by Charly Cox
‘Oh good. I just have a few questions I need to ask, so Detective Roberts and I will stop by shortly.’
‘Okay, but Rachel’s resting right now.’ He chuckled, but the sound wasn’t entirely merry. ‘Or at least she’s pretending to.’
‘Actually, it’s your parents I want to speak to, so if Rachel’s still resting when we arrive, we’ll just let her be.’
Due to a massive pile-up caused by a wreck on the freeway, the journey had taken longer than she’d expected, so she was relieved to see that Mr. and Mrs. Otis were still there when they entered Rachel’s room.
Rachel lay in the bed, her eyes closed, her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. The bruises on her face were still a brilliant shade of colors but fading. If only her nightmares would fade as easily. And with that thought, Alyssa swung her gaze to Mrs. Otis, who looked like she’d rather be picking weeds from her garden than sitting beside her daughter’s bed.
‘Mrs. Otis, could you please step out into the corridor. We have a few questions we’re hoping you can clear up.’
Alyssa saw Rachel’s fingers twitch, and Nick moved to settle his hand over hers.
‘Whatever kind of questions would you have that I could clear up for you?’
‘I’ll be happy to answer that for you as soon as you follow me.’ The threat implicit in her words blanched the color from Nina’s face, and it brought a great deal of satisfaction to Alyssa that she was the one responsible for it.
Maintaining her regal posture, Mrs. Otis stood and clutched her bag to her chest. ‘Very well, let’s speak outside. We wouldn’t want to disturb Rachel. After all, she does need her rest.’
Nick’s eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head, and then he bent low as if he were going to kiss his sister’s forehead, but Alyssa heard him whisper, ‘I promise I’ll be right back. I’ll just be outside the door if you need me.’
Alyssa thought it might be better if Nick stayed with Rachel, but it was his choice to make, not hers. After all, it wasn’t like he wouldn’t discover the truth soon enough. She held the door open as Cord stepped out, followed by Nick, then Mr. and Mrs. Otis.
As soon as the door closed behind Alyssa, Mrs. Otis turned her disdain up full blast. ‘Now, Detective, what is so important that you felt it necessary to interrupt my visit with my daughter?’
As if she really wanted to be there. Alyssa leveled her gaze on Mrs. Otis. ‘You were once an interior decorator, is that correct?’
Clearly thrown by the question, Nina Otis scowled her displeasure. ‘Yes, though I don’t see how that has to be any business of yours.’
‘And you traveled often to conferences and such where you met other interior decorators?’
‘What in the world does my career path have to do with my daughter? Or are you just trying to waste my time?’
‘No, ma’am.’ From her back pocket, she retrieved a photo and held it up for Mrs. Otis. ‘Do you recognize this woman?’
A barely discernible wobble swayed Rachel’s mom. She chewed her bottom lip before realizing she was doing it and stopped abruptly. ‘Yes, that’s Tatiana Salazar. I’ve met her a handful of times.’
‘And have you heard her name on the news lately?’
Mrs. Otis waved her hand in the air, clearly implying the question was ludicrous. ‘I don’t have time for such frivolity as watching news reports. If I need to know something, I can look it up.’
‘I see. What about Tatiana’s husband? How many times did you meet him?’
Nick stiffened and snapped his neck toward his mother. Mr. Otis, on the other hand, showed no emotion whatsoever, aside from a mere curiosity.
Mrs. Otis swallowed. ‘A few.’
‘And during these meetings, did you perhaps have an affair with him?’
‘What? Of course not! I demand you leave this instant!’ Mrs. Otis’s shaking hands and mock outrage exposed her crumbling composure.
Though his face remained unreadable, Mr. Otis asked a question of his own. ‘Detective, may I ask why this is important?’
‘Because Tatiana Salazar is our prime suspect. We believe she ran the sex trafficking ring that your daughter was forced into, and it has come to our attention that Rachel was targeted because of your wife’s infidelity with Ms. Salazar’s husband. Furthermore, we believe your wife can help us locate Ms. Salazar.’
‘I told you—’ Mrs. Otis began before her husband interrupted.
