Fire Woman

"I know Del too," Doug cut in. "We worked together a few times in my Deputy days. We spoke about this case earlier today. It was the first time Del had told me about it. Lakestrider also told me of her involvement."

"Small world again." Emily decided to inquire later about Doug's wife. Best to handle Courtney first.

"The patrol officer who responded to the case started things off," Emily recalled. "They suspected Courtney might have made the 911 hangup call as a panicked cover attempt. Investigators are trained to handle the most serious crimes they find above all others. This officer- I don't remember their name or gender- got the suspicion when a friend of Courtney's who arrived to collect her showed the officer a detailed text she sent shortly before the 911 call that didn't mention any rape accusations. It conflicted with the call. So they called in a supervisor- Sonya- and a detective- Del- and they agreed. That friend didn't know about the drugs either. When Del and Sonya told him, he led us to other strippers at Courtney's club who had the same dealer and eventually that dealer himself. The friend was preparing a case against the dealer, working with various strippers to build evidence. He was a club bouncer and reformed grade school bully who didn't want to hurt anyone else in his grown-up life."

"Lakestrider told me. Inspiring."

"Yes. They didn't have any police contacts for the case, until Del and Sonya. The dealer had detailed documentation of all his transactions as people like him often do, so that they can turn in other criminals for shorter sentences. It turned out Courtney had purchased various chemicals in the phial and experimented with the dealer to combine them. The dealer also led us to another of his customers- one of my fellow prosecutors, Steve Stuckey. He was a regular at the club and had also been funding the experiments. Courtney hadn't purchased all the drugs herself and the dealer- his name was Orville 'Onion' Langley- recognized some of the bags she produced for various drug doses in his lab."

"You suspected Stuckey too. Del told me."

"Yes." Emily clenched her fists. "Stuckey had called me begging me to take the case, not knowing that I danced sometimes at strip clubs- including Courtney's- as an amateur stripper wearing a Venetian mask. When I mentioned that and that it might give the department cause to recuse me, he got as smug, arrogant, and yet panicky as Courtney did with Sonya and Del."

She shook her head. "Things got worse over time. Forensics only found Courtney's fingerprints on the drug phial. They also found a pair of surgical gloves in the hotel room plumbing. Those are quite difficult to flush- not everyone knows that. Courtney's nail polish was on the glove interior surfaces and only her fingerprints were on the flush handle. Langley also remembered Stuckey liked to wear surgical gloves when they conducted business and Courtney didn't. That caused us to further suspect Stuckey. The bouncer, Moe Spiff, also had recollections of Stuckey and Courtney going home together regularly. In addition, a large number of people at the club- the manager, the bouncer, other dancers- painted Courtney as a malevolent narcissist they all disliked. The Swift brothers were painted as innocent victims. Roger was a nice regular, Henry was a newcomer."

"And by the time they woke up," Doug said, "Del and Lakestrider had cause to believe them over Courtney."

"Yes. Everyone in that room told conflicting stories when they awakened. The brothers woke up first and had very detailed recollections of the situation- the Rohypnol clouded their memories but the molly counteracted it. They were both very horrified about the rape and denied it, said they had merely intended consensual casual sex. In addition, Roger recounted Courtney asking him to choke and hickey her. This led investigators who had examined some other injuries she had before she woke up to recognize signs of self-infliction. Light cuts and bruising, angled appropriately. Roger even remembered Courtney slapping herself with his hand while he tried to get to sleep, not sure if she was just weird or what. The drugs were confusing her to think he was fully asleep, the truth was otherwise."

Doug added another detail. "Del told me about Giselle Khamdi, the other stripper Moe Spiff brought forward, who confessed about framing Henry as a heterosexual for his conservative family. Del already knew that Henry was a closeted homosexual- Del himself knew Henry from local gay bars and that he was closeted. Del isn't closeted, as you know. Del said he and Henry hadn't hooked up personally, but they were friendly enough that Del didn't think Henry would have hurt anyone or used drugs."

