If only we all felt as strongly, Marlene thought but cautioned herself against letting this poetic man sway her with words when his actions might not have been so noble.
"So," Helena said, changing the subject, "you said you wanted to talk to us about Alexis's case."
Marlene looked at the younger woman and saw the fear in her eyes. She didn't want to hurt her but this had to be done. She turned to Alexis. "Like I said, I need to ask you some questions before I'll take this case. And let me warn you, you have to be completely honest with me, no matter how painful the answers, or I'm out of here. Understand?"
Alexis hung his head and sighed. "Yes, I will be honest," he said. "Ask."
"Then tell me the truth about your relationship with Sarah Ryder-from the beginning and right through to when you last spoke with her," Marlene said. Rather than ask specific questions at the moment, she wanted to see if he would try to downplay certain aspects or lie. But he didn't.
He spoke about how he'd met his accuser, the helpful student and friend. "She was-how do you say this, flirting-yes, flirting. I know now that I should have…um…nip this in the bud, but I admit I found it to be flattering and I thought harmless."
"Was there any physical contact?" Marlene asked.
"None. Well, except that she liked to hug and seems to be infatuated with the European custom of kissing on the cheeks. But nothing else, not until just before the incident when she kissed me on the mouth and told me that she was in love with me."
"How come you did not tell me this?" Helena interrupted angrily.
Alexis shrugged. "I did not think it was a big deal. I told her that I enjoyed her friendship, but that I did not feel the same…that I was already married to the woman that I loved."
"I don't suppose you made any sort of dated notation about this incident with Ms. Ryder?" Marlene asked. "A memo in a file or an email?"
"No. It was a kiss. I told her that it could not happen again, and she seemed to accept that…she said we could be just friends."
"What happened after that?"
Alexis leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling with his hands clasped in front of his stomach. "Nothing. She was just the nice, helpful student struggling to complete her master's thesis, which is why I agreed to see her that evening in my office. I was feeling somewhat guilty as her adviser because I had been so focused on trying to complete the translation of my book. I felt I owed her the time."
Alexis reached the point where Sarah arrived and brought out the beer, which she then spilled. "That is when she must have put something in my drink," he said.
"Something in your drink?" Marlene said. "The toxicology report indicates that she had rohypnol in her bloodstream. Are you saying that you were drugged?"
"I did not see her do this," he said, explaining how he'd left to fetch a paper towel. "But I'm Russian and no stranger to stronger drink than a weak American beer. Yet, after we talked for some minutes, I felt…well, actually, I felt good, relaxed, but my mind was like…you would say mush. The next day, I confronted her with this, but she says I drugged her."
"Did you tell the police detective who interviewed you that you thought you'd been drugged?" Marlene asked.
"No. It did not come up. He did not seem too interested in what I say, except the part where…" Alexis stopped talking and looked at his wife and then back to Marlene. "Helena has not heard most of this next part. Only that this woman claims I raped her."
"I'm afraid she's going to have to know the whole truth now," Marlene said. "If this goes to trial, she will learn anyway, and it's best if she doesn't look surprised and hurt in front of the jury."
Alexis nodded and looked at the ground so it was at first difficult to hear him. "She gave me oral sex."
"What?" Helena asked, her voice barely audible.
"When I was in my chair and feeling woozy, she gave me oral sex."
Helena looked stunned and then angry. But Marlene pressed on. "Did you ejaculate?"
"Yes," he said, nodding. "She would not stop."
Helena set her teacup down with a crash. "She would not stop? Poor Alexis, you could not push her away? She excited you enough that much? Perhaps you did nothing to resist?"
Alexis said nothing.
"Well, the legal question is, did you force yourself upon her at any time?" Marlene asked.
"No."
"You didn't tie her up?"
"What!" Helena exclaimed.
"No."
"You did not rape her vaginally or anally?"
"I never did these things," he said, starting to seethe himself.
"She says he did this?" Helena asked Marlene.
"Yes."
"Does she have proofs?"
"There is evidence that she had sex in this manner. There are also traces of Alexis's semen found on her blouse."
"This is not possible!" Alexis cried. "I did not…have sex in this manner or do this on her blouse."
"Then how do you explain these proofs," Helena demanded.
"I cannot," he admitted.
"There is also a question of a beer glass found in your office with Ms. Ryder's fingerprints-as well as yours-and lipstick stains," Marlene continued. "It contained traces of the drug."
"Aha!" Alexis shouted. "There is proofs that I am telling these truths. I never touched her beer glass, only the one she handed me."
"There's no way to prove that Alexis," Marlene said. "Only one beer glass was located, and it had both of your fingerprints on it. Her version of the story checks out, including a witness who has come forward to say he saw Ms. Ryder on the night in question and that she claimed to have been raped by her professor."
"But her story is lies," he complained.
"Except that you accepted this oral sex from this woman…and her kisses," Helena cried and began to sob.
Alexis stood and went over to his wife. "It was not like that," he said and touched her shoulder but she angrily pulled away from him.
Marlene watched the couple and felt like a heel. But she also believed Alexis. If he'd tried to lie about the blow job or had tried to introduce some silly explanation, she'd made up her mind to walk away and leave him to his fate. But while he was defensive about his actions, which was normal under the circumstances, he'd answered truthfully with his wife sitting across from him.
"Helena," she said, "if Alexis is telling the truth-and I have to say I believe him-there are other explanations for these proofs, as you call them. But it's going to be tough to convince a judge and jury so we're going to have to decide if you want me to help and if you want to be part of this."
Alexis looked at her gratefully, but Helena just nodded as tears spilled down her face. Marlene was about to tell them that she'd decided to accept the case as their lawyer when Gilgamesh lifted his head and looked at the front door while letting go a low rumble that sounded like a diesel truck trying to start on a cold day.
A moment later, there was a knock on the door. Helena stood, wiping at her eyes with her sleeve, and went to answer.
Marlene noticed that Helena didn't look out the peephole before reaching for the doorknob. Definitely not a New Yorker, she thought, as Helena opened the door.
A large man-approximately the same size as an NFL linebacker with his pads on-pushed through the door with his right hand inside his suit coat. However, Gilgamesh had risen to his feet from next to Marlene and was already within closing distance before the man realized that the dog would be on him before he could get the gun out.
So, bud, now you know how a gazelle feels in that moment when it finally sees the lion in mid-pounce, Marlene thought.