THE COED MURDER CLUB. Ken Salter

I handed her my business card.

      She glanced at it, then looked at me. “I don’t understand. I thought you must be an undercover narc because of all the drugs they used on me. How do you fit in?”

      “I’m working on a similar case. After discussing it with Officer Sandoval, she thought the guys who raped my client might be the same ones who took advantage of you.”

      “Did she tell you what happened to me and Anita?”

      “No,” I lied. “She only said the cases had similarities and you might be able to identify some sketches of the guys who raped my client.” I pulled Monty’s drawings out of my briefcase and handed them to her. Her face flushed crimson as she stared first at George, then at Earl.

      “Those are the bastards!” Her eyes were glued to the likenesses.

      “Wanna tell me how it happened?”

      “Not really. It really messes me up to talk about it,” she said in a whimpering tone while avoiding looking at me.

      “Don’t you think it will help you if we can nail these guys?”

      “How can you do that? My case was closed and you’re not the police.” She darted a maddening look at me.

      “You’re absolutely right. But my client’s case is still active.” I lied again. “If you help me bring them down, they’ll go to prison for rape.”

      “You really think these guys could go to jail for what they did to me?” She said with a pouty look bordering on disbelief. She still avoided eye contact.

      “Yeah, and so does Officer Sandoval. But I have to get the goods on them to make a case stick. They’re real slick. The legal line between rape and seduction is very cloudy and these guys are very good at walking a tightrope between the two. If you want me to succeed, you’re going to have to tell me everything that happened from start to finish, even though it hurts. I promise you that what you tell me will stay right here with me.” I pointed to my heart and was glad California didn’t have a three lies and you’re out law.

      Sherri sighed heavily. I waited.

      “God, I hate to go through this shit all over again. It makes me feel so stupid and dirty inside. Why don’t you talk to Anita?”

      “She’s not available, but I’d be grateful for your help in getting her cooperation.”

      “Jesus, when is this bad trip gonna end?”

      “These predators are out prowling and suckering innocent victims like you and my client every night. It’s not going to stop until you have the courage to help me stop them. My client is furious, too. She hired me to gather and document the evidence necessary to put these creeps behind bars. She needs your help to get the one who gave her AIDS.”

      Sherri’s pretty face blanched. Her eyes met mine finally and I could tell her resistance was melting.

      “What do you need to know?” she said gritting her teeth.

      “How do they pick up girls? I need to intercept them before they ruin any more lives.”

      “You need to know it all, then?” she said with resignation.

      “It’s the only way I can get a step ahead of them. Why don’t you start from the beginning and tell me how you met the two guys in the drawings.”

      “It was a Friday evening and Anita and I decided to go over to Larry Blake’s to check out a new band that was playing ‘Oldies but Goodies.’ We’d both had tough midterms in Psych that afternoon and we just wanted to kick back, get mellow and hear some good music.”

      “You go to Blake’s often?”

      “Yeah, it’s safe and close to campus.”

      “Were the two guys in the club when you arrived?”

      “No, we sat at the bar, ordered beers, and watched the audience grooving to the music.. Anita is real funny. She likes to make up stories about the people she sees. It’s a fun game we play when we’re bored and want to amuse ourselves.”

      “What was the object of the game that evening?”

      “We were just seeing which of us could say the most outrageous things about the collection of nerds and losers in the place. One guy was dressed all frumpy, you know, his clothes all rumpled and not ironed. Anita would say, ‘Guess he’s spent all his bus fare on beer and peanuts and can’t get home so Mama can do his washing and ironing.’ I’d say, ‘Yeah, his mom needs to wash his greasy hair, too. It’s a real turnoff. Maybe she could show him how to iron at the same time;’ just dumb stuff like that. And we’d laugh.”

      “How’d you meet the two guys?”

      “It’s funny. We didn’t go there to meet anyone. We just wanted to unwind with a few beers and some finger-tapping music. Two black guys came in and you could tell by the way they looked at the women that they were going to try to hustle white girls.” Sherri suddenly blushed deeply and became self-conscious.

      “Hey white boys or black boys, it’s all the same game. Just tell it like it happened. It’s okay.”

      “They were so obvious. These guys were trying to look so cool in tight tee-shirts and dark shades when it was already dark in the place except for the spots on the band. They came over to the bar and tried to pick us up. We just blew them off. It didn’t bother them a bit. They just went from girl to girl until one girl, who was sitting alone, invited them to join her. Anita was really surprised that an attractive white girl would get involved with those guys just like that.”

      “Because they were black and she was white?”

      “No, we see mixed-race couples all the time, especially whites and Asians. These guys weren’t college students. When they sized you up, it was like they were daring you to leave your safe world for wherever they were from. We were both fascinated and repulsed. One of them danced with the girl and Anita couldn’t stop talking about the way the guy moved. He had this fascinating sexual energy when he danced that most white guys don’t have. We started talking about it. Anita wondered what it would be like to make it with a black guy. You know, was it really that much different, that kind of stuff. Then these two guys walked in and took a seat near us.”

      “The two guys in the drawings?”

      “Yeah, It was really strange. We’d just been talking about white girls dating black guys and here comes this really nice looking black guy along with his hunky, blond companion wearing a tight-fitting polo shirt. I asked Anita if she thought they might be an item. Anita must have been staring because the two guys turned and smiled. They’d been laughing and joking while they ordered beers. It was cool because these two seemed so relaxed and at ease together.”