Mystery Woman

With her brain in a fog, Cory turned and walked into her room to retrieve her journal. Brea was waiting for her when she came back out.

"Cory, wait, let me explain."

"There's nothing to explain, Brea. I heard you on the phone."

"But you misunderstood. I'm not..."

"Not now, Brea, not now. I can't."

"Cory..."

"Leave me alone. I have to go," and with that, she pushed past Brea and headed for the door.

Janet saw her and immediately grew concerned. "Is everything okay? What happened?"

"Nothing," Cory replied. "Let's just go," she said as she walked passed the female cop and into the parking lot.

Once in the car, Janet asked again. "Cory, are you sure nothing's wrong? Something happened in there, anything I should be concerned with?"

Cory remembered how freely Janet talked about the lieutenant's marital problems, she wasn't about to give her more to talk about. "No, Janet, I'm sorry if I was snotty back there. It's nothing to worry about, honest."

"Okay," she replied.

It was a quiet ride to the doctor's office. Janet went inside with her and said she'd wait in the outer office. Dr. Wahlburg noticed Cory's demeanor immediately.

"You look upset. Are you starting to remember more?" she asked.

Cory was unconsciously wringer her hands as she sat down. Her mind was so preoccupied, she almost missed the doctor's question. "Uh, oh, no, no, ah... anything we talk about in here is secret, right, I mean, just between you and me, even if it has nothing to do with my memory, right?"

"Yes, that's right. What's bothering you?" She was watching Cory closely. The worried young woman was staring at the floor, biting her thumbnail. Wringing her hands, chewing on her nails, she hadn't done any of that in her prior visits. Whatever had her so stressed was bringing out some old habits from her past.

Cory took a deep breath before starting to speak. The, ah... the people I'm staying with are just fantastic. I mean, I was a complete stranger yet they offered me a place to stay, took me shopping, I don't pay for any food or rent... nothing. They've virtually given me a place to live at no charge until I can get things sorted out. I mean, how do you repay someone for something like that?"

Doctor Wahlburg knew there was more to it than just trying to figure out how to thank her friends. "Do you feel the need to thank them right now? Isn't that something that you can do overtime?"

Cory raised her head and looked at the doctor with tears in her eyes. "I just found out she's cheating on him," she said in a flat voice.

In all her years of practice to fall back on, for some reason that caught the doc completely off guard. A surprised, "Oh," escaped her lips.

"What am I supposed to do?" Cory pleaded. "If it wasn't for them, I'd be roaming the streets. Everything in me says as Morgan's friend it's my duty to tell him, but how do I ruin the life of the man who saved mine? And what about her, what about Brea? Don't I owe her, too?"

She was starting to cry harder. "Why, why would she do that to him? He is so kind, and he loves her to death. If I tell him, it'll kill him, doctor."

By this time, Cory's tears were starting to flow steadily. Doctor Wahlburg stood and walked over to a table in the corner of the room and poured a glass of water. "Here you go," she said as she offered it to Cory. Reaching over, the doc took a box of tissues from her desk and set them down next to her weeping patient.

It took Cory a few minutes to compose herself. "What do I do, doctor? You must come up against this kind of thing all the time in your work. Tell me what to do, please."

"I wish I could, Cory. I'm not a couples therapist, that's not my expertise, but as you said, it does come up. Unfortunately, I've never found a one size fits all approach. There're a million different reasons why people cheat on their spouses, and it's never just one thing. It's usually a dozen reasons that all converge into a perfect storm of emotions. Sometimes it takes years, other times it happens on a whim."

"I'm just so damn angry with her," Cory roared. "We were becoming such good friends, but now... how can I be her friend at all, anymore? Whether I tell him or not, how can I go on living there?" She shook her head. "As far as that's concerned, I still don't have anywhere else to stay, but it doesn't seem right to keep my mouth shut just so I can go on living there, either. Jesus," she cried, "what the hell do I do?"

