"Rita Lee Lance, I would like you to meet Matthew Davis. Matthew,
this is my partner, Rita. Matthew and I went to school together."
Chris said.
"Chris, I am ashamed of you. Didn’t I teach you anything about
women? You said Rita was good looking. She is ravishing!" Matthew said
taking Rita’s hand and kissing it.
"I can tell you and Chris went to the same school, you both have
B.S. degrees." Rita said as she reclaimed her hand and turned to her
desk.
"I should have known that line wouldn’t work on an obviously
intelligent woman like you. How about this line: Would you have dinner
with me tonight? Please?" Matthew said, hopefully.
"I don’t know. I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on tonight
and I need to..."
"No, you don’t. If you want me to, I can stay and finish up here
and anything else you need to do can be done tomorrow. So now you have
no excuses. Go!" Chris said with a smile on his face.
"Well, seeing how Chris is willing to give up his evening for us,
I think you should at least think about it." Matthew said.
Rita, looking to Chris for reassurance and getting it, said, "OK,
I’ll go, but I’ll hold both of you responsible if my desk is still this
cluttered in the morning."
"Thank you, lovely lady. Do you want me to pick you up at your
place or meet somewhere?"
"Why don’t we meet here at about six thirty?" Rita asked.
"Fine with me. See ya later, Chris. And thanks" Matthew said as
he left.
"Rita, you’ll be glad you went out with him. I’ve known him for
years. He’s a great guy. He’ll treat you good. Chris said before Rita
could verbally assault him for pushing her into this date.
"For your sake, Sam, he better." Rita replied.
The next morning, Chris met Rita as she pulled her jeep into it’s
parking space in front of the building. "Well, did you have a good
time?"
"Yes, I did. We had a wonderful dinner and we talked about
everything. We stopped for drinks and then he took me home. End of
date." Rita said, passing Chris as they approached the door.
"Why are you telling me all this? I didn’t ask. You never tell me
everything about your dates. Why now?" Chris asked, concerned.
"Well, I assumed you would be talking to Matthew today and you
would find out everything anyway. I don’t want you to die from
curiosity." Rita whispered in her partner’s ear.
Chris asked, "Do you really think I would call Matthew and pry
into your personal life? I am hurt. Very hurt to think you have that
low an opinion of me."
‘’I’m sorry, Chris, I didn't get much sleep last night. I’m a
little edgy today. I’m really sorry." Rita said.
"That’s all right. I talked to Matthew last night. He called
when he got back to his hotel room." Chris said with an evil grin that
made Rita uncomfortable. "Eleven thirty, huh? Don’t you think you could
have come home a little earlier? I mean, it was a school night."
Captain Lipshitz walked out of his office, "What happened? Did you
super cops catch all the killers last night? Nothing to do today but
gossip? Get to work!"
"Just one more question. Did you enjoy yourself?" Chris asked.
"Yes, Chris, I did. Matthew is very charming, funny and smart.
And he is easy to talk to. I really enjoyed myself." Rita answered
with a smile.
"Are you going out with him again?"
"I thought you said one more question?"
"I lied. Are you?"
"If he asks, I probably will." Rita said.
"Good. You make a cute couple." Chris said.
Rita was saved from making a comment when the phone rang.
"Homicide. Lance." Rita smiled as she recognized the voice.
"Yes, I did. Thank you. That sounds like fun. My place at
seven? OK, I’ll be ready. See you then. Bye."
"So, you’re going out again tonight? Be careful and don’t stay out
too late." Chris said.
"Yes we’re going out tonight. He’s picking me up at seven and
we’re going to the movies. Anything else you need to know, Dad?"
"Hey, I’m just concerned about you. I want to make sure you are
happy. Is there anything wrong with that?" Chris asked Rita.
"No, there is nothing wrong with that. I really appreciate your
concern. But you are the one who got me to go out with him in the first
place. Is there something I don’t know about him that I should worry
about?" Rita asked with mock concern.
"No. Not until a full moon." Chris said laughing. "I need to
talk to him about something. Is it all right if I stop by for a few
minutes tonight?"
"Sure, just don’t keep him occupied too long."
Promptly at seven o’clock Matthew rang the doorbell. Rita
answered, her hair still wet from the shower. "I’m sorry. I left a
little late tonight. I’ll be ready in a few minutes. Make yourself at
home." Rita said as she walked back toward her bedroom.
Matthew followed Rita to the bedroom and grabbed her arm, throwing
her onto her bed. "I know this is what you want. I want it too.
"Matthew whispered harshly in Rita’s ear as he ripped the front of her
blouse open.
"Please, stop! Oh, God!’’ Rita cried, fighting him as hard as she
could. "Don’t hurt me, please!"
"I’m not going to hurt you but I want you. I want you so much."
Matthew said as he stroked Rita’s hair with one hand while tightening
his grip on her arm with the other.
"I’ll do anything you want. Just don’t hurt me." Rita said as
calmly as she could. "Just let me go and I’ll do anything you want."
