Page 9 of Beware of Dog (Lean Dogs Legacy #6)

It was distressingly tempting to put her boots and coat back on and go straight to Sig’s house.

Ring the doorbell, and then punch him square in the nose with the knuckledusters Shep gave her last year.

But then she’d get dragged down to the police station, and there’d be a whole situation, and Raven would get called.

It was too much hassle, and the whole point was to get Sig in trouble, not herself.

(She gave herself a little mental pat on the back for her very rational, non-Green line of thinking there.)

The most logical course of action, and likely the most fruitful, was to take Jamie to see Pongo’s old lady, Detective Melissa Dixon, at Sex Crimes. File a police report, and trust Melissa to help them figure out what to do next.

But Jamie was reluctant.

“Sig knows everyone . He’ll say I’m making it up, and everyone knows I’ve been trying to get in with his group. No one will believe me.”

“ I believe you,” Cass said, kneeling down to dig Jamie’s shoes out from under her bed. “And Melissa and Rob will believe you.”

“But Sig…”

“Is a steaming pile of shit ,” Cass averred, and set the shoes down on the floor. Pointed to them. When Jamie obediently slid her feet in the sneakers, Cass added, “The cops can take samples, and match DNA. They can interrogate him. They can prove he did it, so who cares what his friends think?”

Jamie bit her lip, hands braced on the mattress, gaze downcast and defeated. “I just don’t know, Cass.”

Cass wanted to scream. To take her by the shoulders and shake her. Instead, she stood, pulled on her jacket, and tossed Jamie’s down on the bed beside her. “Look at me.” Slowly, Jamie did. “ I know. You don’t have to yet. But we are not going to let him get away with this. Do you hear me?”

Jamie blinked. “You’re pretty scary, you know?”

“Good. Let’s go.”

~*~

Cass spent the Uber ride and the walk into the precinct, the ride in the elevator, half-ready to tackle Jamie if necessary.

Jamie walked with her shoulders rounded and her hands jammed in her pockets, and she said multiple times that they ought to “just forget it.” Cass linked their arms and towed her along and insisted, and, finally, they were standing beside Melissa’s desk.

“Hi, Cassandra,” she said, slowly, gaze flicking between the two of them. “Is everything okay?”

A more sensitive friend would have handled things delicately, but Cass thought it was best to be upfront, and she’d never been accused of any great sensitivity. She blurted out, “My friend was raped by our classmate.”

Jamie rounded on her. “ Cass ,” she hissed. “You can’t just say that out loud.”

“We’re at the Sex Crimes division.” Cass gestured to the lettering on the wall that proclaimed as much. “This is the best place to say it.”

Melissa wheeled her chair back and stood, all business. “Are you the friend?” she asked Jamie, and Cass said, “yes” for her while Jamie was still sputtering.

“This is Jamie.”

“Hi, Jamie,” Melissa said. “I’m Detective Dixon. Why don’t we go talk somewhere more private?”

They wound up in a conference room, where photos of harsh-faced men were pinned to a whiteboard by little round magnets. Someone had written notes in a slanted, hard-to-read hand around the photos.

“Ignore that,” Melissa said, gesturing to it, and went to close the blinds that offered a view of the detective bullpen. “You guys have a seat. Jamie, do you want Cass to be here or would you rather it was just the two of us?”

Cass sent Melissa a big-eyed don’t look over Jamie’s shoulder. She was afraid that Jamie would downplay what Sig had done, or even walk the story back entirely.

But Jamie said, “No, I want Cass to stay.”

Thank God for small favors. Cass pulled out a chair and Jamie settled in the one next to her.

Melissa sat down across from them with a pen and a yellow legal pad.

Her face game, Cass noted, was good. She’d seen her with Pongo, with Raven, with Toly, and the other guys, and knew she was no-nonsense and, most of the time, prickly.

But right now, her expression was soft, and sympathetic. Totally nonthreatening and trustworthy.

“Okay, Jamie. No rush. Take your time. Start from the beginning and tell me exactly what happened, with as much detail as possible.” When Jamie hesitated, toying with the strings of her hoodie, Melissa’s voice softened further.

“I know this is a really difficult thing to talk about, but don’t worry about saying the wrong thing or embarrassing yourself.

I’m on your side, and I’ve heard everything. You can say whatever you need to here.”

Cass gave Melissa a covert thumbs-up that she acknowledged with a flicker of her lashes.

Jamie took a shuddering breath, and, haltingly, began.

