Now and Forever by Danielle Steel Read Free Book Online Page A

mouth move. Nothing seemed to be functioning. Not her mind, not her heart, not her mouth. She almost laughed hysterically, wondering what would happen if she had to go to the bathroom; surely she would pee all over the suede chair and not even know she was doing it. She felt as if she had overdosed on Novocain.
    "No, he didn't pick her up. He left the restaurant to go home and work on his book, but he drove past Enrico's again on his way, and she just happened to be standing at the corner when he stopped for a light. And just for the hell of it, he offered her a lift. She didn't look like much when she got in, she was quite a bit older than he had thought. She claims thirty on the police report, but he says she's at least thirty-seven or -eight. She gave him the address of a hotel on Market where she claimed she lived, and Ian says he felt sorry for her when she invited him up for a drink. So he went up with her, had a drink--there was half a bottle of bourbon in her room--and he says it went to his head, and he ... they had intercourse." Wald cleared his throat, looked away, and went on. Jessica's face showed no expression; the cigarette filter was still in her hand. "And he says that was it. To put it bluntly, he put on his pants and went home. He had a shower, took a nap, made a sandwich, and came out to meet your plane. That's the whole story. Ian's story." But she could hear in his voice that there was more.
    "It sounds fairly tawdry, Philip. But it does not sound like rape. What are they basing the charges on?"
    "Her story. And you've got to remember, Jessica, how sensitive an issue rape is these days. For years women cried rape, and men made damaging statements about those women in court. Private investigators uncovered the supposedly startling fact that the plaintiff was not a virgin, and instantly the men were exonerated, the cases dismissed, and the women disgraced. For many reasons, it doesn't work like that anymore. No matter what really happened. Now the police and the courts are more cautious, more inclined to believe the women, and give the victim a much fairer deal. It's a damn good thing too, and about time ... except once in a while, some woman comes along with an axe to grind, tells a lie, and some decent guy takes a bad fall. Just like some decent women used to get hurt the way things were before, now some decent guys get it in the ... ahem ... where it hurts."
    Jessica couldn't suppress a smile. Philip was so utterly, totally proper. She was sure he made love to his wife with his Brooks Brothers boxer shorts on.
    "Frankly, Jessica, I think that what happened here is that Ian fell into the hands of a sick, unhappy woman. She slept with him, and then called it rape. Ian says she was seductive in her manner and claimed to be a waitress in a topless bar, which is not the case. But she could have been playing a very sick psychological game with him. And God knows how often she's done this before, in subtle ways, with threats, accusations. Apparently, though, she's never gone to the police before. I think you're going to have a hell of a time proving she's lying. Certainly not without a trial. Rape is hard to prove, but it's also hard to prove that it wasn't rape. If she's insisting it was, then the district attorney has to prosecute. And apparently the inspector on the case believes this woman's story. So we're stuck. If they've decided they want Ian's head, for whatever reasons, it'll have to go to a jury."
    They were both silent for a long time, and then Philip sighed and spoke again.
    "I read the police reports, and the woman claims that he picked her up and she asked him to take her" back to her office. She's a secretary at a hotel on Van Ness. Instead, he took her to this hotel on Market where they ... where they had that last drink. Given that part of the story, he's damn lucky they didn't hit him with a charge of kidnap as well. In any case, he allegedly forced her into both normal intercourse, and ...