Page 30 of Deadly Forever

9

Nine

“What do you think?”

For some inexplicable reason, Mandy felt nervous as she sat in the passenger seat of James’ Explorer two hours later and stared at the ornate colonial home in one of Macomb County’s ritzier suburbs.

When Judge MacIntosh told James and Mandy what was in the sealed file, they were both flabbergasted. As damning as the information was, Mandy had no idea how it could’ve forced the boys to do what they did. She could still hear MacIntosh’s grave voice when he informed them that Dakota Landers was accused of drugging and raping a female teenager at a party. The girl claimed she was gang raped, in fact, but since she was drugged the only face she remembered belonged to Dakota.

“I don’t know what to think, baby,” James said, idly rubbing his thumb over the palm of her hand as he stared at the house. “This entire thing is … I don’t even know what to say about it.”

“I don’t understand why he’s not in jail,” Mandy supplied. “I know the girl recanted her statement but … .”

“Why do you think she did that?” James asked, shifting his eyes to Mandy. He was genuinely curious. “If she really believed she was drugged and raped, wouldn’t she want someone to pay for what happened to her?”

Mandy shrugged. “It’s not the first time I’ve seen it,” she said. “While I was at the courthouse, I heard about it happening numerous times. Trials are always harder on the victim where rape is concerned, and from what the judge said about that file … well … her entire life would’ve been put under a microscope.”

“Because she couldn’t identify the other boys involved?”

“I think we know the others boys involved,” Mandy supplied. “If I had a million dollars, I would just bet that the other boys in the mall were his partners in crime. It would be too coincidental otherwise.

“The judge said the girl made the claims four months ago and then recanted two weeks later,” she continued. “Dakota was the only one with formal charges pending, but the sheriff’s department was investigating the other boys at the party because they wanted to bring more charges. That all disappeared when the girl – her name was Darcy Sweetin, right? – changed her story.”

“Yeah, Darcy,” James intoned. “I still don’t understand why she would recant. I know it’s difficult to deal with things like that, but … if that was my sister or you, I would expect a trial.”

Mandy made a derisive sound in the back of her throat. “If that was Ally or me, you would kill whoever hurt us and there would be no trial. Then Peter would help you hide the body and we would go on our merry way. Although … I guess there’s nothing merry about being gang raped. That girl is never going to be the same again.”

“You’re right about me killing whoever did that,” James said, his eyes landing on a man standing in the garage. “I’ll bet that’s Darcy’s father. Do you think he wanted to kill the boys?”

“I think that would be a natural instinct for most fathers,” Mandy replied. “As for testifying, though, you have to remember that this girl is a teenager and these boys appeared to be popular. She probably got turned into the villain of her own traumatic life event.”

James lifted an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“She would’ve been shamed,” Mandy explained. “The defense lawyers would’ve painted her as a slut who wore skimpy clothes and led on the boys and somehow enticed them to do what they did. They would’ve said she asked for it. Heck, for all we know, the other kids at the school might’ve turned on her because they favored the boys.

“I don’t know this girl or her exact circumstances, but I’m sure she was terrified and embarrassed,” she continued. “She probably just wanted the problem to go away. She might’ve thought things would be better if she pretended it didn’t happen.”

James licked his lips as he slid his gaze to his wife. He couldn’t imagine anything worse than having the thing he loved most violated. When she’d been kidnapped and kept from him, that’s all he pictured in his head. He was scared to death that she would die. Something inside of him hurt when he thought about the possibility of someone raping her, though. Even though it would’ve happened to her and it wouldn’t have been able to tarnish their love, it would’ve devastated them both.

“I already don’t like these kids and I’m feeling better about their deaths,” James said, his voice low and threatening.

Mandy squeezed his hand reassuringly. “We don’t know that these kids were involved,” she reminded him. “We have a feeling and I’m convinced we’re right, but that still doesn’t explain why they did what they did.”

“I know,” James said, making a face when he saw the man stride out of the garage and head in their direction. “I was hoping to talk to the girl, but I’m guessing that’s not going to happen.”

Mandy dragged her attention to the angry looking man as he closed the distance between them. “We could leave.”

“I’m not doing that,” James said. “I don’t want that girl being paranoid thinking someone was outside watching her. I’m going to explain exactly why we’re here. If he sends us away … so be it.”

Mandy pressed her lips together and nodded, watching as James rolled down his window and waited for the man to approach. For his part, the man looked angry more than anything else as he hovered on the other side of the window.

“Can I help you?”

James didn’t bother spinning a tale or trying to appease the man with his charm. “My name is James Hardy. I own Hardy Brothers Security. I was in the mall when those boys were killed – I killed one of them, in fact – and I’ve been digging around since then because I’m trying to find a motive for their actions.”

The man’s eyebrows flew up his forehead. Either he was surprised by James’ fortitude or he was about to fly off the handle. “I’m guessing my daughter’s name came up during your search.”

“It did,” James confirmed. “I was hoping to talk to her. I understand if … .”