Blackout After Dark (Gansett Island #21) - Marie Force Page 0,92
her office, her husband, Owen, came down the stairs with their three children in his arms. How he managed to carry them all was a constant source of amazement to her.
“Ready to go to the party?” he asked.
“I don’t think I can go.”
“What’s up?”
Laura quickly filled Owen in on what’d happened. “She told me yesterday she was in need of a getaway after her fiancé canceled their wedding and dumped her. And now this… Blaine is on his way.”
“That’s awful.”
“I need to stay with her.”
“Of course. I’ll take these guys over to Evan’s for a little bit. They can blow off some steam with their cousins.”
“I’ll meet you there if I can.”
He kissed her. “Keep me posted.”
“I will.” After kissing him and her kids and seeing them off, she rejoined Piper in the sitting room. “Can I get you a drink of water or anything?”
She shook her head. “No, thank you.”
Laura sat with her while they waited for Blaine. Fortunately, he didn’t make them wait long. When she heard voices in the lobby, Laura went to greet him and Jack Downing from the state police.
“We were together,” Blaine said.
“I don’t want to overwhelm her. She’s pretty shook up.”
“I’ll wait out here,” Jack said.
Laura gestured for Blaine to follow her into the sitting room. “Piper, this is Blaine Taylor, chief of the Gansett Island Police Department. Blaine, this is Piper Bennett, a guest here.”
“Hi, Piper,” Blaine said, taking a seat across from her.
“Th-thank you for coming.”
“Of course. Can you tell me what happened?”
Piper glanced at Laura.
“I can leave you two to talk.”
“No! Please don’t go.”
Laura sat next to Piper. “I’m right here, and I’ll be right here for as long as you need me.”
Piper broke down into gulping sobs.
They waited until she’d collected herself by taking a series of deep breaths. “Just when you think things can’t get any worse.”
“I’m so sorry this happened on our island,” Blaine said.
“It was my fault. I was acting out by partying with strangers. I went to his room, knowing I shouldn’t be doing that, and when he attacked me…”
“This was not your fault, Piper,” Blaine said. “Going to a man’s room isn’t an invitation to be attacked, but I do have some good news for you.”
“What’s that?”
“If you can tell me where you were when this happened and what room it was, we’ll be able to find him and arrest him for assaulting you.”
“It… It was the Harborside. Room thirty-two.”
“And his name?”
“Chris.”
“Hang on for one second.” Blaine got up and left the room, returning a minute later. “The state police will pick him up.”
Piper dropped her head into her hands, her shoulders shaking with sobs. “I never should’ve gone with him, but he seemed so nice and sweet. I just needed to feel better.”
“Did he rape you, Piper?” Blaine asked gently.
She shook her head. “I managed to fight him off and get out of there before he could.”
“Do you require medical attention?”
“I… I don’t think so.”
“I’d like to take some photos of your injuries for the record,” Blaine said. “It will help us to make a case against him.”
“Okay,” Piper said hesitantly. She grimaced as Blaine took several photos.
“I’ll get our first aid kit.” Laura retrieved the kit from her office and brought it to the sitting room. She gently tended to Piper’s cut lip and applied ointment. She offered an ice pack for the bruise blooming on Piper’s face. The incident brought back memories of the night Sarah had arrived in even worse condition after being beaten by her now ex-husband.
“Thank you,” Piper said, pressing the ice pack to the bruise.
“I’m going to need you to take me through it, from the minute you met him until you escaped his room,” Blaine said, pulling a notebook and pen from his pocket.
Laura sat with Piper while she told the story of what’d happened.
Blaine asked a lot of questions, and Piper answered every one of them, her resolve seeming to strengthen with every passing minute.
By the time they emerged from the sitting room an hour later, Jack had returned.
“He’s on ice at the station,” Jack said. “Asking for a lawyer.”
Piper wrapped her arms around herself. “What will happen now?”
“We’ll charge him with assault and attempted sexual assault,” Blaine said. “At some point, if it goes to trial, we’ll need you to testify. But that won’t be for a while.”
“Thank you for coming and for acting so quickly,” she said, her gaze shifting to take in Jack, too.