"Dante," Finn yelled as we walked into the foyer of Allie's Craftsman-style home. The towheaded six-year-old barreled towards me and wrapped his arms around my legs.
"Hey, little man, how are you?" I asked as I lifted him up into my arms. The pungent aroma of garlic frying in olive oil greeted us as we moved in further.
"Great," he squeaked. "Are you staying for dinner? We're having my favorite."
"Oh, yeah, and what's that?"
"Spaghetti and meatballs."
"Finn, why don't you let our guests come in before you invite them to dinner," Allie murmured with motherly exasperation.
"Who's that?" Finn said, pointing at Erica.
"This is my friend, Erica," I said.
"She's really pretty," Finn whispered so loudly everyone heard. "Is she your girlfriend?"
Laughter bubbled up my throat and I glanced at Erica, whose cheeks blushed pink. "She is really pretty. And yes, she is my girlfriend." I didn't know who was more shocked, me, Erica or Allie.
"What happened?" Finn asked, pointing to the blood-matted spot on the back of Erica's head. We had changed clothes, but hadn't bothered to shower. Erica smoothed her hair back, trying her best to smile at Finn, whose face was scrunched up in disgust.
"I fell down the stairs. I'm super clumsy," she said.
"One time I fell off my bike when I was going super-fast and skinned my knee so bad that I almost died," Finn replied.
"That did not happen," Allie said, with a snort and eye-roll. "Dinner is almost ready. You two want to stay?"
"Oh, no, we wouldn't want to impose," Erica said.
"Speak for yourself, babe," I said. "I'm not missing out on Rosalie's homemade spaghetti."
"Finn, why don't you go see if Miss Rosalie needs help setting the table? Tell her to add two more plates," Allie instructed.
"Ah, Mom, but I wanted to show Dante my new Xbox game."
"Don't 'ah, Mom' me."
"You can show me after dinner." I lowered Finn to the ground and ruffled his hair, nodding my head in the direction of the kitchen. As soon as Finn sulked off, Allie ushered us into her living room.
"It is good to see you, Erica. I wish it were under better circumstances."
Erica glanced over her shoulder and I gave her a reassuring smile. I had shot off a quick text to Allie when Erica had gone to grab the thumb drive.
"I appreciate you helping us... I mean, me," Erica stammered.
After taking a seat opposite us, Allie gave Erica a warm smile before directing her question at me. "What's going on? Your text was pretty vague."
Even though I still bristled with anger, I recounted the critical aspects of Erica's story with as much composure as I could muster. Erica sat quietly, interjecting when necessary. Except for a few questions, Allie listened with the attentiveness of a seasoned reporter. When I came to the events of this evening, I laced my fingers through Erica's, since she looked like she was on the verge of crying again.
"Motherfucker," Allie said with a whistle. "He attacked you?"
"Yes," we both said in unison.
"And beat up my friend."
"But why?"
"I have something he wants," Erica said. She rifled through her purse and held up the black thumb drive.
Allie cocked her head to the side and eyed it with curiosity. "What's on that?"
"That's what we need you for. Erica stole it from Brent's office. We're sure there's something incriminating on it," I said.
"Makes sense. Why else would he go to all the trouble to get it back?" Allie replied. I could practically see the wheels turning in her head.
"Right."
After a deep sigh, Allie reached out to take it. "And you want me to look at it with you guys?"
"No," Erica burst out. "Under no circumstances is Dante to see what's on there."
Allie glanced back and forth between the two of us and nodded. "Got it. What about you? Do you want to see what's on it?"
The look of abject terror on Erica's face said it all.
"I think it would be best if you look at it first. Get a feel for what we're dealing with," I said, giving Erica's hand a gentle squeeze.
"Okay. Let's go have some dinner and then I'll take a look. Sound good?"
"Yes, thanks," Erica said with a weak smile.
An hour later, Erica and I were curled up on the couch watching Finn play his racing game. Even after a delicious meal and several glasses of wine, Erica was fidgeting uncontrollably. I placed my hand on her knee.
