“What?”
“I know, right? It’s weird,” she said. “She started crying when she saw her, said you came back.”
“The FBI is there?” Val was quiet for a moment, absorbing what she’d heard. “What kind of case, Ellie?”
“A murder,” she said evasively.
“A murder? As in one.” Val sounded skeptical. As the wife of a cop, she knew the FBI wasn’t usually called in unless a case met certain criteria. A single murder was too average for them to be bothered with.
“Okay, more than one.” She hadn’t told her sister anything. Not about Rachel being abducted. Not about finding Melissa’s DNA under a victim’s fingernails. Val already worried too much about her ability to take care of their mother. The last thing she needed was her big sister losing her mind over her job. “It’s a border-town thing,” she lied. “No big deal.”
Val didn’t seem to be buying it. “What does she look like?” There was something strange about her sister’s tone. Something that went beyond worry but she instantly dismissed it. Val was a worrier. She also insisted on treating her like she was twelve and incapable of doing anything without her breathing down her neck.
“I don’t know, Val—she looks like an FBI agent. Nothing like you,” she said, a second before her cell issued a beep. “Look, my phone hasn’t seen a charger all day. I’ll call you tomorrow…”
The voices were close, the sound of them pulling her back to the present, rising and falling in what sounded like an argument. She tried to rouse herself. The attempt at movement sent a deep, nauseating pain rolling over her. That’s when she remembered. She wasn’t at work. She hadn’t fallen asleep at her desk. She’d gone to the place where Rachel’d been held. Lured outside by her car alarm and taken. Dragged into the dark by the same man who’d killed her best friend. He was going to do to her what he’d done to Rachel and there was nothing she could do about it.
She tried to lift her hand to her head, searching for the damage that had to be there but her arms were heavy. Too heavy to lift. Alarm bells started to go off, faint and distant. The rolling wave of pain, sharpened by panic, pulled at her—tossing her further and dragging her closer until she was spinning inside her own skin. She was dizzy, her chest too tight to take a breath. Vomit pushed at the back of her throat, threatening to choke her. She couldn’t die. Not like this. She hadn’t even called Val back like she’d promised. She’d—
Ellie.
This voice was closer than the others. So close she could almost feel the cool brush of fingers along her cheek that accompanied it. At first she thought it was her mother. Maybe her sister. Then she knew. It was neither one of them. It was someone else. Soft and soothing, the voice calmed her instantly. She wanted to answer. Ask where she was. Ask for help. Beg her not to leave her alone.
I’m here now, Ellie. I’m here and I’m not going to leave you. I’m staying right here.
She tried to open her eyes again. To lift her arms so she could push herself up. They couldn’t stay here. They needed to run. Fight. She didn’t know which but she knew she couldn’t just lay here and wait for him to kill them both. Or worse. There was always worse. The sickness in her belly started to swell again, fed by terror and the certainty she was never going to see her mother again. She was going to die screaming, just like Rachel. Just like Melissa.
Shhh, be still, Ellie. He already thinks you’re dead. Just be still...
He thinks you’re dead.
She remembered now. He’d bashed her head against the floor. Eyes bulging, hand wrapped around her throat while he screamed at her.
“Say you’re sorry,” he hissed in her face. “Say I’m a rude little bitch and I’m sorry for interrupting your conversation.”
But he hadn’t been talking to anyone. There’d been no one there. No one but him. But there was someone here now. There were still arguing. About her. About how he’d messed everything up and killed her. About how he’d let the one before her get away.
First Maggie and now Ellie. Despite his casual tone, the man talking sounded angry. You’re gettin’ sloppy, boy. Forgettin’ everything I ever taught you…
She was right. They thought she was dead, but it wouldn’t last. Any second now, they were going to stop fighting long enough to realize that he hadn’t killed her—and then he was going to finish the job.
72
It was almost nine o’clock at night and she’d heard nothing from Croft.
Let’s be honest, Darlin’. You sent that boy on a fool’s errand to get him out of the way.
