“She met Garett Whitman her sophomore year and fell in love,” Luke started. Frank rolled his eyes, and the other sons stiffened. “Right after he graduated from law school, he proposed. The wedding was planned for two weeks after the attack.”
“During the engagement, her worries grew more serious. She believed she wouldn’t be able to…” Rachel sighed.
“Satisfy a man?” Eric filled in the blank.
“Yes. Cassie is very private about herself, but she mentioned something in passing to Sophie, who was so worried she called me. Garett upset her. I always got the feeling their relationship wasn’t too physical. He—or his mother—had particular requirements for a woman. Adrienne was outright mean to Cassie.
“Sophie told me Cassie was uneasy about the marriage before the attack, but she felt it was her duty to keep her promise. Shame on me for not insisting on more intense counseling.” Rachel dabbed her eyes.
“Mom, you couldn’t force her. Besides, her troubles now are all that bastard’s fault,” Noah said.
“It’s bad enough she isn’t here to hear this. We’re dissecting her. I hate this,” Sean chimed in.
Noah wrapped an arm around his brother’s shoulders. “Bro, you saw her tonight. The night she woke up, Jamie told us—no matter what—not to participate in lies. If we don’t know what the truth is, we can’t tell what she’s making up to fill in the blanks.”
“Back to Whitman. What happened?” Kieran asked.
Sean crossed his arms. “The morning of the attack, Cassie defended her dissertation. We were thrilled and had planned a surprise brunch for the next day. Mom let herself in when Cass didn’t answer the door. She found her in her bathtub—naked, bleeding, and covered in black rose petals. After she was discharged, she started having scattered visions and nightmares. I think she still does.”
“Cassie didn’t end the engagement. Garett did.” Christian forced himself to sit up straighter in his chair. Luke and Rachel Paulsen seemed shocked.
Christian looked down at his hands. “Remember when I flew in for the weekend after she was discharged? Cassie was so shut down. I went to see Garett. I wanted to let him know it wasn’t him, to hang in and to give it time. I was sympathetic. The little prick looked me right in the eye and said she was no longer marriage material. Said she was soiled goods, no longer a virgin. I was glad we met at a bar in Union Station. I think I would’ve murdered him on the spot if we were alone. He dared to complain she wouldn’t even give him a…”
Christian took in a harsh breath. “He went on to explain, in rather vulgar terms, she was cold. Garett said he told her the truth, like pulling off a Band-Aid. She’d get over it, and that was that. When I got back to the house, she said Garett texted her that we spoke. She begged me to let it be. Cassie said he let her save face by allowing her to make it seem like she was the one who canceled the wedding. I told her she was better off without him.
“And then the way he turned on her—those words destroyed any trust she ever had in a man. As a payoff, the bastard’s family made a big contribution to a domestic violence charity in her name. To her, the attack, the subsequent pregnancy, and the lost engagement were all her fault. They proved she was inadequate. She begged us not to tell Mom and Dad. She vowed not to disappoint anyone ever again. I don’t think she ever went out alone with a man until you, Ian.”
“She insisted our date was just dinner.” Ian understood why Cassie wanted to push him away. If she was going to drive him away, it had to be about anything but this.
“Does Cassie know Robert Bynum Jr.?” Kieran asked.
Luke nodded. “There was a group of them—Garett, Robby, Burt Marshall, Kevin Tyler, and Phyllis Wilson. I can give you the rest of their names. All were in law school.”
“No one from Cassie’s art program?” Ian asked.
“Come to think of it, other than Sophie and her boyfriend at the time, she always was with Garett’s friends.”
“So, he isolated her?” Martin asked.
Luke hung his head in despair. “We let her down. Damn it! We didn’t protect her. We are the disappointments.”
Ian knew how they felt.
Hunter walked down the stairs and poured a mug of coffee. “She’s stable, on oxygen. She needs some blood. Martin, can you make arrangements to pick up two units of O negative at the blood service?”
“No problem.” Martin excused himself to make the calls.
“The scan of her brain was clear. The scan of her chest shows she broke two ribs on the left and one on the right. We bound them. Her sternum and skin graft held, which, I think, is pure luck. Now the shoulder. The CT scan showed major inflammation and a lot of blood. I called Aaron Simms, who concurs we need an MRI. And until we know more, there has to be someone with her all the time.” Hunter took his seat at the table.
“Where’s the baby’s death certificate?” Kieran stayed on task.
Christian rolled his head back. “Cassie has a book with a picture, a set of handprints and footprints, a lock of hair, the death certificate, and the burial plot deed. I have no idea where she kept it. Do you think the people who ransacked her place took it?”
“We didn’t find a baby book, but we did find two boards disrupted in the floor of her closet. Where is the baby buried?” Martin asked.
“Mount Hope in San Diego. Why?” Christian wondered.
Ian bounced his forefinger off his top lip. “The baby has her rapist’s DNA. My guess is whoever found the book was as surprised as we were tonight.” He reached for his phone. “We need her permission to take a sample of the baby’s DNA.”