"Yes. Henry backed up that story. He also recounted that he agreed to have Courtney lie verbally about having sex with him, but she humped him while he was trying to sleep and he didn't agree to that. And he saw her planting a knife near him. Like Roger, he didn't know what was going on and faked sleep rather than confront anyone. Drug reactions were making things worse too, causing them all to disassociate. The morning after, in his full circumstances... Henry was terrified. His brother was also. Courtney was... different. Smug and arrogant. She didn't realize that's a warning sign to cops."

"Yes. Del said she showed some other signs of lying also. He and Lakestrider questioned her and led off by berating her with details, then accusing her of killing the Swift brothers, even though they weren't actually dead. And she blurted out that they weren't supposed to die. She also blurted out that Del shouldn't have looked in her purse before Del said where he found the drug phial. Suspects don't always consider probable cause. She was also constantly looking up and to the left, panicking increasingly when confronted with unknown details, and so forth. The clincher was the drug phial- both brothers recalled she was the only one who had poured the wine and Del had no prints on her purse besides hers."

Emily nodded. "Each brother also recalled Courtney trying to mislead him about the other brother planting the drugs. The need for such a conflicting story bothered Del. Courtney wasn't expecting that. The drugs and her guilt got to her. Del told me he confronted her with the drug transactions Langley had detailed and her past history with Stuckey as detailed by Spiff. He wanted a big fish and offered to help Courtney if she turned on Stuckey."

"Which she did."

"Yes. Del offered to pin the drug and murder charges on Stuckey with her help. She cooperated. But then her greed was her undoing. She asked if she could speak to me about things, and insisted that I prosecute Stuckey. This, combined with the fact that she demanded our meeting happen in private and she had brought up so many details of the plan, plus her arrogance, tipped Del and Sonya something else was up. We discussed the case, and I agreed to mislead Courtney into thinking I would help her to create a similar situation to what happened with the Swift brothers in the future. Stuckey had already confessed to such a plot, trying to blame Courtney for everything. They conspired after a prostitute john sting at the club gave them some ideas. Courtney and Stuckey brought up the sting seperately, and each tried to frame the other as primarily responsible for their plan afterwards."

"You weren't sure who thought of the plan in the first place, Courtney or Stuckey."

"Yes. The plan was elaborate enough to require both their willing detailed involvement. But we weren't sure. The usual mentality is to blame the man, not the woman. However, cops are trained to avoid profiling, and given how many details Courtney knew about the crime coupled with her attitude... we wanted to create a precedent case if we could."

"You didn't like her either."

"No. Her attitude bothered me. Sonya and Del asked me to take her out for drinks, get her talking..." Emily shook her head. "She wanted to recreate the plan with my help, try it again. I made like I was reluctant, and she said something I will never forget. 'What's the matter, sister? Did losing your chest put you on someone else's side?' I'm a breast cancer survivor who stripped before and after my surgery- part of my recovery. Courtney didn't know until I told her." Seeing his expression, Emily held up a hand. "Please don't say you're sorry. I hate hearing that from people who aren't to blame. No human was to blame for my cancer. It just happened."

"I was going to say I didn't know. You're not the first breast cancer survivor I've met. If you've read my autobiography, you should know about my aunt, my cousin, some of the women I've dated... I won't name names." He grimaced. "You got it young, right? So it was especially severe."

"Yes." Emily crossed her arms. "It went undetected for a while and was very aggressive. The restoration surgery brought me down three cup sizes. I had to deal with a lot of bad reactions to that. Jake, my husband, wanted me to go bigger, but I didn't want to feel plastic on my chest. Some of the other men I knew, women also, had similar debates with me." She sighed.

"Stuckey didn't know you danced either," Doug prompted her. Emily felt grateful he wasn't dwelling on her cancer. She decided to get back to the Courtney Crowe case, after she dealt with another disturbing fact.

"Right. Do you know why I became a prosecutor?"

"I have some information, but.. I'd like to hear about it from you."

Emily nodded and told him. The words came easily, as if she had spoken them many times, which she had- in court and in therapy. "I have to fight crime and help victims. My sophomore year in college, I was attending Texas State University in San Marcos. I was one of several girls drug and gang raped at a frat party."

