“Aaron was driving, and Kenny and I were in the backseat of Aaron’s Buick. As soon as the doors were closed Kenny was all over me. He was kissing me and giving me this line about this being his last night and how I owed him a special send-off. I remember Kathy in the front seat kind of egging him on and telling me to ease up. You know, saying things like I was no virgin anyway and what harm would it do to give Kenny a special memory. Kenny was really drunk and obnoxious. It was just a terrible scene, even worse than usual.
“Aaron was driving and arguing with Kathy. She stopped talking to me and started coming on to him while I’m fighting off Kenny in the backseat. All of a sudden, Aaron stopped the car and told Kathy to back off. They got out of the car and started having a big fight on the side of the road with the car doors open. I’m finally fed up with Kenny and I screamed at him to stop.” The intake of a deep breath filled the phone line, followed by silence.
“But he didn’t stop.”
“Sorry,” Melissa said, composing herself. “When I yelled, Kenny got mad and hit me with his fist. The next thing I know, he’s ripping my clothes off and…” The conversation was replaced with sobs.
“All that happened with Kathy and Aaron right outside the car?”
“I don’t know where they were. All I could see were Kenny’s wild eyes, his hands ripping at my clothes, and the smell of his beer breath. At that point I was out of it. I shut down and everything that happened was happening to someone else. I squirmed and resisted, but he was so strong I had no chance. When he was done he pushed away from me like I was some whore he’d bought on the street. He didn’t apologize or act like he was sorry. It was like he’d taken what he thought he deserved. He pushed away from me and told me to put my clothes on. I think he got out of the car while I was trying to find my clothes. I remember a blast of cold air when the door opened. And I think I heard someone arguing, too.”
“And they drove you right home?”
“It was really odd. I’d always thought Kathy was my best friend, but something had happened outside the car. When I got dressed as best I could, Aaron got in the backseat with me. He could see what had happened and he told me how sorry he was. Then Kenny drove back to my house with Kathy in the front seat.
It got even stranger when we got to my house. Kenny talked to Kathy and then he dragged Aaron out of the car. Kenny was yelling and swearing at him. I think he may have even punched him. Then he grabbed me and dragged me out of the backseat. He pushed me toward the house and called me a bitch. I said I wanted my jacket, and I’d lost one shoe, but he told me to run to the house, then Kenny threw my jacket out of the car, he grabbed Aaron and pushed him toward the car. I remember looking back, and it looked like Kenny was kicking and punching Aaron when he was in the backseat.”
“Where was Kathy? Didn’t she try to stop Kenny?”
“I…I don’t know. She’d been in the front seat with Kenny. I remember them talking while Aaron helped me get my clothes together, but when we got to my house Kathy was crying.”
“You have no idea what happened after Kenny, Aaron, and Kathy left your house that night?”
“No. I got in the house somehow and my mom found me crying. She helped clean me up and asked what had happened. When I went into the bathroom she picked up my clothes. When I got out of the bathroom Mom was crying. I asked her what was wrong and she said she found bloody stains in my jeans and understood what had happened. I think she apologized for making me go out with Kenny. Dad came down and we shut up. We were afraid he’d do something crazy.”
“It didn’t occur to anyone that you should’ve called the sheriff’s department?”
“Why? I’d been on a date with my boyfriend and things got carried away.”
“Melissa, you were raped,” Floyd said softly. “That’s all there is to it. Kenny raped you and he should’ve been prosecuted.”
“It doesn’t happen that way. Everyone in town would’ve called me a whore and Kenny’s friends wouldn’t have let it rest. No judge is going to convict a guy going off to war.”
“It’s not the judge’s choice. A jury hears the trial and they vote based on the evidence.”
Melissa gave a bitter laugh. “How many date rapes have been prosecuted in Pine County?” When Floyd didn’t reply immediately she went on, ““And I know why, because some girl would have to sit in a courtroom with a jury of her neighbors and tell them the dirty details of her assault. Then would come the questions about if she’d ever had sex before, and with whom. The defense tries to make you look like the city bicycle — the one everyone’s ridden around the block once. I couldn’t stand the thought of twelve people I knew sitting in the jury box listening to the details of my sex life. There aren’t many girls who can in a small town like Pine City.”
“I don’t think it’s that bad, but I see where you’re coming from. Did Ken or Kathy call the next day to apologize?”
“I didn’t hear a thing until a deputy came to the door and told us that Kenny had been killed in a car accident. He thought I was crying because Kenny died. They were really tears of relief. If he hadn’t died, I would’ve dreaded his return.”
“When did you next hear from Kathy?”
“We’ve never spoken again. I saw her in the grocery store and I walked the other way. I started nursing school, then I got married, and moved away. I visit my parents on some holidays. I don’t look for Kathy, Mike, or any of that old crowd. I’ll never attend a high school reunion, and when my parents are gone, I’ll never go north of the Twin Cities again.”
“There are still a lot of fine people in Pine County.”
“They weren’t the ones I hung around with.”
“So, you never heard about what happened after you were dropped off that night. No one ever said what happened to Aaron after you got out of the car?”
“No, and why is that a big issue after all these years? You said you found a picture that was taken at the bar. Why would that raise all these questions now?”
“Some other evidence came to light and we think that Aaron may have been assaulted later that night. It’s probably related to his disappearance.”
“I saw Kenny assault him.”
“Aaron was cut with a knife.”
There was a long pause. “Kenny had a knife. It was a big one with like teeth on the back edge. He showed it to a bunch of people when he first came back. He was really proud of it. He said it was sharp enough to shave with and that he was planning to collect some war souvenirs with it.”
“That’s an interesting tidbit,” Floyd said making a mental note to call the Solstads. “I’ll check on it. Is there anything else you can remember about that night?”
“I’m sorry, I’ve worked hard to put that night out of my memory.”
Floyd was dialing Solstad’s when the dispatcher paged him. He punched the blinking button.
“Floyd,” Mary said, “I went to your house to let the dog out and put some leftovers in the refrigerator. Someone left a note on your door. It says, ‘Let dead dogs lie.’”
“Shit!” he uttered. “Where are you now?”
“I’m in the house talking on the phone,” Mary replied in confusion. “Is this a big deal?”
“The house was secure? There wasn’t anyone around?”
“The door was locked and everything seems in its place. The dog met me in the kitchen and everything’s normal.”
“Stay on the phone.” Floyd got the dispatcher on the intercom. “Get a cruiser over to my house right now. Tell them someone left a threatening note and I want them to check the house.”