Then she thought about their question.
“Where were you when this guy was touching Tara and acting out some sort of game?” Conway asked her.
She turned back toward the dresser.
“I was caught between Martin and Dexter.”
“Caught between them?” Calder asked.
She didn’t look at them but continued to explore the room.
“I was escorted to a booth. Both men sat on either side of me. They talked about me earning extra money. I was focusing on their words and trying to decipher if they were in fact trying to get me to prostitute myself for them.”
“Shit,” Brook whispered.
“I heard the commotion going on across the room, and at first I thought the man was serious. Ya know, that he showed up and found his woman cheating on him. But nobody moved and when I asked Martin and Dexter if Tara was okay and thought that maybe I should help, they kept me where I was.”
She didn’t want to say how. Although something told her that getting this all out with them would be good for her.
“How did they keep you in place?” Conway asked, coming up behind her.
She gripped the dresser as he gently rubbed her back.
She pulled away.
“They held me by my inner thighs. They each used their hands to press against my thigh under the table.”
“They touched you?” Conway asked.
She turned to look up at him. Standing at six feet four and filled with muscles, he was quite intimidating. She nodded her head and his eyes darkened.
She took a deep breath as she closed her eyes and then released it.
“Martin was stroking his fingers up and down against the material over my mound. He used his other hand to keep my hand over his crotch while the guy in black knocked over the other man and grabbed Tara, ripped her dress, and bent her over the table. Everything happened so quickly, and I couldn’t move. When I tried they pressed harder.” She was feeling her body shake again, and from there on out she rumbled through the story telling them everything about what happened next, and how they talked about taking her upstairs to their suite. She told them about Prentice, and how he went to check on Tara.
“What happened when they realized that Tara was dead?” Calder asked.
“The guy looked at me. He stated that the others couldn’t handle him, and he had someone better in mind. He wanted me.”
“What?” Brook asked, standing up.
“I–I can’t tell you who the guy was. I can’t. If I do then you’re in as much danger as I am. He admitted to killing the other women. He said he killed them. That meant Marlee, Denise, and the others. It was some sick fetish he had about coming in and beating a woman then forcing himself on her over and over again. Those other women were forced to play a part.”
“How the hell did you get out of there?” Conway asked.
“The guy recognized me.”
“The killer? The one who just raped and killed Tara?” Lincoln asked, and J.J. gripped the dresser as she tried to keep the tears at bay. She wasn’t a crier. Never had been.
“I said I felt like I was going to puke. They figured it was because of what I just witnessed. There were more of them than me, and the three undercover agents were in the surveillance room, so I needed to get to one of the cameras. I was nowhere near them. As soon as I started stepping away, the guy recognized me. I struck Dexter and took off down the hallway. I slammed through the exit and into the parking lot, but I still wasn’t near the cameras. There was no backup, no one coming to help. I was all alone. I ducked down behind some cars to catch my breath and see if they were following. I figured I would grab a cab, you know, and get to the safe house. As I stood up and went to run, Dexter was there.”
“What happened next?” Conway asked, staying right behind her as she held on to the dresser.
“These,” she stated, pointing to her neck.
“He tried to choke you?” Calder asked.
“He nearly did, but I had a switchblade on me. I was holding it just in case and got it out of my purse. I stabbed him in the side with it. He struck me and I struck him back, and we fought. Hence the other bruises and then I took off. I ran and I got away.”