Doctor Wahlburg didn't like to see anyone in that much emotional pain, but on the other hand, that kind of mental stress could very well assist with Cory regaining her memory. "Cory, I can't tell you what to do, but I can give you a couple things to think about. I know you've only known these people for a short time, but it sounds like you have two friends who are in trouble. If it were my friends, I'd get all the information I could and try to understand what was behind the problem. Every word spoken, every action taken by someone has a motive behind it. To understand the problem, you have to find the motives.

"The second thing I can tell you is, in my experience, the wronged spouse is usually more likely to forgive when the guilty person confesses rather than if they find out from someone else.

"That said, you have to do what you feel is right." The doctor gave Cory a couple of minutes to digest what she said and to wipe away some tears before she spoke again. "I'm sorry, but we really do need to talk about what happened yesterday. Try to relax and just tell me in your own words, what happened."

While Cory was explaining her flashback, lieutenant Ashwood and detective Nobles had taken their two suspects into different rooms for interrogation. The lieutenant was tall and lean, with an intimidating look about him, but Nobles was just the opposite. He was only about five-nine and overweight, with a forever smile across his face. That's why Brian found it so shocking when the smiling detective slammed his hand down on the table and gave him a menacing look.

"You guys are toast, you know that, right? We already have DNA samples from you and your buddy that matches the seamen you left in that poor girl you raped. We have you dead to rights. Tell me who the third guy is and where to find the gun and I'll talk to the DA about cutting you a deal."

"GUN! What gun? We didn't have any guns. Okay, yeah, we raped her, but if she was shot, it wasn't us, I swear," he exclaimed. "She was stumbling around on the side of the road when we saw her. She fell right in front of our car. We got out to see if she was okay, but she looked like she was almost dead."

"So, instead of calling an ambulance, you guys decided just to have a little fun," Nobles sneered.

Brian lowered his head in shame and tears started welling up in his eyes.

"If you were going to take her to the hospital, why not call for an ambulance when you were done?"

"I... I wanted to, but the others didn't want to take the chance. We dragged her back into the woods and left her there. There was so much blood and stuff, nobody thought she was going to live."

"So, what happened? How'd you wind up bringing her into the hospital?"

"I... I was feeling kind of sick. The guys dropped me off at the house. I... couldn't get over what we'd done. I drove back out there to see if she was still alive. When I got there she was still breathing, barely, but a little. I got her to my car and drove over to the hospital."

"Did the others know what you did?"

"No, Jesus, they'd have beaten the shit out of me if they'd known."

Noble's instincts told him the kid was telling the truth. He stopped the tape recorder and removed the tape before sliding a pad of paper and pen across the table. "Here, write down everything you told me, including the name of the third person who was with you, and Langford."

The detective left the room. The desk sergeant saw him walking his way. "Did you get a confession?"

"Yeah, but only to the rape. The kid says she was stumbling along the road and denies shooting her."

"Shit."

"Yeah, I know. That means there's still somebody out there who may want to finish the job. Where's the lieutenant?"

"He's back in his office. The other kid lawyered up real quick."

"Okay, thanks,"

The lieutenant had the same reaction as the sergeant when told what the kid said. "Shit! You really believe he's telling the truth? I just asked for a search warrant for Langford's apartment."

"I don't think you're going to find anything, but what the hell, let 'em toss the place," Nobles agreed.

"Yeah, did you get the name of the third guy?"

"I told him to include it in his statement. I'm sure he will. He's completely given it up. He has a conscience at least. He says if the other guys knew he took her to the hospital, they'd beat the shit out of him. I'm sure he saved the girl's life." He turned and started for the door. "I'll bring the kid's statement in for you to read as soon as he's done."

"Good work, John," praised the lieutenant.

The detective smiled and gave a little wave as he left the office.

As it turned out, Zach Kelsey, the kid's older brother, was the third rapist. Both boys still lived at home with their parents, who were distraught over the actions of their two sons and were cooperative when the police searched the house. They did find a twenty-two caliber handgun, but forensics determined the gun hadn't been fired in years.

All this time they had assumed the shooter and the rapists were the same, now they knew differently, and although the rapists were behind bars, the investigation was still on-going.

