The Ritual Bath

“He ripped her dress and pulled at her hair. Sarah Libba was wearing a wig that night, as you well know, so it just came off, and for some reason, that made him furious. He hurled it away, and dragged her off and began to punch her again, all over her body.”

“Did he say anything to her?”

“Not directly. But he muttered over and over, ‘What a bitch, what a bitch.’”

“What did his voice sound like?”

“Gravelly.”

“Had she ever heard it before?”

“I didn’t ask her that. I assumed she would have said something if she had.”

“You can’t assume anything. Anyway, go on, you’re doing fine.”

“Oh, I almost forgot. He told her he had a gun.”

“Well, that’s a pretty important detail.”

“She wouldn’t let me take notes. This is all from memory.”

There was defensiveness in her voice. Decker realized he was coming across as critical and softened his tone.

“You’re doing great. A-plus. Did he threaten to shoot her?”

“No. She distinctly said he didn’t threaten to use it. He just said, ‘I have a gun,’ and she felt this cold thing against her temple.”

“Okay.”

“He finally stopped hitting her. He reached up her dress and pulled down her underwear … He … Excuse me.”

“Take your time. Here.” Decker poured her another cup of juice. “Take a gulp.”

“Thank you.” She took a sip. “This is very hard for me.”

“I understand.”

She sighed. “Let’s see. He attempted to … tried to do it to her from behind. First the regular way, then sodomy, but he wasn’t aroused.”

“She saw his penis?”

“Uh, no, well, I don’t know. She couldn’t feel him penetrating her, I guess. She felt a little something anally, but nothing really physically painful.”

Her account was consistent with the exam. It had revealed no sperm or seminal fluid in the vaginal mucosa and a few drops of seminal fluid in the anal region. Enough to get a serum typing, but not a really good one. But he didn’t tell her that.

“Did she recall the man ejaculating?” Decker asked.

“She felt something warm and wet dribble down her leg.”

Damn! If the doctor had looked a little farther down the victim’s leg, she would have found a nice, big sperm sample. It was hell working with amateurs.

“Go on,” he urged, suppressing his irritation.

“After he was done, he told her that he knew who she was, and if she talked, he’d kill her. He started to slap her, but then I came out. She’s sure that scared him. Anyway, he took off as soon as he heard my voice.”

“So the mysterious fleeing figure probably was the bastard.”

She nodded and hugged herself.

“It gives me the chills just to think about it.”

“Anything else?” he asked.

“Not that I can remember.”

He stopped writing and put the notepad away.

“Detect—”

“Peter,” he reminded her.

“Peter, does any of it sound like the Foothill rapist?”

There were certain similarities—the attempted anal penetration and the failure to achieve a full erection, but other things didn’t fit. The ski mask for one. And Mrs. Adler had been wearing sandals, not high-heeled shoes. But he wasn’t about to commit himself one way or the other.

“Maybe, maybe not.”

“Please don’t be cryptic. Off the record.”

“Off the record, maybe, maybe not.”

She frowned.

“Listen,” he said, “at this point it doesn’t make a hell of a lot of difference, because we don’t know much about the Foothill rapist either. Which leaves me sitting in a pile of shit, if you’ll excuse my language.”

“You must be under a lot of pressure.”

“That’s an understatement,” he said, lighting up a cigarette. “But I usually perform well when the heat’s on.” He smiled tightly. “Though I’ve got to admit, the barometer’s been reading pretty high lately.”

“So you’re not close to finding him.”

“Close doesn’t mean a thing. Either you have him or you don’t. Will you excuse me for a moment?”

She watched him walk over to the old lady, who was no longer alone. To her right stood a teenager—an emaciated Hispanic boy of about seventeen. A sickly pallor dulled a complexion that should have glowed bronze. He started backing away as the detective approached.

“Hey, I’m not doin’ nothin’, man!”

“Hey, Ramon, I didn’t say you were doing anything,” replied Decker, towering over the kid. “I just came over to be friendly.”