‘Shut up, Nina. Just shut up.’ His voice was hard and clipped even as sadness and shame seemed to make him shrink before their eyes. ‘Nina did have an affair.’
His wife gasped, but he ignored her.
‘Clearly, she didn’t realize I knew. But she wasn’t very smart about it. Now, I can verify that, but as for where Ms. Salazar is’ – he turned toward his wife, eyes full of rage – ‘if you do know where this woman is, you will tell these detectives now, or I promise you’ll regret it for the rest of your days.’
A single tear trailed down Nina’s cheek, leaving a streak in her perfect make-up.
Nick swung around as if making certain Rachel hadn’t appeared in the doorway, and when he turned his gaze back to his mother, he stepped closer and lowered his voice into a hiss. ‘You can’t manage to find one shred of decent humanity within yourself when it comes to your own daughter being raped and tortured, but your sins come to light, and now you’re a sniveling idiot? You disgust me. Not only am I done with you, but you will not come near Rachel ever again. Do you understand me?’
One shaky hand lifted. ‘Nicholas,’ her voice wobbled, ‘don’t say that. You don’t mean it.’
‘Actually, Mother, I’ve never meant anything more in my life.’ He turned his back on her and placed his hand on the door, but before opening it, he asked his father if he’d make sure to say goodbye to Rachel before leaving. The only evidence of the hurt he must have been feeling came from his crackling voice. His father assured him he’d be in soon, and then Nick returned to his sister’s side.
And Nina shared what she knew. ‘Tatiana and Warren – her husband – shared a cabin near the Fourth of July Picnic Grounds. It’s where he and I would meet.’ She swallowed, her eyes imploring Alyssa and Cord to believe her. ‘I swear I didn’t know anything about Tatiana and a sex trafficking ring.’ She choked on a sob. ‘Warren told me they were divorcing. I didn’t know…’
The woman’s tears did nothing to move Alyssa, and from the cold expression her husband still wore, neither was he affected. ‘Where exactly is this cabin? I want the address.’
Alyssa didn’t think she could be shocked any further, but she was proven wrong when Nina pulled out her phone and supplied the address.
* * *
As soon as they had the location of the cabin, Alyssa and Cord rushed to her Tahoe. She was on the verge of contacting the state police to send a unit out just in case Salazar was there, but before she could, her phone rang. Damn it! ‘What!’ she snapped at the person on the other end before knowing who it was.
‘Uh, Alyssa?’
‘What is it, Joe? We have a lead on Tatiana Salazar.’
‘Oh.’ He sounded surprised. ‘That’s why I was calling. I didn’t know you already knew.’
Now Alyssa was confused. And irritated. ‘Thought I already knew what, Joe? Spit it out. Time’s wasting.’
‘We just got a call from the Greyhound station on 1st Street. Salazar came in to purchase a one-way ticket to Tucson. She’s chopped off and dyed her hair completely gray, but when you wave around the amount of cash she apparently flashed, people pay closer attention. Someone recognized her.’
Once again, Alyssa found herself flipping a U-turn and heading the opposite direction. ‘What time does that bus leave?’
‘Twenty-seven minutes. And Tony and I are already headed that way. If you’re still at UNMH, we’ll make it there before you. Transit officers are aware of the situation, and they’re keeping track of her whereabouts until we arrive.’
‘No sirens. Go in silen
t. I don’t want her to catch on that we’re aware of her movements. Cord and I will be right behind you. And, Joe? Needless to say, we can’t let her board that bus. We can’t risk putting that many people in danger if she feels cornered.’
‘You got it. See you there.’
Thirteen minutes later, Alyssa and Cord parked the Tahoe in the Alvarado station parking lot, radioed Joe that they were there, and took off at a sprint, noting the long line of buses with even longer queues of people waiting to board.
Alyssa thumbed her mic. ‘Joe, Tony, do you have eyes on her?’
‘Affirmative. She’s wearing a yellow visor and carrying a burgundy tote. She’s near the middle of the line, third bus from the front. Holding position until you tell us otherwise.’
Adrenaline caused Alyssa’s heart rate to triple as she surveyed her surroundings. There were too many options for escape, and they didn’t have much time. ‘Okay, Joe, Tony, you approach from behind, but wait until you see me. Cord will come in from the right. I’m coming in from the left. Be careful not to let her see your uniforms. I don’t want her to spook.’