After her therapy session, Cory chose to go back to the hotel with Janet for another night, but went back to Morgan and Brea's apartment the next day, despite learning what had transpired at the police station. She thanked Janet for her help and protection as she exited the car, then took a deep breath before going inside and facing her other problem.

It was almost ten-thirty and Brea was still in her bathrobe. She also knew a showdown was imminent and spent the earlier part of the morning crying. She was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee when Cory came through the door. "I'm in here," she called out.

Cory first went to her room and tossed her bag on the bed. She had paid attention to what her therapist told her and had a plan... well, at least she had a thought regarding what to say. She walked over to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup before taking a seat on the opposite end of the kitchen table. For what seemed like a long time, the two women just stared at each other without saying a word. It was Brea who finally broke the silence. "You ran out of here before giving me a chance to explain."

"Brea, what is there to explain? I heard you on the phone."

"You heard one side of the conversation. I didn't cheat on Morg, not physically, anyway."

"Brea, you said you were drunk when you had sex with him in a motel room," cried Cory.

"No, I didn't. First, the sex was before Morg and I got together again, and I didn't say I was drunk, I said he drugged me. I can't prove it, but I know that's what he did." Cory didn't have a come-back for that, she just sat there and stared with a confused look on her face.

"Look, I know Morg likes to tell everyone we were high school sweethearts, which we were, but we never really did anything about it. After graduation, we just kind of wandered off from each other. He was so involved with his job at the paper and I went to city college for a while. We were both meeting new people. There was no real break up or anything, we just started communicating less and less. We didn't meet back up for a couple of years. That's when we really fell in love. I'd been with a couple of guys in between. Bob was one of them."

"So you and Morg didn't... I mean, I know it's none of my business, but I just figured you two were each other's first."

"No, in high school, Morg was just too shy. Shit, I even tried prodding him a few times, but he never took the hint. We'd get hot and heavy in the car, sometimes he'd put his hand up my shirt, but he never tried going all the way. I didn't want him to think I was a slut so I never pushed him. I didn't have sex until I started dating another guy four or five months after graduation. He was a few years older. I held off for three dates, but I knew he'd soon drop me if I didn't put out, so..."

"Was that Bob, then. He was your first?"

"No, to tell you the truth, I don't even remember that guy's name. I know everyone always says you never forget your first, but I did. Bob was the second guy I had sex with. He was a lot more aggressive. He had me in the sack on our first date. Sex with him was like a contact sport. We dated for several months, in fact, we were still dating when I ran into Morg again. For about a month, I dated both of them. By that time I was already rekindling strong feelings for Morg, so I told Bob I was breaking it off. That was the last I'd seen of him until a few months ago."

Cory was still confused. "Okay, well something happened. I know damn well I heard you say you weren't going to see him anymore. Something's going on between you two."

Brea's expression turned to one of guilt as she nodded her head and continued. "A few months ago, we ran into each other at the mall. It was right around lunchtime so we grabbed a bite at the food court. It had been almost four years since we'd seen each other, so we had a lot to talk about. He congratulated me when I told him I married Morg and told me he was still single.

"He had just moved back from California. He works for some computer company who sent him out there as a regional sales manager. He said his numbers were so high that they had him move back to their headquarters here in Chicago, and put him in charge of the training program. He gave me his card when we were done and said to call him sometime. He told me he'd pop for lunch at a nicer restaurant.

"At the time, I had no intention of calling him, but a month or so later, I was supposed to have lunch with a girlfriend. I was already nicely dressed and looking forward to it when she called at the last minute and had to cancel. I was really disappointed. I thought about Bob and wondered if he would be available on such short notice.

"Well, that lunch turned into a few more, then when Morg went on the night shift, the lunches turned into dinners. I knew I was crossing a line, but I honestly had no intention of sleeping with him."

Cory was shaking her head. "So, you were literally dating this guy while poor Morg was working. Brea, I would think you'd know better than to go out with some guy who was capable of drugging you for sex."

