《Dancing with the Devil》Chapter Twenty-four
Advertisement
Chapter Twenty-Four
He turned away from Mac and said something to another cop behind the window. The door to the waiting area opened and a woman officer came out holding a plastic bag with her dress in it.
“I’m Detective Billie Smith. Let’s go into an office where we can take your statement in private.”
They walked down a short, darkened hallway, Mac a few paces behind, her eyes glued to the bag. “EVIDENCE” was stamped in huge red letters on the side, somehow making Mac’s actions very real, and very terrifying. She couldn’t look away. If she did she wouldn’t believe this was happening. And she might freeze.
Things she hadn’t even considered started bubbling to the top of her mind. What if Lily had to testify? How could she even go through that? What if her father went to jail and they were left with no money? What if Barb wouldn’t let her live with them because of what she’d done? Or hadn’t done? She hadn’t protected Lily. She should’ve told sooner. Of all people, she should have known.
But she couldn’t freeze. She was done looking away, ignoring the past. She’d wasted too much time already. In fact, she had to make this happen faster. Every minute Lily was with him was one minute too long. One minute he could be doing … whatever he wanted. Every minute Lily was with him was on Mac.
After going through the formalities of getting all of Mackenzie’s data, like name, address, date of birth and writing down everything as slowly as humanly possible, Detective Smith finally asked, “Okay. When did this rape occur?”
Mackenzie shook her head and blew out a burst of air. “Look, mine happened a long time ago, but my sis—”—“
“Oh. Well, there is a statute of limitations. Why don’t you tell me your story? Just start at the beginning. You can tell me everything from start to finish. Do you mind if I record it so I get everything right?”
Advertisement
It had already been twenty-five minutes since the cab had dropped her off. It was starting to get dark. Who cares when her birthday is? Let’s just grab up Lily before he does anything!
“Look, my sister is in danger. He’s going to do it to her, too! Please just go get her and I can tell you everything after! You’re wasting time! Please!” Mac was aware her voice was rising and she was starting to lose it but she couldn’t bear it if anything happened to Lily today. Now.
“Our main goal is to keep you and your sister safe,” the officer said. “But you still haven’t told me who you’re accusing, or what happened. I want to do this fast too, but I still need to make sure we do this right. We don’t want the accused to get away, get away with it, or disappear with your sister. So let’s start with who. Who are you accusing?”
“Stan Douglas.”
The cop started to write in the form in the little box and then stopped and looked up at Mac. “Stan Douglas? The guy who donated all the money to the beach restoration?”
“Yes.”
“And the Police Benevolent Association?”
“Yes.”
“And … who is Stan Douglas to you and your sister?”
“He’s our father.”
Mackenzie watched the officer’s professional training kick in as she tried to mask her reaction, but knew the look she saw under the surface was the one she’d be seeing as the news spread. Her father was known here and at home. She didn’t care. As long as she could get Lily away, that’s all that mattered. She saw the expression soften, and the cop said, “Hon, where is your sister now?”
“She’s at the father daughter dance with him at the club. Please, we have to get her away! Now!” Thoughts of the barbecued hot dogs, and the special dress Lily got, and her own ruined polka dot dress sitting on the desk encased in protective plastic was too much. Mackenzie stood. Pacing back and forth in the little room, she started babbling. “You don’t understand, he’ll hurt her and my step-mom isn’t home, or she’s coming back from a trip or I don’t know when she’s coming back, and I tried to call her but she’d freak if I left a message because I’m not even supposed to be back from my trip and she could be home now or maybe not now or later but Lily’s in danger and we have to go get her or—”
Advertisement
Officer Smith was handing her tissues with one hand while dialing her phone with the other. Mac blew her nose and wiped the tears away as she listened to her say “Yeah, that’s him. Uh-huh,” and “Thanks, bud, just keep an eye on them.” She hung up and turned to Mac.
“That was my partner. Your sister is safe and seems to be having a nice time at the dance. We need to be careful here. I don’t want to tip your dad off just yet. My partner’s there with his little girl, too, he knows your dad from the PBA, and he won’t let him out of his sight until we get there. Now that we’ve bought a little time to get our ducks in a row we can make sure you and your sister never have to go through this again, okay?”
