“No way!” a woman from the next table over said angrily. “This asshole did it again. That’s the third rape in the last two weeks!”
Julie met Toni’s wide, shocked eyes.
Toni whispered, “Have you heard about this?”
Julie shook her head no and continued to eavesdrop on the girl’s conversation. Why wouldn’t Pete or any of the guys mention it to the class so their students would know to stay extra-vigilant if there had been attacks in Lubbock lately?
A blonde coed continued, “They say this latest girl is in the ICU. They aren’t sure she’s going to survive.”
Julie couldn’t keep quiet any longer. She turned around to face the table of three coeds, all wearing Greek letters somewhere on their t-shirts or jackets. They were obviously sorority sisters from the University. “I’m sorry, but we couldn’t help overhearing. Are you saying that there have been three rapes in Lubbock in the last two weeks?”
The girls nodded in unison, but the girl who’d been talking spoke up first. “Yes, at least those are the ones we know about. The first attack was on one of our sorority sisters and her father has kept us all in the loop about what else has been going on so we can be careful. He works in the mayor’s office so he knows what’s happening, although they don’t want this getting out, so you didn’t hear it from us.” The girls looked worriedly between themselves. They’d obviously been warned not to tell anyone about this.
Toni gasped. “Why wouldn’t the mayor’s office want it getting out that attacks are happening to women so they can be extra careful?”
The blonde shrugged. “It’s some PR thing. They don’t want word getting out because Lubbock is actively trying to get awarded some big NCAA tournament. They think the bad exposure of a serial rapist will hurt their chances.”
Toni snorted. “That’s the biggest load of bullshit I think I’ve ever heard. They’re putting politics ahead of public safety?”
Julie had to agree. Even for political reasons, she couldn’t believe Pete hadn’t said anything about this so they could warn the women in their self-defense classes. She pulled out her cell phone and punched in Pete’s number.
He answered the phone with his usual friendliness. “Hey, Julie. Didn’t I just see you?”
“Yeah, and actually I’m still out with Toni, but we just heard a rumor at the coffee shop that I wanted to verify. Is there a serial rapist in Lubbock?”
His heavy sigh carried through the phone. “What did you hear and from who? No one’s supposed to know about that.”
Julie looked up into the anxious faces of Toni and the sorority girls. It sounded like they had a right to be worried. “So it’s true then. Why aren’t they telling anyone? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m sorry, Julie. The higher-ups are trying to keep this under wraps. They don’t want anyone to know.”
“And no one considered the fact they could be putting the public more at risk by not telling people they need to be more vigilant? I thought you cared about these women, Pete.”
“Hey that’s not fair. It puts my job at risk if I tell things I’m not allowed to and that puts more criminals on the street. My hands are tied here.”
“I’m sorry. You’re right. It’s not fair to blame you, but this isn’t right.”
“I agree, but I can’t do anything about it.”
“Your hands may be tied, but mine aren’t. G’night, Pete. Thanks.”
“Be careful, Julie.”
She closed the phone and looked at the women. “He wouldn’t corroborate anything directly, but it sounds like everything you’ve heard is correct. There’s someone out there attacking women.”
The mood of the evening was effectively shattered so Toni and Julie began to collect their cups and trash. As she passed by the sorority girls’ table on the way out, she dropped a few of her cards. “I teach free self-defense classes at the Health Sciences Center. Tell your friends.”
“Thanks,” they mumbled and snagged up the cards.
Chapter 7
The next day at work, Julie did some checking to see if she could find out more information about the attacks. If she had actually been paying attention to anything besides herself and her own worries, she would have heard about them through the hospital before now. The thought of one of her students or friends being attacked sent a chill down her spine. She wasn’t going to allow that to happen.
The hospital grapevine was very informative. There had actually