Lust and Lies 04 - Pretty Maids in a Row

they didn't keep the records that long.
    "Instead of any of my attackers being punished, I was required to attend weekly sessions with the school counselor—another man by the way. After the first humiliating session, I didn't return, and no one cared, as long as I didn't do or say anything that could ultimately hurt the school's reputation or their precious football team. You see, they were having a winning season and, although Tim Ziegler was only second string, one of my rapists was Dominion's star quarterback and another went on to the pros." Offering up a piece of paper, she added, "I have the entire list of men's names—"
    "Objection!" Ziegler's attorneys both shouted at once as Cheryl's attorney quickly covered her microphone with her hand and urgently whispered something to her client.
    Holly let the recorded program continue but her mind had slipped off track the moment Cheryl stated that one of the rapists was the star quarterback. She knew, without seeing the list, what that man's name was, a name she thought she had purged from her memory. As Tim Ziegler had been Cheryl Wallace's guide into hell, Jerry Frampton had been Holly's. What he and Tim had done to her was a far cry from the brutal obscenity perpetrated on Cheryl a year later, but it had been no less devastating to her.
    In one night, Holly had been transformed from an innocent young girl with romantic dreams to a bitter woman who would never again feel comfortable with a man.
    Holly had to give Cheryl a lot of credit for being brave enough to report the crime back then—something Holly hadn't had the guts to do. Coming forward at this time, though, exposing herself on national television to denigrate a man who was admired by both his colleagues and the media— that went right past courage to self-destructive masochism.
    Although she'd never met Cheryl, the newspapers had supplied some background on her. She was an award-winning poetess who had inherited the large sum of money that allowed her to concentrate on her writing. The money also granted her the freedom to be as reclusive as she wished to be.
    But money wasn't going to spare her from the ordeal she had set herself up for. It was clear from this first day of the hearing that the committee had already judged Cheryl Wallace and was planning to drag her through the mud for attempting to sully the good senator's name.
    There was no way in hell Holly would put herself in that position.
    Yet, she couldn't simply dismiss what she'd heard either. Twenty-one years ago, when Cheryl would have been a senior in high school, Holly had left Dominion and never returned. She had never known for certain that other young women had suffered as she had, but she had received a letter once that hinted at it.
    Some perverse quirk had made her keep that letter, though she never had any intention of doing anything about it. With Cheryl's tale still replaying in her head, Holly found herself in her condo's spare bedroom that she used as an office. The letter had been sent to her, in care of her parents, about twelve years ago. It was from a psychiatrist named April MacLeash and contained only one sentence:
    If the names below stir any memories, it may be to your advantage to contact me. There were fifteen men's names below that sentence, some of which she may have recognized years ago. Now, however, only two jumped out at her—Jerry Frampton and Timothy Ziegler.
    * * *
    "Calm down, Billy," Tim Ziegler told his fraternity brother over the phone. "Everything's going to be all right."
    "All right?" Billy O'Day repeated, raising his voice. "That bitch practically called me a rapist on national television. It won't be too hard for my wife's lawyer to figure out which Dominion football player turned pro back then. She's already trying to take me for more than I'll ever earn in my life and, with my contract up for renewal at the end of this season, the last thing I need is a fucking scandal."
    "Listen, I'm not going to discuss this with you over the phone. The odds are probably a million to one against your airhead wife watching a political telecast in the middle of the afternoon. You'll see, a week from now it will all be yesterday's news."
    "Yeah, but what about today's news?" Billy asked, though most of the concern had left his voice.
    "Did you watch it? The hearing got thirty seconds of coverage. They'd be fools to play up her insinuations without proof. My attorneys have assured me she won't mention the other