"Hey, everything is going to be okay."
"I'm not sure I believe that."
"Whatever is on there will not change anything between us. We'll deal with it together."
Erica managed an unconvincing nod. Allie walked in a second later, her lips pursed in a grim line. "Finn, go upstairs and start getting ready for bed."
"Just a second, I need to finish this round."
"Now." The commanding tone Allie used meant business and Finn scurried out. I knew my boss and the look on her face said it all. Something was wrong. With a half-smile directed at Erica, Allie sat across from us. "There's definitely a bunch of stuff on that thumb drive, but the files are all encrypted. I'm going to need to get one of our IT guys on it."
"No. I don't want anyone else involved," Erica said, shaking her head.
"Babe, we have to see what's on there," I said.
"No." She stood up and started pacing, wringing her hands while Allister and I exchanged a look.
"Erica, I know you're scared," Allie said. "But if this guy did something to you, then he's probably done it to other girls. We need to expose this asshole."
Erica stopped and her face dropped, like it was the first time she had considered that possibility. "He's already in jail, it doesn't really matter now."
"The assault charge isn't going to keep him in there for long. He'll come back unless we nail him to the wall," I said. I stood up and went to Erica, who looked like she was on the verge of collapsing. "You know we need to do this."
She swallowed past the tears I knew were choking her. "Okay. But promise me you won't look at what's on there."
"Okay," I replied. "I promise."
***
"So, what have we got?" Allie asked Steve, one of our best IT analysts at the Tribune.
It was Monday afternoon and we were crammed into his tiny cubicle looking over his shoulder. Steve pushed his glasses further up his nose and launched into an explanation of how he'd decrypted the files. It sounded like gibberish to me, but I listened, doing my best to be patient.
"I haven't opened anything yet. Like you asked. It's all JPEGs and AVI files."
"AVI?" I asked.
"Audio Video Interleave. It's a common file format developed by Microsoft for storing both video and audio data," Steve replied.
I wanted to punch something, or better yet, someone. Why hadn't I considered the possibility that the asshole had filmed his attacks?
Steve's eyes shifted from me to Allie and back. I unclenched my fists, trying my best to smile. "Thanks, man. I appreciate you working on it over the weekend."
"No problem. I hope you find what you're looking for."
A chill ran through me. As Allie and I walked to her office in silence, I watched the rain slamming against the windows. It had been cold and rainy for days, the glum weather matching my mood.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that asshole's face. I had imagined my hands wrapped around Brent's throat, slowly squeezing the life from him at least a hundred times since that night. I should have done it while I had the chance.
"All right, load it up," I said, gesturing to her computer.
"What the fuck are you talking about? You need to leave, Dante. I'll take a look and let you know what I find." She leaned against her desk and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Fuck that. I want to see with my own eyes what that fucker did," I said, spinning away from Allie when she reached a hand out to comfort me.
"Listen, I know you're upset. But you promised Erica. Seeing what's on there is not going to make you feel better. And breaking your promise will only make you feel worse."
I scrubbed my hands down my face. I was fucking losing it. I had been since Brent attacked Erica. It felt like centipedes were scurrying in my veins, slowly sucking the oxygen and my sanity, from my brain. Dark visions of Brent's hands on Erica's body had been playing on repeat for days.
"Listen, go home. Have dinner with Erica. I'll call you once I've had a chance to take a thorough look."
"I have too much left to do," I said. The entire day had been a complete waste. Every time I tried to focus on work, all I could think about was that stupid piece of plastic. "Erica's serving at the shelter tonight. She's not even home."
"I don't care how much you have left to do. Get the fuck out of here and get a stiff drink. You need to blow off some steam, or you're going to lose it."
With a grumbled goodbye, I left her office and stomped to mine. I slumped into my chair and stared out the window watching droplets of water run a trail down the glass. There was only one other person who could help me work through this. It was time to break the news to Erica's big brother.