Page 47 of Loved

"You said you have nothing to hide," Detective Turner said.

"I don't."

"Would it surprise you, then, if James was hiding something from you?"

“Do you think he knows about the cameras?” Ian said. Something started crunching on his end.

“No. He’s just making something up to push on her nerves. And are you eating popcorn right now?”

“Shh,” he said. “I’m enjoying the show.”

I knew he ate popcorn while he watched us!

Penny just glared at the detective.

He put his hands in his pockets as he studied her face. "It wouldn't, would it? I've heard that James is quite a complicated man."

"And who did you hear that from? His ex-wife?"

Detective Turner smiled again. "It's not too late, you know. If you're willing to cooperate with us, we can givethe First State scholarship committee a call. Maybe we can get them to reissue that scholarship of yours."

"If I cooperate?"

"Yes. You see, we are building a case against James regarding sexual misconduct."

"I'm not going to lie in order to get my scholarship back. Like you said, I'm a good girl. Besides for that fact, you have it all wrong."

"Unfortunately we don't. We do want to help you, Penny. But we don't actually need your statement. Yes, it'll help, but I think we already have everything we need."

"What do you mean?"

"Two girls have already come forward saying that James agreed to give them As for sexual favors."

What? Who the fuck said that?!

"They're lying,” Penny said firmly.

"And how sure are you of that? Because Tim and I are trained to tell if suspects are lying. These girls didn't seem like they were lying. Actually, they were both in tears. They were embarrassed and ashamed because of the position that their trusted professor put them in."

Go eat each other’s nuts.

"I don't believe you,” Penny said.

"And their stories lined up. They both said that James lured them into his office to dispute a poor grade. And that he agreed to change it only if they agreed to have sex with him."

Penny didn’t respond.

Because…isn’t that what I’d done to her? Kind of?What the fuck?How could these detectives possibly know that? And how had the two girls that lied found out about it?

"Does that sound familiar, Penny? Did he do that to you too?"

"No. It wasn't like that."

"How about you tell us what really happened. And we'll get that scholarship back for you. Your life will go back to normal. All of this will disappear."

"I think this discussion is over." She stood up again.

"Don't you want your old life back? We can give you back what you lost. Stop defending him. Can't you see what he's taken from you?"

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