"Cory, I obviously had no idea he had anything like that in mind. The last time we had dinner was a couple weeks before you moved in. He wanted to go dancing. I was apprehensive but finally said okay. I told him I only had an hour, though, before I had to get home.

"I honestly don't know how we got from the club to the motel, but the next thing I knew, Bob had his arm around me and we were walking down the hall to a room.

"I know I had to be drugged because I was horny as hell. My brain was telling me to stop, but my body couldn't wait to have him inside of me. Luckily, some guy came into the room and stopped what was going on before it went too far. I still have no idea who it was. I assume he worked for the hotel. He probably noticed me in the lobby, saw that I wasn't in control of my faculties, and got suspicious. Anyway, he got me out of there, put me in a cab and sent me home."

Cory was somewhat relieved, at least it wasn't as bad as she thought. "So you haven't seen him since the motel incident... honest?"

"Honest."

"Okay, good, then listen, I talked to Dr. Wahlburg about it. I figured she's a pretty smart lady and she's probably helped others in the same situation. She says you stand a much better chance at saving your marriage if you confess and show genuine remorse. She said it'll be much harder if he finds out from someone else."

"Cory, I can't."

"Yes you can, I'll help you. I'll be right there when you tell him and I'll fight by your side to help you save your marriage. Brea, I owe both of you more than I will ever be able to pay back. I sure as hell don't want to ruin your marriage, but trying to keep a secret like this is going fester into problems that will eventually destroy your relationship, I'm telling you."

Brea had had those very same thoughts, but she saw no way she could confess. Even though she didn't have sex with him, she knew that Morg would consider her dates with Bob, cheating. It would be a death sentence for her marriage. God, she chastised herself, how could I have been so stupid? Her brain was a muddled mess of mindless torment. She could taste the salty moisture of her anguish as it ran down her cheeks and into the corners of her lips. "I... I need a little time," she pleaded.

"Brea, please don't wait too long. You don't think this Bob will tell Morg to get back at you for ending it, do you?"

"No, shit, he doesn't care about me enough to want revenge; besides, he'd probably be scared that Morg would come after him."

"Then when you're ready, let's you and I sit down and figure out the best way to approach you telling him. If you want, I'll talk to Doctor Wahlburg again. Maybe she'll be able to advise us. In the meantime, you should see what's online."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Thank you." Brea spoke with real gratitude.

That night, when Morg came home, he thought he detected a little tension in the air, but when he asked if everything was all right, both ladies told him yes. He'd heard about the arrest of the three rapists and thought maybe he was misinterpreting the atmosphere. It was most likely relief.

That night, Cory dreamed that she was being pulled out of a car. She heard the door slam and tires squealing as it took off. She felt cold, alone, and scared. That's when she realized she was still awake. "I remember," she whispered to herself. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up. She put her head in her hands and tried desperately to remember more.

Her eyes clenched tightly as she concentrated. Screaming, she could hear a woman screaming, but it wasn't her. It sounded like the screaming was coming from over her head. She could feel her heart pounding, she was crying. It was her mother, she was in trouble.

"No, no," she said out loud as the memories started to fade. She anxiously reached for the journal on the bedside table and started to quickly scribble everything down while the memories were still clear in her head.

When she was done, she sat there and cried as quietly as she could. What happened? What happened to her mother? Who pulled her out of the car? Not knowing was worse than having no memory at all. She lay back down and eventually cried herself to sleep.

The first thing she did after waking up the next morning was to check her journal to make sure she wasn't dreaming. It was all there, the screaming, the crying, feeling afraid and lonely as someone pulling her from a car and closing the door on her. She was beginning to wonder if she really wanted her memory back; so far, they'd all been of terrible experiences.

The smell of coffee was enticing her to join Brea in the kitchen. She loosely donned her robe and stumbled toward the awaiting magic elixir. "Oh," she screamed and turned her back to wrap the terry cloth garment tighter around her body and cinch it close. "I'm sorry, Morg. I didn't realize you were home. You're usually at work by now."

Smiling from the brief glimpse of frontal nudity, he responded. "Today's Saturday. I'm off today and tomorrow. Monday I start on nights."