Page 36 of Beneath the Dawn

“Damn!”

“Once we had obtained enough evidence to assure convictions, I sent an anonymous, detailed report that included numerous videos to the Sacramento DA’s office. It became a huge scandal when Malcolm and his four besties were arrested. To spare their families the embarrassment of a trial, since there was so much evidence against them, the five pleaded guilty and were each given thirty years with no chance of parole.”

“Good. Since you sent the report anonymously, did they ever learn of your involvement?”

“Yes. A year later, I paid a visit to each of them individually in prison and told them that they had me to thank for their current situation. It made me feel good to let them know they hadn’t gotten away with what they did to me after all. I told them that since they had shared everything, I hoped they enjoyed sharing their time in jail.”

At that moment, Dante couldn’t help but be proud of her. She had settled the score in her own way. “Poetic justice.” He lifted his coffee cup in a salute.

“Yes, poetic justice,” she said, doing the same with her cup.

“Are they still in jail?”

“Yes, however, last month someone sent me a copy of an obituary for Larry.”

“The police officer?”

“Yes. He was murdered in his cell. And knowing how Malcolm’s mind works, he blames me. I did some digging when I received the obituary and discovered that Larry wasn’t popular with the other inmates, considering he was an ex-cop and involved with child porn. So, I guess what happened to him wasn’t really a surprise.

“I was surprised, though, to get his obituary sent to me in the mail. Nobody knew my address in Charlotte or my new address in Billings. Two weeks later, a small hawthorn tree was delivered to my home.”

“The shrub of death and misfortune,” Dante said, familiar with the plant. Back in the day, Mafia families would send one as a warning to their enemies.

“Yes.” Marti then told him about the note that had accompanied the shrub.

“I hope you got the police involved this time.”

“I did, but I couldn’t tell them everything, Dante. Especially not about my association with those guys. I’d never filed a rape report, and no one knew I was the one who sent that anonymous report to the DA’s office. I only got the police involved a week after the shrub showed up. Then I started getting more mail, photographs of me out shopping, taking a jog in the park, and watering the flowers in my yard. My face was mutilated in all the photos. Then one day, while driving home from the spa, someone tried to run me off the road. That’s when I knew I had to get away for a while.”

He nodded. “Now I understand why you told your family you were in London and not here in Wild Rose Point.”

That also explained the fear he had seen in her eyes that first day. And now he knew the reason she had screamed that night. She was a woman who was being stalked.

“I take it your parents or sister still don’t know what those bastards did to you.”

“No, my parents don’t know, but I eventually told Kara. I had to do so, to end the rift between us.”

Dante raised a brow. “How was that connected?”

Marti sat back and met his gaze. “Malcolm and those four guys had been best friends. They did practically everything together and bragged about sharing everything. When Kara introduced me to Virgil, I discovered he had five best friends. They were godbrothers, actually. When you saw one, you saw them all. They were thick as thieves, even closer than Malcolm and his friends, who had met in college. Virgil and his friends had known each other all their lives.”

“Let me guess,” Dante said. “You assumed because of those guys’ close relationship, the same thing that happened to you could possibly happen to your sister.”

“Yes. I even went so far as to have a short affair ─ one lasting a month ─ with one of Virgil’s godbrothers. Kara was sure that Virgil loved her. I figured if I got close to one of them, he might let something slip that I could use as ammunition against Virgil.”

“And did he?”

“No. In truth, Xavier was a nice guy. However, like his other godbrothers, he was a womanizer with commitment issues. I honestly thought Virgil wasn’t any different. So to protect Kara, I made up a lie that I had seen Virgil at a hotel with another woman.” She shook her head. “It ruined our relationship when she discovered I had lied. Finally, to make peace with my sister and help her understand why I had told the lie, I told her about Malcolm and his friends and what they had done to me.”

“I take it she doesn’t know you’re presently being stalked.”

She grimaced. “No. Kara’s pregnant and I don’t want her to worry about me. She doesn’t need to be stressed out right now.”

Dante didn’t say anything for a moment as he thought about everything she had told him. “I agree your ex-boyfriend is likely behind what happened today, as well as those other stalking incidents. The question is how? He’s still in jail, right?”

“Yes, but I’m sure there are ways to get around that. I couldn’t make my connection to Malcolm and the others known to the police before. But after today, I don’t really have any other choice but to go to the police and tell them everything.”

“There’s another option.”