It was a four-hour drive from Yuma to the tiny beach town of San Felipe. Even if Croft did manage to make it there, there was no real guarantee he was going to be able to get her the information she needed.
We both know he ain’t comin’ through. At least not in time to save poor Ellie… that’s why we’re here.
Running a reverse trace on Ellie’s phone number had taken about two minutes and provided her with the address to a neat tract home in a quiet subdivision on the other side of town. Driving there had taken less than twenty minutes. She’d been sitting in her car across the street from it for another ten, waiting for Croft to call so she wouldn’t have to do what she knew had to be done.
Ellie can’t hold out much longer, Darlin’. Time to put on your big girl panties and get the job done.
“Who lives here?”
Sabrina cast a sidelong glance at the passenger seat. Paul Vega sat beside her, studying the house across the street with a mixture of curiosity and dread. She followed his gaze, letting hers land on the large front window. The curtains that covered it twitched quickly at their center, so fast she’d almost been able to convince herself that it’d been the air conditioner kicking on inside the house that moved them and not something else.
Almost.
She forced herself to open the car door and get out. Vega didn’t move. “Do you need me to help you out of the car?” she said, leaning down to glare at him through the open door. “Because, I’d be happy to.”
“I’d like to see you try,” he muttered as he reached for the door handle.
“I seriously doubt that,” she answered, watching him pop the door and reluctantly pull himself from the car. Vega rounded the front of the car, falling into step beside her as they crossed the street and walked up the driveway.
“I’ve told you everything I know,” he said to her, eyes glued to the front of the house. “I don’t know what else I can do to help you.”
“You can call Graciella and ask her to tell you what your brother’s real name is,” she said, raising her knuckles to knock on the front door.
“I told you,” he said, irritated by her refusal to let it go. “There’s no phone service.”
Sabrina wasn’t sure she believed him but she didn’t push it. He was standing here willingly instead of threatening to call his cousin and have her arrested for kidnapping. At this point, she had to take what she could get.
“Just relax, Vega,” she told him. “We’re here to see an old friend of your mother’s.”
Almost immediately, there was a shuffling inside the house, followed by the scrape of the deadbolt being turned inside the door. It opened and Amelia’s face appeared in the crack between it and its frame. “Mija,” she said, beaming widely at her a second before casting her gaze toward the stoop behind her, her smile fading. “Where are my babies? You didn’t bring them?”
Jason and Riley. Amelia was talking about her siblings like they were still toddlers and not the young adults they’d become in her absence. Sabrina shook her head, forcing a smile onto her face. “They’re at home with Ellie,” she said, thinking fast on her feet. “She’s sitting for me today, remember?”
The smile returned and she looked relieved. “That’s where she is,” she said, reaching out to take her hand. “I can never keep track of that girl’s schedule.” She tugged on her hand, pulling her inside. “Come in, come in…”
Sabrina cast Vega a look over her
shoulder—stay close—before she allowed herself to be led into the house. Beyond the door was a tidy living room and an open archway that led into what looked like an eat-in kitchen. The warm smells of tortillas and coffee wafting toward her, opening an aching hole inside her chest. “It smells like you’ve been busy,” she said and Amelia laughed.
“Busy is good, Mija,” Amelia said, pulling her through the open doorway. “Busy keeps us fed.” She left her standing at the kitchen table, staring at its occupants while trying to remember how to breathe.
Well, hells bells, Darlin’—we really walked into it this time, didn’t we?
“Sit down, sit down…” Amelia said, before looking at Vega as if seeing him for the first time. “Valerie, you didn’t tell me Melissa had a boyfriend,” she said, her tone teasing while she re-tied her apron around her waist. She’d hoped that seeing Vega would trigger a memory for Amelia but she was looking straight at Vega with no sign of recognition. But none of that mattered. Not anymore.
Valerie sat at the kitchen table, hands wrapped around a glass of water, staring at her as if she were seeing a ghost, her face washed white with shock.