‘Okay, we’re moving in behind.’
What probably only took a minute felt like forever as Alyssa waited for the signal that everyone was in place. And just as she thought things might actually go their way, a little kid, maybe three years old, spotted Joe or Tony and began jumping up and down as he tugged at his father’s shirt, and squealed with excitement.
‘Daddy, daddy, peece off-cer!’ His little finger jabbed at the air, pointing. ‘Peece off-cer! Hi, peece off-cer! Bang bang!’ He clutched his chest, pretending to be shot as he collapsed to the ground.
Everyone – including Tatiana Salazar – turned to stare at the kid before looking to see where he pointed. Her eyes strayed from Joe to Tony before spotting Cord moving in closer to her, and then finally landing on Alyssa as she, too, approached.
Pandemonium erupted when Salazar reached into her bag and pulled out a gun. She waved it wildly in the air before grabbing the person nearest her – a teenage boy with braces and a face full of freckles. The boy’s mother screamed as she reached out to clutch at her son only to have the gun pressed harder into her son’s head. Some passengers scattered onto the buses while those behind Salazar skittered out of the terminal. Those closest to her were frozen to their spots, afraid movement would draw attention to them, causing them to be shot. Mothers and fathers still out in the open carefully tucked their children behind them.
Alyssa tuned out the horrified wail of the teenager’s mother, her laser-like focus on Tatiana’s hand. From the corner of her eye, she noticed the two transit officers join Cord, but they stopped when she gave a barely discernible shake of her head.
A wild-eyed Tatiana now had the boy gripped around his neck as she dragged him in front of her, stopping to point the gun at the boy’s mother. ‘Shut. Up. Or I’ll drop him in front of you, and then I’ll shoot you in the mouth just for the hell of it.’
Alyssa, now less than twenty feet away, ignored the frightened cries and whispers of the people still outside the buses. She raised her voice to pull Tatiana’s attention away from the terrified mother as much as to distract her from the woman dressed in military fatigues who had exited the bathroom and crept in closer to Salazar. ‘Tatiana, it doesn’t have to go down like this. We just want to talk to you. That’s all.’
The sound that erupted from Tatiana’s throat was the sound of pure evil. ‘Talk. Right. Well, all I want is to get out of this god-forsaken state. Now, let’s check our situation, shall we? I’ve got a gun. Your people have guns. And sure, if you all rushed me at once, you could probably take me down, but can you do that before I begin shooting? No. How many casualties are worth my capture, Detective? One, five, more? How many lives are worth my one?’
Without warning, she jerked her hand to the side and shot. A man cried out as he fell to the ground clutching his leg. ‘Oops.’ Her cold glare met Alyssa’s steady gaze. ‘The next will be right in the head.’ She bumped her chin against the teenage boy in her arms as she brushed her gun along his cheekbone. Then she leaned down to whisper something in his ear. Something that made the boy whimper.
‘We need to get that man medical help,’ Alyssa said, more to distract Tatiana from the movement behind her than because she truly believed Tatiana cared what happened to the guy she’d shot for no reason other than because he’d been there.
As she suspected, Tatiana laughed. And pointed the gun at yet another innocent bystander. But this time, before she could pull the trigger, the woman in military fatigues dove low, knocking into Tatiana’s legs and throwing her off-balance, which forced her to loosen her grip on the teenage boy, who dropped and rolled away.
And then Cord was there, pressing down on the wrist still gripping the gun until Tony could pry it from her fingers. While Joe and the two transit officers raced over to the man who’d been shot, Alyssa joined the Army private as together they wrestled Tatiana Salazar over. By the time they got her flipped over onto her stomach, Alyssa’s vision was hazy from anger, and she pressed her knee harder into the woman’s back as she struggled against their restraints.
It took all four of them to subdue her long enough to slap the cuffs on her. It was Cord who yanked on the manacles and dragged her off the ground. Tatiana stopped shouting obscenities long enough to spit at both Cord and the private. And then Cord was in her face, and though Alyssa couldn’t hear what he said, it was enough to shut Salazar up, though the murderous glare she bestowed on him would’ve felled most men.
