to Caitlin. Why would she do this?

It wasn’t long before Imogen and the DI came out of the room. Imogen kept staring at Adrian, willing him to look at her; he could see her out of the corner of his eye. He kept his eyes down though. If he didn’t focus on the floor, he would be sick.

‘We have to investigate this,’ DI Walsh said.

‘I swear I didn’t do this. I couldn’t!’ Adrian said, struggling to breathe.