They walked slowly along a path that wandered through the campus, and sat down on another bench, with no one around to hear them.
“Okay, so tell me what’s going on. What’s this crime that you committed?” Sam wondered if he had hacked into some major organization or corporation or even government agency on the Internet. He could see that happening, but not much else. And if he had done that, he would have done it for fun, not profit. He was an honest kid.
“We had a rape on campus on Halloween,” Adrian explained to him, and Sam nodded.
“I know. The whole country knows. It’s been all over the news. Please don’t tell me you’ve become a serial rapist.” Sam tried not to smile at him.
“No, but I saw them, Sam.” His eyes were huge and serious in his face.
“Who?”
“The guys who did it. At least I think I did.” Sam was instantly serious too. This was not a laughing matter, by any means.
“Were they students or people from outside?”
“Seniors.”
“Do you know them?”
“Kind of. They don’t know who I am. Most of them are the big guys on campus who everyone knows. They’re big deal athletes too, some of them. I was at one end of the path, behind the gym. I was sneaking back from the computer lab at midnight. I let myself in. There’s a line of trees behind the path, and I saw them all come through the bushes. They were crazy drunk, or very drunk, they kept stumbling and falling and pushing each other, and they were in a hurry to leave. I wondered what they were doing. I don’t know why, I was curious, so I shoved my way into the bushes after they left. There’s a clearing on the other side, and some big trees. I saw somebody lying there. I thought she was dead. She looked it. It was her. The girl who got raped, Vivienne Walker. I guess she was unconscious. I looked really hard and she wasn’t moving at all, I thought she wasn’t breathing. I thought they killed her. Then I realized that if anyone saw me there, they’d think I killed her. I didn’t touch her. I didn’t touch anything. But since I was sure she was dead, I figured it didn’t matter if I didn’t tell anyone, because she was dead anyway, and I knew someone would find her sooner or later. So I pushed back through the bushes, and ran back to my dorm. It was past curfew for me anyway, and I didn’t want to get in trouble. I thought about what I should do, but I was sure they’d find her. And then I heard an ambulance siren a few minutes later.
“The next day we had an all-school assembly, and they said one of the female students had been assaulted. Later I heard she’d been raped. I wasn’t sure if it was her. It could have been something else and they didn’t find the body yet. Or maybe it was her. And they asked anyone to report it if they’d seen or knew anything. I didn’t. I was too scared. I was sure someone would blame me, and if I told anyone about the guys I’d seen, I thought maybe they’d find me and kill me. They’re almost all big guys, a lot bigger than me.
“The place where I saw her has been taped off as a crime scene ever since that night, so I guess she’s the one who got raped and she wasn’t dead. She sure looked it, though. But I do know something. I know who those guys are. If I tell someone now, I’ll probably go to jail for withholding information, or obstruction of justice, or something like that. If anyone saw me there that night, the way I saw them, they’ll probably arrest me for being at a crime scene, and not getting any help for her. I feel really bad about that. But I thought it was too late, so it didn’t matter. She looked really dead, Sam. I promise.”
“I believe you, Adrian. First of all, you’re not going to jail. Next time you see something like that, you should call 911 and report it no matter what. You could save a life. But she wasn’t dead, thank God, and she didn’t die. What’s important is that you may have seen the guy who raped her, if it was one of them. Maybe they only saw her and thought she was dead too, or they may have been involved in the rape, which is more likely, and you shouldn’t withhold information like that.”
“That’s what I’ve been thinking, and I wanted to tell someone who they were, and that they were there that night and so was she. But I thought I’d get arrested if I told the police.”
“No,” Sam confirmed again, “they won’t arrest you. And you may help them solve the case, which would be a great thing. Even without my help, you could tell the police, and they are not going to arrest you. But I can negotiate this for you. We can tell them that you want anonymity before you tell them, so the seniors won’t know that you spoke to the police. I’ll go to the police with you. I’m glad you called me. This is really important, you were right about that.” He was stunned by the story Adrian had told him. He hadn’t expected anything like this.
“They’re not going to be mad at me for not telling them sooner?” Sam shook his head firmly. “You don’t think they’ll accuse me of raping her or trying to kill her?”
“Definitely not. Why don’t you let me call the police and we can go to see them together. They’re going to be very grateful for the information. They’ve been asking for anyone to come forward right on TV.”
“Would you do that for me? Call them, I mean? I think I should tell them who the guys are.”
“I think so too.” He was vastly impressed by what Adrian had said, and his very lucid description of what he’d seen. He had a tendency to get confused sometimes when he was excited, or maybe only when dealing with his parents. But there was nothing confused about what he’d described, and Sam had no doubt that Adrian had seen the rape victim, and possibly one of the boys he’d seen had raped her.
“I was so upset about it that I was sick for a few days, and I’ve been having asthma attacks again. I really think I’m supposed to tell them, even if I waited a long time. I think the campus police found her, or something like that. They said she was almost dead when they took her to the hospital. So someone saved her. I’m sorry I didn’t. I’ll know what to do next time.”
“That’s all that matters, and that you tell them what you know now.” Adrian nodded and looked enormously relieved ever since Sam had assured him he wouldn’t go to jail. He believed him. Sam had never lied to him. He was a good lawyer and an honest man.
Sam took his phone out of his pocket then, called information, and asked for the number of the local police station near the school. Then he said “Connect me,” the phone rang, and a police officer picked up.
“Hello, I’m Sam Friedman. I’m an attorney. I have a client in the area who has information about the rape case that occurred at Saint Ambrose school on Halloween. May I speak to the officer in charge of the case, please?” He paused then, while the officer gave him the direct phone numbers of the detectives in charge. Sam jotted down two numbers, and then called the first number and a woman answered. She had answered as “Detective Martin,” and Sam hoped she didn’t think it was a prank. But he continued anyway, after he told her why he was calling. “My client wants a guarantee of anonymity. Are you willing to grant him that?” She hesitated for a minute and then agreed. She was curious who his client was but didn’t ask. “Can you see us now?” Sam asked her. Then Adrian heard him say, “That’s fine.” He repeated his name again because she’d asked him, and he hung up and looked at Adrian. “She said to be there in ten minutes. Do you know where the police station is?”