Chapter Fifty-Five
Wednesday, May 29
‘I just don’t understand,’ Holly said for the third time as she and Sophie clasped each other’s hands. ‘It doesn’t make sense.’
Sophie stared out the window, traces of the tears she’d cried earlier streaking her make-up and leaving a jagged line down her cheek. ‘I think we chose not to see it,’ she finally said. ‘When Leigh Ann moved here our freshman year, do you remember her first day of school, the way she walked in like she was the most important body to ever grace the halls, like she was a gift to the student population?’
Holly did remember it because it was one of the few times she and her best friend had fought. She’d thought Sophie was being mean and irrational, and frankly, a snob. ‘Do you have any idea how difficult it is to move somewhere new in high school?’ she’d asked.
To which Sophie had replied quite snippily, ‘No, and neither do you.’
‘Exactly. So, why don’t we be the ones to give her a chance, give her a group to belong to?’
As the memory flooded back, Holly placed her head in her hands. She’d been the one to invite the monster into their inner circle. If she had only listened to Sophie at the time, maybe all of this could’ve been prevented. Or at least the part with Jersey.
‘Stop it!’ Sophie released her grip on Holly’s hand to smack her own down on the nightstand, rattling the lamp, but she succeeded in getting her friend’s attention. ‘Neither of us is responsible for Leigh Ann Wolfe’s actions,’ she said with a heavy emphasis on neither.
In her heart, she knew her best friend was right. Her head, however, wasn’t convinced. She wasn’t sure she ever would be.
‘She’s right,’ Isaac said, appearing in his sister’s open doorway. His skin was tanned a dark brown, and his hair had sun-kissed golden streaks running through it in a look some of Holly’s friends would’ve paid hundreds of dollars to achieve. The camping trip with Trevor appeared to have done more to help her brother than his weekly therapy sessions. Ever since he’d returned, she’d seen more glimpses of the brother she remembered before he’d been kidnapped, though every once in a while, such as now, the memories that haunted him darkened his eyes.
‘It’s not your fault or anyone else’s. Just like it’s not Mom’s fault Timmy was kidnapped, not her fault that she didn’t somehow magically know her little brother was still alive. Just like it’s not anyone’s fault that Evan Bishop
… did to me what he did to get to Mom. Some people are just bad, and the unlucky ones who cross their paths pay the price.’
The way he poured his whole heart into those words turned Holly into a blubbering mess of tears. She shoved herself off her bed and crossed the room to wrap her brother into a tight hug, surprised when his hold tightened around her as he consoled her.
When they finally stepped back from each other, Holly smiled up at her ‘little’ brother. ‘After that speech, how am I supposed to call you my dumb kid brother?’
‘Guess you’ll just have to start telling the truth, introducing me as your hot, smart, younger brother.’
Sophie threw her head back and laughed. Wiping her eyes, she said, ‘I needed that.’
Holly couldn’t decide if the expression on Isaac’s face was one of insult or relief, and then Sophie’s phone rang.
After checking the screen, she yanked her phone up and answered. ‘Hey, Jersey… No, that’s fine… Of course, we’ll come pick you up. When are they discharging you?’
Not that Holly minded picking Jersey up, but she wondered why her mother wasn’t. And then her phone chimed with a text. It was from Nick.
Rachel’s being discharged today. I’d love to see you again sometime, but right now I need to focus on my sister. A lot has happened in the past few days. I hope you don’t think that’s a blow-off. I genuinely like you…
Holly bit her cheek as she wrestled with how to respond.
I understand. Concentrate on being there for your sister. And text me when you’re ready.
Isaac backed out of her room, throwing his hand up in a salute as he did. ‘I’m gonna bounce.’ He disappeared around the corner but popped his head back in a second later. ‘Hey, Hol?’ Holly twisted around to see unshed tears in her brother’s eyes. ‘Jersey’ll be okay. She has you two. Talk to you later.’ And then he was gone again, the sound of his bedroom door closing behind him.
She watched him go, her heart turning into a liquid puddle of mush, before turning back to Sophie. ‘Not that I mind, but why isn’t your Aunt Natalia taking Jersey home?’