Indiscretion: Callie Douglas - Book Four

Chapter One

I spread the photos out on my desk, looking at each of the seven victims. All middle-aged, all with short brunette hair, all slightly dumpy in physique, all looking shell-shocked. Attached to each photo were several supporting photos: a picture of the monkey mask found at the scene with the women; pictures of the ropes used to tie the hands of the women; and, pictures of the surrounding area where the rapes occurred. There was also a map of the city with the locations of each of the assaults marked in red "X's". My job was to look at the crime scene photos and victim statements and try to come up with a profile of the rapist, a hint of where the Sexual Assault Unit could look for their felon.

My name is Callie Douglas, and I'm the staff psychiatrist for the Rockville Police Department. I represent many cogs in the justice wheel. I assess felons for mental illness. When the RPD needs a profiler, I also provide this service. Those two roles take up approximately twenty-five percent of my time. The remainder of my day is spent assessing and treating police staff. My days are varied and always interesting. Most days, I love my job. And I figure that, if you can say that on a regular basis, you're doing well.

I looked at the report Allison Gradie from the Sexual Assault Unit had sent. Seven victims, all similar in features. Each one reported that every time they said something, the rapist would cover their mouths and noses so they couldn't breathe, until they stopped talking. He would then laugh at them as they struggled to get air in. He would laugh at them when he felt their tears as well. One victim described it as a triumphant laugh when he saw her cry.

He called them all "Mama".

As the rapist ejaculated, he covered the mouth and nose again, pressing down on their throats and suffocating the victims until they passed out. When the victims came to, their wrists were tied and they were wearing a monkey mask. Their minds felt clouded, as if they had been drugged. Subsequent testing at the hospital showed that each victim had been given a fast-acting benzodiazepine in a quantity large enough to knock the victim out for some time. In two of the cases, passersby discovered the victim passed out. In both cases, they reported that it was almost impossible to wake the victim.

I looked at the photographs of the victims again and felt their pain.

"Darlin', are you ready to go home?" asked Gabe as he stuck his head in my office door. Detective Gabriel Taite was a walking version of every woman's dream. I didn't know why he was with me. While he's male-model material, the best that you can say about me is that I'm the yin to his yang. Instead of being Gabe's tall 6'2", I am a short 5'2" 32D – too little and too big all at the same time. On Gabe, you could bounce a quarter off his abs. Not so on me. While Gabe has a beautiful tanned complexion, I am the whitest white girl around. Instead of Gabe's short straight dark brown hair, my hair is wavy and long, a mixture of blonde and brunette. Instead of fathomless deep brown eyes like Gabe's, I have eyes that are both blue and green at the same time. Gabe calls them mermaid eyes.

When I started with the RPD six months ago, Gabe found out that I had no self-defence training. Worried about my inability to protect myself, he volunteered to train me, to teach me some tricks that I could use if I ever got into a dangerous situation. We hit it off, and fairly quickly evolved from instructor and student, to friends, to best friends. For the last four months, we have dipped into a romantic relationship. This is a transition that Gabe seems to be taking in stride more than I am. A year ago I had been living with my ex-boyfriend, a relationship that became violent and ended in disaster. I broke up with Michael eight months ago and I still feel like I'm recovering from the verbal and physical abuse. I'm recovering a lot faster now that I have met Gabe, but my self-confidence is still battered and my self-esteem still bruised.