Rarities Unlimited 04 - The Color of Death

an hour earlier, to the terror and helplessness she’d felt when she realized that Sledge wasn’t going to be stopped by her tears and pleas. When she’d realized that he was going to continue to press her slender body into his velvet couch and take away from her something she would never get back. Something he had no right to take.
    Kelly’s lip trembled, even though she still had her teeth clamped around it hard enough to draw blood.
    The car turned into a residential area and slowed to a stop in front of a modest single-level home.
    “So, are you free next weekend?” Sledge’s voice came out of the darkness, causing Kelly to jump visibly. She had hoped to go inside without having to say another word to him.
    She shrugged her shoulders and brought her thumb up to her mouth, chewing on its lacerated cuticle.
    Sledge took her silence for agreement. “Then I’ll set things up with Jerry again, okay?”
    Kelly shrugged once more and reached for the door handle. It was locked.
    “Hey, wait a sec. I got something for you, sugar.” At one time, Sledge’s thick Alabama accent would have made her heart turn over. Right now, it made her skin crawl. If she’d had anything at all in her stomach, she was sure it would have come up right then. But she’d been so ill at Sledge’s house after…she bit harder on her cuticle, then tugged again on the door handle.
    Sledge released the locks and held something out to her, causing her to flinch away from him.
    “It’s for you. And there’s a lot more where that came from. You’re a gen-uine firecracker, darlin’.”
    Kelly looked at the crisp hundred-dollar bill in Sledge’s beefy hand. Then she raised her wounded gaze to his for the first time since they’d gotten into the Hummer. She looked into his eyes for guilt, apology—anything. But when he smiled and winked at her she pulled the door open and bolted.
    “Aren’t you going inside?” Sledge called through his open window.
    Kelly ignored him. She passed the house and continued running down the street in her high heels and cocktail dress, until she disappeared into the darkness of the night.

Chapter 2
    Los Angeles, California
    Tuesday, February 23
    “A n eighteen-year-old girl was raped by a high-profile athlete three days ago, and I get the impression the officers who were first assigned to the case couldn’t care less. They haven’t even brought the suspect in for questioning, let alone arrested him. It’s just not right.”
    Tessa Jacobi speared a piece of grilled shrimp with her fork to emphasize her point. She then put the bite down untouched, pushed away her half-full plate, and used both hands to tuck her dark blond hair behind her ears.
    Police Officer Veronica Harris took in her friend’s barely suppressed anger and chose her words with care.
    “I’m sure the officers were proceeding carefully on the case, Tessa. What reason have they given you for not arresting him?”
    Tessa rolled her blue-gray eyes. “They say there isn’t enough evidence to substantiate a sexual assault. That’s why I had Carmen pull some strings to get you and Ed assigned to the case.”
    And it must have burned like acid to do it , Veronica thought.
    Tessa continued. “I hope I didn’t wait too long. Apparently the football player involved is out of town and unavailable for questioning. I just hope the creep hasn’t bailed out of the country to Mexico or something. Getting sufficient evidence to prosecute a date-rape case is hard enough without having the rich defendant flee the jurisdiction.”
    Veronica pushed aside her empty plate with regret. She was still trying tolose some of her extra pregnancy weight, and so resisted the temptation to pick at Tessa’s lunch. “If the evidence is there, we can make a case. Start from the beginning. Who is this girl?”
    “Her name is Kelly Martin,” Tessa said. “What a sweetheart. She’s eighteen, and came to LA a few months ago to pursue a recording contract.”
    “Like thousands of other girls, God help them. Where’s she from?” Veronica asked.
    “She said she was born and raised in Denver. There aren’t any recording studios there, so she hopped a bus to California. I know it’s tough to make it in Hollywood, but I have a feeling about this girl, Ronnie. She’s got star quality. I could see that the first time I met her, even though she was a wreck,” Tessa said.
    “How did you meet her?”
    “I was walking my brother’s dog in the park early last