Kate had never actually had a conversation with Craig and had really only seen him one or two times, without really paying much attention. However, she had remembered the intensity of his gaze and how when he had stared at her the first time she saw him. The intensity of it made her skin crawl as if a thousand tiny insects had suddenly devoured her flesh, trying to force their way inside. Derrick had been with her and even his instincts were alerted as he had pulled Kate tighter against him in an automatic form of protection. However, neither one of them had ever given it more thought than that, the threat seemed minute and was quickly passed over.
Kate took the metro to work every day and because she was a beautiful woman, she was used to getting the creeps from men who ogled her. It didn’t occur to her that one of these random men might follow her home and attack her. Who could predict something like that? Kate continued walking down the sidewalk, towards her apartment, contemplating her situation. Her stride was strong since the mug shot discovery this morning had given her a surge of confidence that she had not felt since before the attack.
~~~~
Kate was around five foot six inches so she wasn’t particularly tall, especially when she was standing next to Derrick who towered above her at around six and a half feet. She was a few pounds over what she should be but luckily most of it was in places that just made her more curvy rather than plump. She was used to attracting the wrong sort of men who only saw her for her heavy endowment up front or her curvaceous behind. Kate also had dark brown, curly hair that hung all the way down her back and jumped about in any way it pleased, regardless of what she wanted. Her skin was very pale in contrast to her dark brown eyes, brunette hair, and deep red lips that she inherited from her Grecian family lineage.
Unless Kate was going to work, she was usually dressed for comfort rather than style so she was currently sporting some yoga pants under a long sweatshirt and some tennis shoes. Not particularly glamorous, but it was hard to feel glamorous when you still had residual bruises on your face and cuts scabbed over on your cheek. She had put on some foundation and cover up before she left the house, but there was not enough powder in the world to hide the dark purple around her eye or the scabbed cut on her cheek. Luckily, she was healing quickly, at least on the outside.
The doctors told her that within another week the bruising should have dissipated to the point of not being visible to every stranger on the street, then a few weeks after that they should be gone entirely. Kate couldn’t wait for that because she hated the constant reminders from every passerby that she still looked like a victim. Sometimes she would forget about everything for a moment which was pure bliss and she longed for those chapters of her day, but inevitably someone’s stare would always ground her back into reality. She was avoiding mirrors as much as possible so that at least she wouldn’t be one of those eyes that sting her to her very core.
Kate was almost home at this point and started pulling her keys out of her pocket. She passed the alley next to her building and happened to look up towards her window, seeing the fire escape leading up there. Her attacker had left her apartment via that exact fire escape and Kate had since locked and alarmed all of her windows, in hopes of comforting herself from the possibility of any reentry. She shook her head as if to wipe those memories clean and headed past the alley up to her apartment building’s front door.
~~~~
“Craig McDermott. Twenty-two years old, living in South East reportedly with his grandmother, his aunt, and his cousin who he also works with, a high school kid named Jimmy. Recently paroled and working at the Java Jolt per the terms of his parole regarding steady employment. Looks like his cousin helped him to get the job. He is just under six feet tall, of Hispanic origins, brown hair, and brown eyes. Nothing much that would stand out if you were to pass him on the street.” Detective Mike McCraig spouted off, reading from a yellow folder as he leaned back in his chair with his feet up on the desk.
Mike was partners with Detective Liz Snow and while she was the lead in Kate’s investigation, he was doing a lot of the background research based off the information that Liz was bringing in. Liz had told him this morning about Kate identifying Craig’s mug shot, even though she couldn’t be sure it was her attacker. All she knew was that she had met him before and had gotten an uneasy feeling from him. Liz had gotten leads from less in the past, so she was confident that this wasn’t one to ignore.
“What’s his sheet say he did?” Liz said, referring to Craig’s criminal history. She was sitting on her desk about five feet away from her partner, tossing rolled up paper balls into a trashcan across the room. She wasn’t athletic but something about the rhythmic motions helped her concentrate.
“Just did three years out of ten because of good behavior up in New York. He was busted after a college girl fingered him for raping her while she was passed out drunk. Apparently he had been drinking too. It was a big frat party, and a witness was able to support her statement saying he saw them having sex, but hadn’t realized that she was passed out from the angle he was at. Craig denied it and I’m guessing still denies it because I don’t see anything about a confession anywhere in here.” Mike told her.