Rarities Unlimited 04 - The Color of Death

something highly suspect about this rape victim’s story. That’s probably why the guys assigned to the case at first dragged their feet.”
    “Look, we don’t exactly have a slam dunk in terms of physical evidence, but I’d hardly call her story suspect.”
    “Yeah? Then why do you need me?” Luke asked.
    Tessa swallowed. “Since the police have a number of other cases to pursue, I was afraid this one was going to get shelved. Or that the police would get distracted by the possibility of credit card, um, irregularities. I’m sure you can understand why I don’t want the police to waste time looking into something like that when I believe that the whole mess can be easily explained.”
    “What else? I still don’t buy the reasons for the departmental foot-dragging that’s happened up until now. Something happened to get this case pulled from the preliminary investigators and handed to these new ones. Ed Flynn is the best, so I know there’s something big here,” Novak said. “Anything you share with me is confidential,” he reminded Tessa.
    “Ah, there are some slight irregularities. A few problems with the victim’s identification papers.”
    “Such as…?”
    “Such as she doesn’t seem to have any. Says they were stolen. But the fact is, nothing on her matches anything in the state of Colorado’s databases. It’s raised a red flag, and I’m afraid the police would rather focus on that than on the fact that an eighteen-year-old girl was raped by America’s favorite quarterback,” Tessa said, shoving her hair behind her ears.
    “Sounds like you’ve hit more than one brick wall over this,” Novak said.
    She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “You could say that. No one seems to see what I do,” she said.
    “Which is?”
    “A pretty eighteen-year-old girl who wants to be the next Britney Spears. Who came to Hollywood alone to pursue a recording contract, and has no friends or family in LA except for a cousin. I see a petite teenager who was raped on a date with a thirty-year-old football player weighing over two hundred pounds,” Tessa said, clenching her fists in her lap at the thought of what Kelly had been through.
    “Finally, I see two overworked Beverly Hills cops who would rather pick at holes in the victim’s background than have the stones to confront said football player and deal with the political fallout. That’s why I asked to have Ed assigned to the case, and for it to be handled as he does his other major crimes investigations.”
    Novak’s eyebrows went up at the suppressed rage in Tessa’s voice. “Why are you so concerned about a starstruck kid from Colorado? Unfortunately, her story is not uncommon in LA.”
    “Well maybe that’s proof something really is wrong with the system.”
    “And you’re going to be the one to fix it,” Novak said neutrally.
    “I’d like to try. This is the biggest case that’s come across my desk in four years with the D.A. But it’s not just that—there’s Kelly. You need to meet her to understand. There’s something about her that draws you in. Innocence, vulnerability, I don’t know what it is. I just know I believe her when she says something terrible happened. I want to help her.”
    “Emotional involvement can be a liability in a case like this. You might discover things you don’t want to believe about innocent, vulnerable Kelly during the course of the investigation. And potential credit card fraud could be the least of the situation. Are you ready for that?”
    Hazel eyes looked right at Tessa, as if trying to determine whether she had the strength to do this. “I’m ready. But frankly, it’s not any of your business. I’d be paying you to investigate the credit cards found in Kelly’s possession. Not to monitor my commitment to finding the truth or handling whatever reality is uncovered.”
    “That’s where you’re wrong. If you hire me, my job will be to protect you and your interests while I investigate what’s going on. As my last client discovered, sometimes I may have to protect you from yourself. Especially if you’re wearing blinders where the victim is concerned.”
    “I’m not—” Tessa began.
    “Sure you are—look at Kelly Martin’s situation. The credit card thing could be the tip of the iceberg, yet the victim pleads ignorance. And you make excuses for her by saying she’s been through an ordeal. It sounds like she and her story could lead you into a minefield. Missteps