Chapter 11

“Where were you when you heard this ‘commotion’?”

“Sitting on the wall up there.”

“Odd place to sit. It’s pretty dark. You’d be half-hidden in the shadows from passers-by. Were you waiting for someone? Or watching someone?”

“No! Nothing like that. Just walking around, talking on my phone. I decided to sit down, and that seemed like a good place.”

“Ah. Who were you talking to?”

“My roommate. I hung up with him to call you guys.”

“I see. What’s your roommate’s name?

“Matthew Johnson.”

He wrote it down. “I’m sure you know his number.”

I gave it to him. No point in pretending I didn’t know.

“Thanks. Where is he now?”

“Not sure. He may be back at our apartment, but I don’t know.”

“Back at your apartment?” the detective asked, still scribbling notes. “Was he on campus before?”

“Um, not sure.”

“There’s no possibility it was him that attacked the girl, though.”

“What the hell? No! Matt’s not like that! Besides, he’s shorter than me! Doesn’t match the description at all! What are you accusing Matt of? What are you accusing ME of?”

His painted-on pleasant face never changed. “I’m not accusing anyone of anything, Mr. Long. Just asking questions. I have a job to do. I’m sure you understand. Did you tell him what you saw?”

“I said there was a fight or something, and I needed to call the cops.”

“Ah. All right, Mr. Long. Let’s get a clear statement from you once more. Take it from the beginning. I need you to tell me exactly what you heard and saw, but only what you, yourself, heard and saw.”

I went through the whole thing, carefully limiting myself to things I knew from my own observations after my initial screw-up. “So that’s about it. The girl said she has no idea who he was. She hung onto me until that lady cop pulled her off. Is she gonna be okay?”

“Apparently only some bruises and scratches. They took her in to clean her up and get her started with a rape counselor.”

“She said he didn’t rape her.”

“No, apparently he failed. That’s a blessing, but she’s badly traumatized. This was a violent attack with a deadly weapon, a real intrusion into her personal space, a sexual assault. That can do real damage. I hate bastards who take advantage of women. We take sex crimes very seriously, and our unit has a high clearance rate.”

“Good. I hope you find him.”

“Oh, we will, Mr. Long. My greatest concern is this seems to have been a random attack. In my experience, most of the guys who don’t get what they want the first time try again. That’s why this investigation is highest priority. We’ll get to the bottom of this mess. Well. I think we’re done for now. Will you be going home for the holidays?”

“I’ll drive home Christmas eve and stay for the day. I’ll be coming back to my apartment here that night. Why?”

He handed me two business cards. “Write your parents’ address on the back of one and give it to me.”