“That makes no sense,” Taylor said impatiently. “Why would she protect anyone who did something like that to her?”
“Kids have strange loyalties. We’ve seen it before. And I don’t believe for a minute that she was drinking with a bunch of girls. I think Tommy knows something too. I don’t know why but I believe him when he says he didn’t rape her. But maybe he watched them do it. That happens sometimes in schools like this. A bunch of guys go off the deep end together, and do things they would never do on their own. I’m sure you know that too.” Taylor nodded, he couldn’t deny it, particularly when alcohol was involved. It altered behavior and upped the ante dramatically.
“We have a strong moral system here, based on family values. Our students don’t go around raping each other,” Taylor said, looking tense.
“You’ve never had girls here before,” the detective reminded him. “I’m sorry to say it, but we need to fingerprint the whole school. We need to find who she was drinking with. There are six sets of prints in addition to hers. We need to start there. And it may end there. I’m willing to bet Tommy Yee is one of them. I didn’t want to push him over the edge, given what you said.” He looked at Nicole. “He can be printed with the others. We start tomorrow. I want a full set of prints on everyone, kids, faculty, gardeners, whatever you’ve got. Even girls, if their prints show up on the tequila bottle, so we know who she was drinking with. We’ll set up tables with some of our off-duty patrolmen and run through the lot.” Taylor nodded, looking unhappy, but he could see where the problem lay if no one would talk.
“We’ll be ready for you,” Taylor said quietly. “Should we notify the student body?” Taylor asked Nicole after they left and she shook her head.
“Let’s not. I’d rather surprise them. I don’t want the guilty party, whoever he is, skipping out.”
“Do you really think one of our kids did it?” Taylor asked her, obviously worried. She hesitated before answering.
“I think it’s possible. Anything is. And I agree with the sergeant. I think Tommy knows something. I don’t think his violin was stolen. I see him with it everywhere. He wouldn’t have left it outside the haunted house. He’s too responsible to do that.”
“All right. We’ll tell them tomorrow morning about the fingerprinting. Let’s run them through class by class. We can start with the seniors and work down.” She nodded and went back to her office.
Taylor was still thinking about it when the sergeant called him back an hour later.
“We got a match from the violin and the tequila bottle. The same prints are on both. I was right. So Tommy was part of the tequila party that probably led to the rape.”
“Are you going to arrest him?” Taylor sounded shocked.
“Not yet. The Boston team is taking over for us this afternoon. We’ll give them what we’ve got. It’s up to them. And he’s not going anywhere. Let’s see what turns up when we print the whole school.”
“We’re starting with the seniors, which may be more useful to you.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it. I’ll probably come by tomorrow to see how it’s going.”
“Thank you, Sergeant,” Taylor said and then hung up. He was dreading what would come next.
* * *
—
Chase and Jamie had lunch together in the cafeteria as they always did, but spoke very little to each other. They both had massive hangovers after the night before, and felt sick. Neither of them could understand what had happened or why, what had gotten into Rick to do something so terrible. And both boys were embarrassed to have gotten into a fight with each other over a girl. That wasn’t typical of them either. They didn’t say a word about it, but they both felt bad. They picked at their food. The others didn’t come near them.
Jamie had seen Nicole Smith come looking for Tommy and they wondered what that was about. Steve, Rick, and Gabe had eaten with other people. And Gabe said something to Chase on their way to a math class they took together.
“You okay?” Gabe asked him.
“Yeah, of course. Fine,” Chase said tersely, and sat in the back row far away from him. He looked tense, and tried to pretend he wasn’t. They were all wondering what would happen next, but Chase was sure that none of them would give it away. Not even Tommy. He hadn’t done anything anyway, except throw up and cry at a distance from them. They had told him what Rick had done. He hadn’t seen it himself.
It was as if the tequila had made them all crazy. Chase wanted to talk to someone about it, but he couldn’t, and Jamie had looked like he was on the verge of tears all day. All he could think about was how Vivienne looked when he kissed her before it all started. And then seeing her lying pale and unconscious on the grass. He wanted to go and see her at the hospital, but he knew he couldn’t. They weren’t even supposed to know who the victim was. It would be instantly suspicious if he went.
Gabe caught up with Chase again after class. “Do you think we should send her flowers in the hospital or something?” he whispered to Chase, who looked like he was about to hit him.
“Are you insane? They’d trace it to us. Leave it alone, man. It’s over. It’s done. We have to live with it now, and just hope to hell she’ll be okay in the end and no one talks.” They were furious at Rick for what he’d done, but they didn’t want him to go to prison. In fact, he had jeopardized them all with his insane behavior.
“No one will talk,” Gabe said, hoping he was right. “I just thought…”
“Don’t think. It’s too late for that,” Chase said angrily, and walked away. He knew at that exact moment, cold sober, that none of them would ever be the same again. Nor would Vivienne. Every time he thought of her now, he felt sick. He should have protected her, and seen what Rick was doing instead of fighting with his best friend in a jealous fit because Jamie kissed her, and he had a crush on her too. He should never have lost his temper. If he hadn’t, he might have been able to stop Rick. He would never be able to forgive himself for that, that he had seen it too late, and hadn’t stopped him.
* * *
—
When Chris Walker walked into his daughter’s hospital room, Vivienne was sleeping, and her mother was dozing in a chair. He stood looking at Vivienne, thinking of what had happened to her, and tears slid down his cheeks. He wanted to be angry at her about the drinking, but he was too upset about the rape. As though sensing him in the room, Nancy opened her eyes and she saw the man she’d been married to for twenty-two years. All she could think of was that she wished he wasn’t there. Just seeing him again was a knife in her heart.