After Mac finished giving her statement, they got hold of the woman on call at the child services department they shared with the small town next door. Because of the holiday she wouldn’t be available for a couple of hours so it was decided they’d head back to the house to see if Barb had returned yet, and bring her back to the station. They’d have Barb go to the dance and get Lily, saying she wanted to see her in her dress. While Barb took Lily to primp in the ladies room, Stan would be arrested and taken in. But first they had to see if Barb was even home.
***
Mackenzie never knew police cars had such small back seats and her knees ached from being jammed into the hard plastic that separated her from the cops up front.
“You wait here while we go see. Got it?” The two cops got out of the cruiser and slammed their doors shut.
The questions pounded but she was pretty sure she already knew the answers.
Could anything be done now?
Doubtful.
Was it already too late?
Probably.
Could she have done something to stop it?
Absolutely.
And the one she feared most: Was it all her fault?
Yes.
Advertisement
- In Serial22 Chapters
A Demon Lord's Reincarnation
Selina’s got a pretty active imagination. When doing math, she pretends that she is a great detective solving a heinous crime! Ordinary tasks, like a trip upstairs, turn into a perilous adventure to raid a dragon’s cave! She believes that life should be full of wonder and magic, and tries to force the world to cope with her conviction! But when Selina wakes up to remember her past life as the Demon Lord, she has to face the fact that real life is messy, and not anything like what she imagined. With ancient powers stirring, family problems, and the hectic life of a teenager, Selina will have to discover more about herself if she is going to survive the trials ahead. With the help of her best friend and a fair share of luck, she might just get through this alive. Maybe. (Updates (hopefully) on Sundays) This story started out as a flipped isekai. Instead of a hero being pulled into a medieval world, a Demon Lord is pulled into the modern world. It has since moved a bit beyond that initial premise but it is the foundation of the work. Along the way, I threw in dragons, elves, dwarves, and some vampires (but no werewolves, gotta nip that in the bud) all wrapped up in the political drama of a modern world. The story, however, will mainly focus on the characters and their development and as such, is a bit of a slow burn. It may take a couple of chapters to get into. You have been warned! (PS, please show patience for the author's notes. They're a bit crazy and don't always make the most sense. The author's a bit of a ditz. Please ignore him.)
8 152 - In Serial6 Chapters
I Reincarnated As The Universe
I've always wanted to be someone powerful...who wouldn't?Fly around like superman, stand for justice, eradicate all evil. Like that you know?Or perhaps a cultivation genius? A higher lifeform? A god?But all those dreams went down the drain when Truck-kun chose to send me on my way. However, I got a second chance as the... *Chapters*They'll be between 500-1000 words. So they're short. You're warned.
8 204 - In Serial38 Chapters
Mr. Forgettable #Wattys2016
Larkin Knolls is a superhero. Combine that with being a sophomore in high school, and she's got her calendar booked. Homework, crime fighting, and the occasional binge movie marathon leave her no free time. At all. When a series of assassination attempts occur in her town, Larkin knows something's up. Only another super such as herself could have stayed in hiding for so long. There must be a villain on the loose. However, not everything is black and white. The line between good and evil is blurred, and the villain might not be as evil as she originally thought.#NotAllAreHeroes#WrittenInAction
8 94 - In Serial19 Chapters
Stone Burners
Olivia has awoken to a strange world. With mere scraps of memories and a warped, unfamiliar body, she must find help to survive. However, a vast criminal syndicate, an urban legend, and more all threaten to snuff her out before she can find her footing. This is the second draft of an older, much longer running serial on my own site. Updates Wednesday nights.
8 177 - In Serial25 Chapters
Legendary Void Dungeon
Dungeons are strange beings no one completely understands. It is understood that they are immortal sentient beings designed to test and challenge those who enter their domain. So, when another one forms following an ordinary man's death what makes this Dungeon so different? This Dungeon is rare, not just rare but Legendary. The birth of a Legendary being is sure to create upheaval, a Legendary Dungeon even more so.
8 121 - In Serial7 Chapters
Sick Day, Rangers apprentice by Elfpen (Fanfiction )
This is not mine! This is by Elfpen from Fanfiction! summary: The facts are simple. One, Will is undoubtedly, inarguably, and quite entirely sick. Two, it's time for the Ranger Corps Gathering again, and Will isn't going to miss it for the world. So, can the Ranger apprentice somehow use his honed skills, wit, and natural charm to pull a raging case of the flu unnoticed past Halt? Well, Will seems to think so.
8 151