Page 110 of State of the Union (First Family 3)

“Can you take us through it from the beginning?” Sam asked gently.

“Yeah, sure. I was, um, out for a walk in the snow. I’m one of the few people who grew up here who loves the snow. I can’t get enough of it. Although… It’ll never look the same to me again after this.” She swiped at a tear as if it made her angry. “I was distracted, had my face turned up to the snow, breathing in the cold air and just enjoying it so much. He got me from behind and had me deep into the trees in a matter of seconds. I hit the ground hard, facedown.” She rubbed at a spot on her cheek where a faint bruise remained from the attack two weeks ago. “Everything I’d learned about self-defense was worthless. He had me completely immobilized in a matter of seconds.”

Sam reached over to open the bottle of water. “Take a sip.”

Kaitlyn drank from the bottle and used the tissue Jeannie handed her to wipe her eyes. “Sorry.”

“Please don’t be,” Jeannie said. “I still cry every time I think about it happening to me.”

Kaitlyn seemed startled to hear that.

“And trust me, I know how to defend myself, too.”

The young woman drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. “That’s the part I wrestle with. I knew what to do, but when it was happening, I was just frozen with fear.”

“Anyone would be,” Sam said.

“It’s just… It’s hard to talk about it.”

“We understand, and we’re so sorry to put you through it—again,” Jeannie said. “But since he’s since committed two homicides, the case is now ours. We just want to be sure we have every detail we need.”

“I can’t stop thinking about the girls he killed,” Kaitlyn said softly as she wiped away tears. “That could’ve been me.”

“Take all the time you need,” Sam said, forcing herself to be patient with the traumatized young woman.

“He covered my mouth with one hand and pulled my pants off with the other. He tore my underwear and jammed the fabric in my mouth. I started to hyperventilate because I couldn’t breathe.” She took another deep breath. “He raped me while keeping his hand over my face the whole time. I remember being so cold and not being able to breathe. And that it hurt—a lot. I thought it would never end.”

“Do you have any idea how long it lasted?” Sam asked. That was one thing she hadn’t seen notated in the reports.

“I’ve gone over it in my mind a thousand times, and I just don’t know how long it was. It felt like an hour at the time, but it was probably more like ten or fifteen minutes. Long enough for him to rape me twice.”

Which led Sam to believe the man they were looking for was young and recovered quickly—or that he’d taken medication.

“Did you see him at any point?”

“No, he was behind me the entire time. I was facedown on the ground.”

“Did he say anything?”

“Not a word.”

“Tell us how you got away from him.”

“I struggled the whole time, kicking and fighting him. At one point, I connected with something, and he grunted and loosened his hold on me. Just for a second, but that was all I needed. I jumped up, pulled the fabric out of my mouth and stumbled away, screaming for help. I was in a state of panic, sure he’d come after me, but he didn’t. Two joggers came to my rescue and called the police. One of them was female, and I recall her helping me get my pants back on while the guy she was with looked away.”

Sam wanted to know where the perp had gone while all that was happening. How had he managed to sneak off with people around? Someone had to have seen something. She made a note to bring in the couple who’d assisted Kaitlyn for another interview.

“Is there anything else you remember? Even something as random as a scent or what color his coat was or anything at all that stood out.”

“I can’t think of anything.”

“Did he have gloves on?”

“He did.”

“Was there any scent you recall from when his glove was over your face?”

She shook her head. “No.”