Karen forced a smile. “Honey, don’t worry. Everything is going to be fine. Your job is going to be fine. Mr. Underhill may like me, but that’s only because I’m your mother. He knows he hit the jackpot when that firm got you. Besides, it’s not like you’re taking a vacation, something very serious just happened.
Damita shifted her eyes downward with embarrassment. “Oh, Mom, please don’t tell him what happened. I would be mortified if everyone in the office was looking at me and feeling sorry for the poor girl that got raped.”
“Honey, I will make sure that Mr. Underhill knows he should be discreet, but your boss does need to know what happened. I will call him as soon as I leave here, okay. Trust me.”
“Of course I trust you.”
Karen glanced in Neal’s direction with contempt. “I’m going to leave now before I say something we’ll all regret. I wanted to check on you and make sure you were okay.”
“Okay, Mom. I understand.”
Before Karen walked out the door, she caught a glimpse of Neal’s smug expression. She turned around and leaned in closely to Damita and whispered in her ear.
“Baby, is there any chance he had something to do with this?”
Damita stared at her mother, first in disbelief, then in fear.
She spent the first couple of days resting. Although the nurse was available to watch over Damita, Neal never left the house. He prepared all her meals and would not leave her side.
After two days of Neal telling the police Damita was not well enough to speak to them, they eventually showed up at his door and gave him no other choice. It was not the same two officers at the hospital, but two detectives. Their names were Detective O’Flannery and Detective Alberti. Detective O’Flannery was tall with light brown hair and Detective Alberti was medium height with black hair.
Detective Alberti gave Neal the once over and spoke without even the hint of a smile. “Mr. Westman, I understand you’ve been less than cooperative with the police. I need you to know that we do intend to speak with Ms. Whitmore today whether you like it or not.”
“Of course. I didn’t feel Damita was ready until now. Come in,” Neal said.
“Hello, Ms. Whitmore. We are so sorry to bother you. However, we want to find the people who did this. Do you mind if we ask you some more questions?”
“I’m Detective Alberti and this is my partner, Detective O’Flannery.”
“Hello, Ma’am,” Detective O’Flannery said.
Neal noticed a shift in Detective Alberti’s demeanor when talking to Damita. He actually smiled.
Damita sat up in the bed and smoothed back her hair. “Ma’am? Do I look that old? And, no, I don’t mind at all answering your questions. I just don’t think I know very much.”
“Sometimes a victim or a witness may know something that they are not even aware is important,” O’Flannery offered.
“I understand,” Damita said.
“Is there anyone that you know of that might want to hurt you in any way?” Alberti asked.
“Uh, I. . . No, there’s no one. I don’t have any enemies.”
The detectives glanced at one another. “Are you sure?” added O’Flannery.
“Yes.”
“You’re an investment banker, is that correct?” O’Flannery asked.
“Yes, I am.”
“Is there a chance this has anything to do with your job? Could it be an unhappy client?” said Alberti.
“My firm deals with large corporations. I’m sure this doesn’t have anything to do with my work.”
“Where were you going when you left work?” Alberti asked.
“I was going to a store near Fifty-Ninth Street, in Midtown.
“After you got off the subway, what direction did you walk in?” O’Flannery asked.
“I walked from Lexington Avenue to First Avenue, because that’s where the store is. I was under the overpass and it felt like someone was following me but I figured once I cleared the overpass I would be okay because there were so many people on the street. As soon as I was about to cross the street, the van pulled up in front of me and someone pushed me from behind. He pushed me and the others pulled me in. I tried to fight but I couldn’t get away.”
“It wasn’t your fault. It would have been next to impossible to fight off four men on your own,” said O’Flannery.
“Do you think there’s a chance that they’ll be caught?”
“You’ve given us more information than you may think and even though it appears most of them used condoms, the fourth man did not. We’re hoping that will go a long way to help us find the animals that did this,” Alberti said reassuringly.