Across from her sat Mark Alvarez.
“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t know, Mama,” Val finally said, her voice sounding faint and far away. “Melissa likes her secrets, you know that.”
Amelia laughed. “You both do. Secrets are what teenage girls do best,” she said before turning her attention toward the stove. Humming softly, she placed a flatted round of tortilla dough on the griddle to cook. “Val, Melissa solved our mystery. Ellie is at her house, watching the twins.” She shot her a relieved smile. “We’ve been a little worried she’d gotten into some sort of trouble.”
“She’s fine, Mrs. Hernandez,” Sabrina lied, her attention focused on Alvarez. He was focused on Vega. He looked angry, hands pressed flat against the table, glaring up at him. “Who’s your friend?”
Amelia glanced up, aimed her gaze at Alvarez for a moment. “Oh, this is Ellie’s friend from school. He stopped by to visit. He’s a nice boy but he’s always been a bit shy,” she said, giving him an encouraging smile. “It’s okay, Nulo. Say hello.”
73
Despite Amelia’s encouragement, Alvarez didn’t say a word. Didn’t move. He was still wearing the same clothes he’d had on the last time she’d seen him—khakis and a navy blue polo with the Yuma PD insignia embroidered over his left breast, his service weapon, a Glock 22, secured in his holster. He looked like he’d simply gotten lost on his way to the station break room, not like he’d just stomped a priest’s face in and kidnapped someone.
“Hey, Nulo,” she said, careful to keep her tone pleasant. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
Her greeting went unanswered. Big surprise.
“You need to take your mom into the living room,” Sabrina said to Val quietly. Instead of doing what she asked, Val seemed to dig in deeper.
Uhh, Darlin’. I got something to tell you and you aren’t gonna like it.
“Can someone tell me what’s going on,” Vega finally said, his tone telling her he was seconds away from bolting. “Who’s Melissa?”
“My mother has Alzheimer’s,” Val said quietly while shooting her mother a quick look. Amelia was too absorbed in her kitchen duties to pay attention to what she was saying. “She thinks Agent Vance is an old friend of mine.” Recovered, she shifted her gaze toward Sabrina, a carefully composed expression on her face, hand extended in front of her. “You are Agent Vance, aren’t you? My sister told me how taken our mother was with you.”
Listen to me, Darlin’…
She nodded, taking the offered hand and shaking it like the woman in front of her was a total stranger. Drawing her hand back, she settled it on the grip of the Kimber that rode her hip, flicking a glance in Alvarez’s direction. “Ms. Hernandez, I need you to, please, take your mother into the living room and wait for me there. Do you understand?”
Val’s expression went from defiant to understanding in an instant, her gaze drifting across the table to land on the man in front of her. “Okay,” she said, standing slowly to reveal a large, swollen belly. Holding her hand out to her mother, she smiled. “Come on, Mama, let’s go see if Wheel of Fortune is on.”
Amelia cast her gaze around the kitchen, shaking her head. “I’m in the middle of—”
“Now, Mama,” Val said, softening the command with a smile. “Please.”
Suddenly, Amelia looked confused, like she wasn’t sure what was happening. Moving the griddle off the stove, she switched it off. “Okay…” She took Val’s offered hand, allowing herself to be pulled along. “Have you seen Cuervo?” Amelia said to her daughter as she walked past her on her way out of the kitchen. “Ellie will be so upset if she doesn’t come home.”
She watched Alvarez bristle at the question. Cuervo was Spanish for crow. It was also the name that’d been engraved on the ID tag belonging to the mutilated cat Father Francisco found in the prayer garden last night.
As soon as they were gone, Sabrina pulled her Kimber off her hip. “Take a seat, Vega,” she said, “The three of us are going to have a talk.”
Vega came into view, sliding into the seat Val had just vacated. Alvarez flicked his gaze as the man sitting across from him. Something passed over his face. Distaste, bordering on disgust.
In the next room, the television clicked on.