Matthew loosened his grip on Rita and let her get up. But after
he realized what she was up to he grabbed her again and slapped her
across the face, knocking her back down on the bed. "You Bitch. You’ll
pay for that." He started to pull her pants off. Rita fought back and
received repeated blows to the head." I thought you were going to
cooperate, but I guess you’re not. We’ll have to do this the hard way.
Matthew said as he reached back to hit Rita again.
Neither Rita nor Matthew heard the door open. "Hold it right
there Matthew. Get up and get away from her. NOW!"
Chris said, his gun aimed at Matthew’s head. "Chris! Thank God."
Rita said as she pulled a blanket around her.
The next few minutes were a blur. Matthew lunged for Chris' gun
and Rita screamed. The gun went off and Matthew fell to the ground.
The waiting room at the hospital was unusually quiet. Captain
Lipshitz walked up to Chris. "Any word yet?"
"No. The doctor is still checking her over. Rita told me he
didn’t rape her. But the doctor said she could be in shock and denying
it." Chris said with tears in his eyes.
"I’m sure she’ll be OK." Lipshitz said, trying to comfort Chris.
"I forgot to ask you, what happened with Matthew?"
"He’s in surgery right now but it doesn’t look good. The bullet
went right through him. I was shocked when the paramedics said he was
still alive. Forget about him. Concentrate on Rita. She needs you
worse than that bastard does."
"I can’t understand why he did it. He was always such a good
friend. Why would he try to rape Rita?" Chris asked rhetorically.
Captain Lipshitz said "I ran a check on him. Matthew Davis was
arrested three times in the past year for aggravated assault and twice
for rape. Never went to trial. Not once. Rita isn’t the first woman
he attacked. But, if Donovan and I have anything to do with it, she’ll
be the last."
The emergency room doctor came out to speak with Chris about
Rita’s condition. "Miss Lance has suffered a mild concussion and she
has a few cracked ribs. But, she wasn’t sexually assaulted. I want to
keep her here overnight as a precaution. You can go in and see her as
soon as she is moved into a regular room. Do you have any questions
about her condition?"
"No, I’m just very grateful she’s going to be alright." Chris
said shaking the doctor’s hand.
"I didn’t say she was going to be alright. I said she wasn’t
seriously injured. Miss Lance will probably need some therapy to deal
with what has happened tonight. Does she have a good support system?
Friends and family that can help her get through this a little easier."
"Yes, she does. She doesn’t have any family but she has a few
very good friends." Captain Lipshitz said, placing a hand on Chris’
shoulder.
"Good. She’ll need friends to help her get through this," the
doctor said. "If you have any questions later or if there is anything
else I can do for you, let me know."
"Chris was hesitant to enter Rita’s room. He quietly opened the
door and walked to her bed side. Rita woke up and smiled at him.
"Thank you, Chris." Rita said in a weak voice.
"Rita, I’m so sorry about all this. This never would have
happened if I didn’t introduce you to him. I’m so sorry." Chris said
taking Rita's hand in his.
"Chris, it wasn’t your fault. If it wasn’t me it would have been
someone else and he wouldn’t have been caught. Don’t blame yourself.
Please, Chris, it wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know what he was going
to do. No one did." Rita gently squeezed Chris' hand and whispered "I
know you wouldn’t have put me in that situation if you knew what was
going to happen."
Chris’ eyes filled with tears as he said, "Rita, I don’t like to
see you hurt like this. But there is nothing I can think of to do to
help you."
Rita smiled, putting Chris’ hand to her chest. "You already have.
You were there when I needed you the most. Thank you, Sam. I love you.
"I love you, too. I’ll leave so you can get some sleep."
"Chris, will you stay until I fall asleep?" Rita whispered, half
asleep already.
"Yea, that’s the least I can do for my best friend."
Chris sat and held Rita’s hand till she fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning Chris woke up when Rita screamed, "Chris, help
me! Make him stop!"
"Rita, it’s OK. I’m here. Nobody is going to hurt you. I’m
here" Chris said as he held Rita close to him.
After a few moments Rita regained control and whispered to Chris,
"Thank you for last night, I owe you one."
"You don’t owe me anything, Rita. I feel I owe you. If it wasn’t
for me this wouldn’t have happened. I feel like I’m totally responsible
for this. I’m sorry for everything you went through last night."
"Chris, we went through this last night. You are not, in any way,
to blame for what Matthew tried to do." Rita said. "Speaking of
Matthew, what happened to him?"
"He was in surgery last I heard. I hit him in the chest." Chris
said, thinking how it felt to have to shoot someone he once considered a
friend.
"How are you holding up?" Rita asked. "You look like hell."
"I feel like hell, but I’ll be fine."
"Chris, no matter what happens, you’ll always be my best friend.
"Rita said suddenly.
Chris looked down at Rita and saw that she was drifting back to
sleep. "You will always be my best friend, too, Sam." Chris said
softly.
Matthew Davis died at 3:O9 the next morning.
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