Chapter 10

Aiden paced back and forth across the narrow corridor outside Candace’s hospital room, trying not to inhale the strong medicinal stench that saturated the air. He jammed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans to stop from punching the wall. Ever since he received the call about the attack on Candace at the college, a fury raged through him.

He scowled at the closed door. He’d been in her room, but he only managed a glimpse of her pale face before an arrogant witch of a nurse, who would have put Nurse Ratched to shame, ordered him out. A team of nurses and doctors remained, tending to the unconscious patient.

The attending doctor had told Aiden the preliminary lab tests revealed Candace had been injected with a high dose of ketamine. When the ambulance arrived at the crime scene, she was out cold, and as far as he knew she still was.

He’d been on his way home from his daily workout at the gym after putting in ten long hours in what was fast becoming a fruitless search for Amanda Jacobs, the missing girl, when his police radio alerted him to the attack on Candace. He’d pulled a three sixty in the middle of the road, ignoring the blaring horns of the drivers he cut off, and raced to the college.

Even with breaking land-speed records, by the time he got to the scene, the paramedics had her strapped on a stretcher and were loading her into the back of an ambulance.

Police emergency lights and the ambulance’s red-and-blue flashing lights strobed the dark parking lot, creating an eerie, otherworldly scene.

A uniformed cop was taking the statements of three fraternity brothers.

Farther back, a small crowd of onlookers watched the unfolding drama.

Two other cops roped off the crime scene with long strands of yellow police tape.

Aiden’s heart skipped a beat at the small, dark pool of blood on the wet pavement. A black leather purse he recognized as Candace’s lay on the ground. Cosmetics and other paraphernalia spilled from the open bag. A set of car keys glistened in the rain, and a can of mace lay on the ground by her car’s back tire.

Joe, chewing on a thick wad of gum, approached. “’Bout time you got your sorry ass here, partner. I thought you were gonna take a pass.”

Aiden bit back a sharp retort. “What the hell happened?”

Joe blew a bubble and popped his gum with a loud snap. “Looks like another assault.” He shook his head. “When will these women learn? I mean, how can they be so stupid? A coed was attacked on this campus a few weeks ago, and what does—” He jerked his thumb at the ambulance as it sped out of the parking lot, lights flashing, sirens blaring. “—our good professor do?” He curled his upper lip. “She walks alone, at night, through the campus to her car.” He pointed at the small red two-door coupe. “If that weren’t bad enough, she parked under that tree and as far from the parking lot lights as possible.” He blew another bubble. “I ask you, what the hell was she thinking?”

Aiden brushed off his partner’s comments. No woman deserved to be attacked, no matter where she walked or where she parked her car. The campus should be a safe place. For everyone. He glanced at the puddle of blood, and his gut tightened. “What happened?”

“I told you.” Another loud pop from Joe’s gum. “Our vic worked late and left her office and walked out of the building to her car alone.”

It took all Aiden’s self-control not to yank the gum out of Joe’s mouth. “And?”

“The security guard in the foyer of her office building confirmed the time she left. He warned her to be careful and offered to walk her to her car, but she refused.” Another pop. “Like I said, stupid.”

Aiden had had enough. “What are you doing here, Joe? It’s after hours.”

“I heard the call on the radio.” Joe shrugged. “I was curious to see what trouble the Cooper woman was up to now.” His eyes narrowed. “I could ask you the same question, partner. Why are you here?” He waggled his bushy eyebrows. “Booty call?”

Instead of punching the smirk off Joe’s face, Aiden swung away and crossed to a uniformed officer who was taking photos of the red car. “Hey, Murray.”

The gray-haired cop hung his camera by a strap from his shoulder. “Hey, Aiden.” He shook his head. “Our victim was damn lucky.” He pointed at the trio of young men. “If those kids hadn’t come by when they did, the perp would have raped her for sure. The witnesses said the guy had a knife to her throat.”

A chill settled over Aiden. “Did he cut her?” He stared at the blood, unable to look away.

“She had a nick on her throat, but it looks like the blood occurred when she fell and hit her head on the pavement. The paramedics think she has a mild concussion.” He frowned. “She was injected with some sort of drug. We found a used syringe.” He held up a small plastic baggie. A needle was visible through the clear plastic.

Aiden’s gut knotted. “Thanks, Murray. When the techs arrive, make sure they examine every inch of the crime scene. The perp must’ve left some sort of trace. I want to pin this jerk’s ass.”

Murray nodded and raised the camera and snapped another photo.

Aiden ground down on his back molars so hard he feared they’d crack. This sort of assault was all too common. These scumbags thought they had the right to attack a woman and take what they wanted by force. Candace was one of the lucky ones. She’d live another day. Many victims weren’t so fortunate. He forced back his fury and approached the three witnesses. He nodded at the cop. “I’ll take it from here, officer.”

The cop backed away, and Aiden focused his attention on the three young men. He wrinkled his nose at the alcohol fumes filling the night air.

Their eyes were bloodshot, their gazes glazed, and they were unsteady on their feet.

“I’ll need a statement from each of you.” He beckoned to a tall, lanky, red-haired man. “You first. The rest of you wait here.” He led the way to his car and ushered him inside.

Aiden walked around to the driver’s side and slid behind the wheel and fixed the witness with a steely look. “What’s your name?”

“Caleb. Caleb Hartford.”

“Okay, Caleb. Tell me what happened.”

The young man fidgeted on the seat, clasping and unclasping his hands. His face was pale, and the freckles sprinkled across his nose and cheeks stood out like fly spatter.

“Me and the guys were walking back to our dorm from the campus pub.” He grimaced. “We had a few beers.” He waved his hands. “You know, to celebrate the end of term and all.”

