Chapter 32

“Why the rush?”

Diane had returned from wherever. Just in time to see the back of Bennett Davis’ bald spot.

“Long story,” I said. “By the way, are we a couple tonight?”

“What do you think? Say hi to Nicole.”

A group of chattering men drifted away. Nicole moved into the void and drew close.

“I’m so glad you came,” she whispered. Then she hugged Diane, pulled back, and looked at both of us in that “I approve of this coupling” sort of way. Rodriguez loitered to Nicole’s left: smooth, chilled, and waiting to be opened.

“Vince,” I said and offered a hand.

“Nice to see you again, Kelly.”

The handshake was dry, the look sincere. I wanted to hate the guy. He was making it difficult. Nicole introduced the detective to Diane.

“I know this face,” Rodriguez said. “Nice to finally meet you, Ms. Lindsay.”

“Feeling’s mutual, Detective Rodriguez. I certainly have heard the stories.”

Everyone laughed at that except me. I wondered what the stories were about Rodriguez, and why I didn’t know anything about them. The conversation moved right on past.

“Did you meet Judge Swenson?” Nicole said.

“I saw her on the way in,” I said. “Rather, she picked me out of a crowd. Thanks a lot.”

Nicole laughed.

“You’re not hard to describe, Michael. When we were growing up, his nickname in the neighborhood was Irish. Big ears, crooked smile.”

“Isn’t that cute,” Diane chimed in. “Do tell us more.”

Nicole was about to oblige when Rachel Swenson mercifully moved to the podium and adjusted the mic. The crowd grew quiet, and the judge began to speak.

“There are more than one hundred million women in the United States. Almost twenty percent of them, roughly eighteen million, have been raped. The majority of those, more than once.

“You have a daughter getting ready for college. Consider this. One out of every four students can expect to be attacked by the time she graduates. Of that number, eighty percent will know their attacker.

“Overall, this country sees more than eight hundred thousand sexual assaults each year. That’s thirteen times higher than Great Britain. Twenty times higher than Japan.

“During the two hours we gather here tonight, more than one hundred and fifty women will be assaulted. During the minute and a half I’ve been speaking, two women, somewhere in this country, have been violated.

“Do we have a problem, ladies and gentlemen? I think so.”

Rachel stepped back from the podium and the crowd simply breathed. No applause, no chatter. Just a lot of quiet. I wasn’t sure what the tuxedoes expected, but this wasn’t your typical Gold Coast fund-raiser. The judge moved back to the mic.

“Thank you, everyone, for coming. My name is Rachel Swenson. I am the chairperson for the Rape Volunteer Association and your host for the night.”