“Where’s Ellie?”
Alvarez didn’t answer. Didn’t look at her either. He just sat there, hands resting on the table in front of him, eyes straight ahead, hooked into Vega while his expression grew darker and darkened by the second. That’s when she noticed the safety strap on his holster was unsnapped. She hadn’t seen him do it.
Darlin’, we gotta talk…
“There’s something you need to understand about me, Alvarez,” she said quietly, her tone held just above the gameshow chatter drifting in from the next room. “I’m not a patient person and I frustrate easily. Neither of those things are working in your favor right now.” She ticked the barrel of the Kimber upward just a bit, aiming it at his knee. “Where is she?”
“Why are you asking me”? Alvarez turned his head just a bit, lowering his gaze before aiming it at her face. His hands twitched on the table in front of him, inching closer to its edge.
Darlin’...
Sabrina sighed, thumbing the Kimber’s safety off. The movement stopped him cold. “Also, I hate repeating myself.”
“Think about it,” Alvarez said, tone tight with anger. “If I knew where Ellie was, do you really think I’d be here?”
“I don’t know,” she said, walking toward him. “You’ve kinda gone off the rails today, Nulo.” Aiming the barrel of the Kimber, center mass, Sabrina stooped slightly to lift the Glock off his hip. “Not that you’re exactly a poster boy for stability under normal circumstances.”
“What are you talking about?” he said, watching her as she tucked his service weapon into the small of her back. His eyes bounced up to her face. “What happened?”
“You tell me, Nulo.”
“Please,” He sighed, hands curling into fists. “I need you to stop calling me that.”
“Why?” she said, leaning against the counter. “It’s your name isn’t it?”
“No, it isn’t,” he said, tone low and insistent. “My name is Mark Alvarez.”
“But that’s not who you really are, is it?” She looked at Vega. He was staring at Alvarez like he was barely grasping what was happening around him. “It’s just a made-up name you gave yourself to try to restore the identity they took from you.”
Melissa, I need you to listen now…
“Who’s they?” he said, voice raised, face pale. “I don’t know what or who you’re talking about. I just came by to see Ellie—”
“You’re lying,” she said through clenched teeth. She thought of the pair of women in the living room. “You didn’t come here to see Ellie because you took her. Just like you were
going to take her mother.”
“What?” He cut a look at Vega before shaking his head. “Why would I take Ellie’s mother?”
“Because she’s the only one left to know who you really are.”
Alvarez narrowed his eyes at her. “And who is it that you think I really am, Agent Vance?”
“I think you’re a kid they used to call Nulo,” she said in a conversational tone that was in total odds with the tense set of her jaw. “I think you’re the guy who raped Rachel Meeks.” From the corner of her eye, she could see Vega stiffen in his seat and she shook her head at him, a warning to stay put. “I think you’re the guy who’s killed a half dozen women between here and Tucson. I think you’re the guy who planted evidence on Stephanie Adams to lure me here.”
“No.” Despite his denial, it was obvious the name and her accusations affected him. He was shaking, gaze pinned to the table in front of him. “I’m Mark. Detective Mark Alvarez with the Yuma police department. I didn’t hurt anyone. I didn’t take anyone.”
“Sure you did, Nulo.”
He shook his head, short choppy twists of his neck like he was trying to shake her loose. “Stop calling me that.”
“You did all those things,” she said, chipping away at the façade he clung to. “They needed to pay for what they’d done to you. They threw you away. Pretended you never existed. I understand why you’d want to punish them. Your brother. Your father. They all abandoned you. Left you to rot... but what did any of those women ever do to you?”
“Shut up.”
“You know what I think?” she said, pushing at him with her words. “I think you killed those women because they got the second chance your mother never did.”
Melissa...
Alvarez shot up from the table, the chair slamming into the wall with the force of it. “I don’t have a brother. Or a mother and father. I don’t have anyone. I never did.”
The Sabrina Vaughn series Set 2 Page 63