She raised her hand at his gasp. "I know that look. Don't say anything, please. I went there willingly, knowing what could happen, not expecting to get hurt, but... it happened and I got through it. If you're wondering why I'm here despite the fact of that experience... I have this program I learned about after the rape from a therapist that helped me. A psychological trick to rebuild your soul after it gets damaged by depression or other trauma. Reset and rebuild yourself. It's called the Ember Program. I've used it multiple times. After my rape, during my cancer recovery, after the birth of my son, when my marriage went bad..."

Doug interrupted her. "I know about the Ember Program. One of the psychotherapists who introduced it to you happens to be my wife, Lisa Coleman."

Emily nearly gasped. "Redhead, Deep South accent, biker?"

"Yes. She told me how you met, and how she initiated you into the Friendship." He made another gesture. "Lisa is a Regal, like me. I've been through the program too. You met Lisa during the spring of your sophomore year at Texas State University in San Marcos. Lisa was an intern with Hays County Victim Services at the time. If you don't want to go into detail about the situation..."

"Thank you." Emily shook her head at the serendipity. "I'll gladly talk about it. You know how the program works, right? If you're having trouble with a specific emotion, use Cognitive Behavorial Therapy to focus on feeling it and letting it out, peacefully resolving the situation, then slowly open yourself to other things. In the case of sex..."

He cut in. "Masturbate, first with a vibrator and then your fingers. Use pornography as necessary. Remind yourself not all sex is bad, and re-introduce yourself to it, then re-establish your sexuality and other positive character traits on your own terms. Lisa told me she helped you do that. I was her boyfriend at the time, but she never introduced you to me back then. Nor did she put together that you were the same Emily Johnson I knew."

"My name is common," Emily smiled. "She kept things between us professional, platonic. I wanted more, but... she only gave me talk therapy and a vibrator. She also got me into stripping. I met my future husband at a cabaret where I danced. The Yellow Rose, high end place. He... he was nice to me, and I liked that. I also never lost desire. My girlfriends and I'd had a few one night stands before the frat party and they were fun. I'd also been to a few lesbian bars, had similar experiences. After what happened with the frat party, Lisa eased me back into dating and casual relationships with the Ember Program. It only took a few months. I concentrated on dating women after my experience at the frat party at first, but then... I wasn't satisfied with just women, I wanted a family, so I resumed dating men and I grew into loving Jake, so... I married him and wanted to stay faithful. I have- until now."

"I understand. Do you want to finish discussing Courtney, then get back to your marriage?"

"Sure." She sipped another vodka shot, took a breath, then continued. "I wanted to get Courtney for her crimes, regardless of her false 'don't blame the victim' spin. She'd tried to invoke sympathy from Del, Sonya, and several other investigators several times. The case didn't support her. They didn't like it. Neither did I. I believed in the justice system until that case. Today, I still believe in it, just not in the same way. I was ready to prosecute the Swift brothers until Del, a very skilled investigator whose services I still retain in my current career, brought the holes in Courtney's story to my attention with Sonya's help. Courtney's own attitude further toppled my earlier stance. What especially appalled me... Roger was led to believe Henry was a virgin who had difficulties communicating with women. Have you heard the term 'involuntarily celibate'?"

"Yes. For a while, I was one of those. Everyone is, until they meet the right person and have the right attitude about things."

"Yes. Roger tried to help Henry with his sexuality. Introduce him to loose women, including Giselle Khamdi and Courtney Crowe. Giselle said she told Roger she had slept with Henry. Then Henry told Roger he no longer wanted her. Courtney was Roger's next attempt at scoring a girl for his brother. Meanwhile Henry was a closeted gay man, as you know. I have known some women who were the same way while coping with bisexual or lesbian desires. Some gay men also, people to whom Del introduced me. What happened at the fraternity when I was attacked... I have to get back to that now."

"Go ahead."

She spoke rapidly with conviction. "I went to that party willingly, knowing I might be swapped around but wanting it. A few former experiences with that had been nice. I was hoping to enjoy it again. This time, it went bad for me and several other girls. We woke up drugged, beaten, and violated in other ways it may be difficult for you to imagine. The fraternity brothers who did it were led by a man with the preferred nickname Trash. That tells you all you need to know about him. They covered for each other, denied everything, usual 'bros before hoes' and other toxic stuff. A real fraternity of scoundrels.