No kidding. Judging by the kid’s slurred speech, he’d had more than a few drinks. Aiden nodded. “Go on.”

“We were crossing the common heading back to our dorm when a woman screamed. We’d heard about the girl who was attacked a few weeks back, so we ran over and saw this guy wrestling with a woman.” His face flushed. “Right away we could tell he was holding her against her will. It was dark, but we could see he held a knife to her throat. She was kicking and fighting him, and…” His Adam’s apple bobbed in his thin throat. “Trevor, that’s my roommate, he hollered at the guy to let her go, and the guy dropped her like a rock and took off.

“We were shocked when we saw it was Dr. Cooper.” He wiped his gleaming brow with the back of his hand. “She’s one of the good instructors. She really cares about her students. Everyone likes her.” He sniffled, and his eyes shone with unshed tears. “Is she gonna be all right? I mean, when we got to her, she was out cold, and she was bleeding. I know we should’ve chased after the guy, but we were too worried about Dr. Cooper and calling 911.”

“You did the right thing. You probably saved her life.”

Caleb sat up straighter and wiped his streaming nose. “Do you think so?”

Aiden knew so. He shuddered to think what would've happened if Caleb and his friends hadn’t come by. The fact the perp had a knife, and he came prepared with a syringe filled with some sort of date-rape drug no doubt, indicated he meant business. No way would Candace have stood a chance. The slime ball would’ve hauled her off somewhere dark and private and raped her. That’s what happened to the poor coed a few weeks ago. He shook off his dark thoughts and refocused on the witness. “Did you see where the guy went? Did he have a vehicle?”

“He ran across the parking lot and into the trees along the common. I didn’t see a car.”

“Did you get a look at him?” Aiden’s heart thudded in his chest. This was the tricky part. Few witnesses to a violent attack recalled many details of the attacker. Aside from the fact Caleb had been drinking, the shock of witnessing a violent assault often blinded people.

Caleb grimaced. “I’m sorry. It was dark, and they were in the shadows, but he was a big guy. He towered over Dr. Cooper, and she’s a tall woman.”

Aiden nodded, fighting back smoldering rage. “Anything else? Any little detail you can remember may help us catch this guy.”

Caleb shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.” He looked at Aiden, his red-rimmed eyes pleading. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. You’ve been a big help.” Aiden’s lie filled the car’s interior. The boy’s description of the attacker fit thousands of men and wouldn’t help the cops find the bastard, but Caleb and his friends’ intervention had stopped the perp, and for that, Aiden was grateful. “An officer will take you to the precinct and get your official statement. Thanks for your cooperation. Your actions saved Dr. Cooper’s life.”

He climbed out of the car and motioned for Caleb to do the same.

The student started to walk away and then stopped. “Detective?”

Aiden looked up from his notes. “What is it?”

“I think the guy had a beard, but I can’t be certain.”

A beard! Aiden’s gut pinged. The man Candace saw in the state park had a beard. Had he followed her to the college and attacked her? He shook his head. Nah. He was reaching for straws. The attack on Candace was a random event, a serial rapist intent on finding a vulnerable victim. But still…a bearded man… “Send one of your friends over, will you?”

The next witness, Cory Sinclair, a third year Education major, described the same scenario as Caleb. He didn’t have any new details to add.

The third witness, Trevor Lorenco, was the most inebriated, and his statement didn’t differ from the first two men, other than he thought he heard a vehicle off in the distance after the attacker ran. Of course, he hadn’t seen the car, but he was pretty certain the motor was a diesel, so maybe a truck. A complete description would have been asking too much. Cases were never that easy.

Caleb was the only witness who noticed the man’s beard. None of the other two men mentioned a beard. Maybe they were too fixated on the knife in the attacker’s hand, or the guy didn’t have a beard. That was possible too. So, what did that leave? A tall man, possibly with a beard, maybe driving a truck.

Zip.

His only hope was that Candace got a look at her attacker.

Aiden paced the hospital corridor and rubbed his throbbing head, trying to make sense of the attack. The knife and syringe indicated premeditation. The attacker was looking for a victim, and he’d come prepared.

The question was—had he come looking for Candace? Was she the intended victim? Or was it just her bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time? His gut twisted. Was the perp the same bearded man Candace encountered in Creighton Springs State Park?

What were the odds?

Zero to nil.

A few weeks ago, a young coed had been attacked on the university campus. The assault had occurred just after Aiden moved to Briggston. He and Joe weren’t assigned to the case, but having made a point to read every open case file, Aiden was familiar with the details. Aside from not having a life, he wanted to prove himself, to show his new coworkers that he had skills, damn good skills.

The victim, Lori-Anne Carson, was returning to her dorm from a late-night frat party, and someone grabbed her from behind, dragged her into the bushes, and sexually assaulted her. The guy left her bruised and battered, but alive. The police investigated, but there weren’t any witnesses, and they still hadn’t caught the perp.

The same guy could've attacked Candace, but the pinging in Aiden’s gut told him there was more to tonight’s vicious attack. These sickos tended to stick to a pattern, one that worked in the past. The guy who’d raped the coed hadn’t used a weapon during the assault, and the victim hadn’t been stuck with a needle and shot full of ketamine. Could be, the perp was progressing, learning from each attack, or the attacker could be someone else entirely. There were a lot of slime balls out there.

The door to the hospital room opened, and a doctor strode out. “She’s awake, Detective. You can see her, but only for a few minutes. She’s pretty disoriented.”

“Thanks.” Aiden inhaled a breath and pushed open the door and stepped into the room.