Melissa took diligent notes, interjecting with questions when she needed something clarified, and as she talked, Jamie gained confidence.

The story was just as Cass had heard it in the dorm, so it was a relief she hadn’t thought to seek, hearing the consistency.

Melissa coaxed more specific details from her, and though Jamie blushed, she pushed through, describing exactly where Sig’s hands went, where he’d left bruises, and confessing that he hadn’t worn a condom.

Melissa’s brows lifted at that, expression turning eager before she smoothed it. “When you showered,” she said, “did you—”

“No,” Jamie said, hastily, cheeks red, “I didn’t, like, clean up in there.”

“Okay, good. That’s good.”

Melissa asked a few more questions, jotted a few more notes, and then folded her hands together on top of the table. “Let’s talk next steps. I have your statement here, and we’ll obviously go find Sig and get his version of events.”

Jamie groaned, and Melissa held up a hand.

“It’s normal for the man in this situation to claim he did nothing wrong.

We’re expecting that, which is why my partner and I will bring him down to the station and really grill him.

The most important thing right now is to establish that you had physical contact with him, and that he left bruises on your body, and hopefully DNA.

You’ll need to go to the hospital and have a rape kit done. ”

Cass braced herself for Jamie to refuse, but she nodded instead. “Okay. What does that involve?”

“It won’t be fun,” Melissa said, face apologetic, “but it won’t be any more invasive than a pap smear. The nurse will check under your nails, too, and photograph your bruises.”

Jamie nodded again, and chewed at her lip.

“I’ll give you a ride,” Melissa offered, her smile kind. “Walk you through it. Okay?”

Jamie tugged her hoodie sleeves down over her hands and stacked them one on top of the other. “Okay,” she echoed, faintly.

From under the notepad, Melissa produced an official police form, and slid it across to Jamie along with a pen.

She angled the pad so Jamie could read her tidy handwriting.

“Here’s an official statement form. Write down exactly what happened—you can refer to the notes here if you need to—and then sign and date it.

I’ll be right back.” She stood, and caught Cass’s eye. “Cass, can I have a word in the hall?”

They didn’t just go into the hall, but to the very end of the hall, well out of earshot should Jamie get up, cross the conference room, and press her ear to the door.

When they were alone, Melissa turned to her with her hands propped on her hips, her expression sharp and serious now, all traces of gentleness gone.

“Okay. What’s the deal?” she asked.

Cass could have played dumb. Jamie just told you the deal . But it was more than a little flattering to be pulled aside and looked to for the real story.

“Do you believe her?” Melissa continued. “She seems credible, but is she honest in general?”

“She is, and I believe her.” Cass sighed. “And, really, the whole thing’s my fault.”

Melissa’s brows shot up in a silent demand for an explanation.

“Sig’s a rich wanker. Really, I knew that all along, but he’s popular, everyone flocks to him.” She made a helpless gesture and Melissa nodded.

“I know the type.”

“I didn’t really want him want him, you know?

But he invited me to this party, and everyone who’s anyone in the art program was going to be there, so I went.

Jamie was super excited about it. She said if I went, and I made a good impression, then maybe I could invite her along next time.

Jamie really liked Sig. She had a boyband crush on him. ”

“I’m failing to see how this is your fault so far.”

“I’m getting to that. I went to the party last weekend, and I was there only half an hour, and had three sips of punch, and my head was swimming . I could barely stand up. I felt like I’d drunk a whole fifth of vodka.”

Melissa’s brow furrowed.

“I went outside, and I called Shep to come and pick me up.”

Her expression cleared with relief.

“He said I was drugged, not drunk.”

“Christ,” Melissa muttered.

“And he’s convinced it was Sig who did it, but there were loads of people at the party, and I said anyone could have done it. I didn’t want to accuse anyone of something without proof. Which is why”—she winced— “I didn’t tell Jamie what happened when I got back to my dorm the next day.

“I know, I know,” she said, when Melissa started to interject. “I should have told Jamie. I did tell her that Sig was a tool and she shouldn’t want to hang out with him. Which enraged her. She didn’t speak to me all week.

“Then I walked in today and found her crying, and she told me she ran into Sig at the coffeehouse and went home with him, and…” She flapped her arms out to the side. “ This happened.”

Melissa folded her arms and scrunched her mouth back and forth, rendering judgement. “It’s not your fault,” she said, finally. “You couldn’t have known Jamie would seek him out, or that he’d do this .”

Cass was surprised; she’d felt sure that Melissa would agree that her negligence had fueled the whole calamity.