"Unfortunately for them, not every brother in their chapter house was willing to cooperate with their crap. Several other men in the frat house, both queer and straight, helped my fellow victims and I piece our stories together when we woke up. They got the police for us, then further helped us send Trash and his loyalists to prison. Their chapter was shut down, but the good brothers were allowed to form another. Watching the cops and prosecutors at work building cases against the bad ones led me to become a Criminal Justice major. I was Undeclared before then, uncertain about what I wanted to do."

"I see." Doug shook a bit, but did not otherwise visibly react. "And you still enjoy sex even after what happened because of the Ember Program."

"Yes. I rebuilt my desire. Your wife gave me Cognitive Behavorial Therapy and sex advice, even though she wasn't fully licensed for it yet. Her professor who was fully licensed, Dr. Shelley Van Rachter, helped her. 'View pornography to reawaken your sex drive, masturbate, then enjoy dating on your terms. Polyamorous or monogamous, heterosexual or queer, you decide.' A book called 'The Ethical Slut' was a major text of theirs. I had several peers. We were all encouraged to develop our own ethics and follow them, as much as possible. We were supposed to become like legendary creatures, Phoenixes or the Russian bogeyman Koschei, in a good way. Revive ourselves after the 'death of our past selves'. Repeatedly if necessary. Decide to rise again, stronger than before. The Ember program involves physical and mental training, but no alterations you are not willing to accept. You have to rebuild your self after it is destroyed."

"Yeah. Lisa put me through it too. It was similar to things her parents had taught to her as a child. A gradual gradient for building and addressing sexual desire and other frustrations, bringing them back in a legal positive manner. Professor Van Rachter had helped Lisa's mother with a similar program."

"I didn't know you were married to Lisa."

"She wanted it kept out of the mass media. I only tell people I want to trust. Or she does. I've been Lisa's patient off and on since 1997. You worked with her in 1999, and she never had reason to tell me until this morning. She'll be back here tomorrow morning, by the way. Lisa is one of Garin-Ruiz's senior psychotherapists. She's been tied up with the Wood vs. Warner trial."

"Yes. I heard that was settled earlier today, in Wood's favor."

"Warner submitted to a settlement and dismissed all charges after Lisa got through testifying about the plantiff's state of mind." Doug smiled. "He didn't want to hear it all again from Wood. He may not have wanted to sort out truth from lies either. I'm not going to, not about that case. Let's go back to your case, Emily, and Courtney Crowe's."

Emily followed his direction after a passing waiter served them their meals. "Trash and his boys were demons, but I didn't need to let them turn me into one or destroy me. I just needed to grab a piece of what was left of my soul, then resurrect myself based on what I wanted to become. And I agreed with Lisa and Professor Van Rachter that should not be something negative. I rebuilt my sexual desire as soon as I could. I masturbated excessively, first with a vibrator and then my fingers. Then I 'got back on the bull', as Lisa put it. I went to lesbian bars and let myself be picked up by women at first, hoping they would treat me better than guys. I also picked up a few of them. They were about the same as guys in some of their appetites, though none got as crazy as Trash's fraternity of scoundrels. Then I decided I wasn't satisfied with women. So I went back to dating men, eventually settling on Jake. He was the nicest man I had ever met at the time who wasn't taken by someone else and whom other circumstances allowed me to marry. I married him during my third year of law school after dating him for over two years."

"And you had your son in your final year of law school. That was 2005."

She nodded, smiling, "Matt's great. Understanding of my decisions, very mature for his age. He wants to be a teacher."

"Hope he makes it. Anyway, you completed law school, and you became a prosecutor. Then you acquired a reputation for crusading against drug trafficking and sexual assault. Your career as a prosecutor lasted until 2009, when you met Courtney Crowe."

"Yes. That case took a while to sort out. Courtney was a serious psycho- full of greed, lust, pride, and other deadly values. I've never been particularly religious, by the way. Please don't ask me to call values virtues or sins. l... the whole situation... I know the media often has the stance to frame women as positive and men as negative, while I have seen enough to believe otherwise."