Midnight Crossing: A Mystery

by Tricia Fields

  Heading quickly back toward the door, Josie said, “There may be a problem. I need you to go back inside your room and lock the door. Don’t leave until you hear from me. You promise?”

  Her mom’s forehead tensed into worry lines but she nodded, put her cigarette out, and shut the door.

  * * *

  Josie ran down to Manny’s apartment and asked for the key to Room 2. He followed her down and they knocked again but heard nothing.

  When they entered the room, she could tell where the bed had been lain in. A towel lay on the floor by the bed, but nothing else. The bathroom light was off, and when Josie checked she found it empty. The sink and shower were both still wet from use. She found the closet empty and nothing under the bed.

  “Do you know if she came in carrying a bag?” Josie asked, pulling her phone out of her pocket.

  “Yes,” Manny said. “She kept thanking Marta for the clothes and things. She had two bags. I think one was maybe a purse, and the other was a black duffel bag.”

  “Did she say anything to you about leaving?”

  “No. Nothing. Marta said she’d be back to check on her, and she smiled and thanked her. I don’t understand.”

  Josie glanced at her cell phone: 9:04 p.m. She dialed Marta’s number, and she answered immediately.

  “Marta. I’m in Isabella’s motel room and she’s gone. There are no bags here. It looks like she showered and left.”

  It took Marta a beat to respond. “It’s just now nine. That’s when I told her I’d be there.”

  “Did she say anything to you about leaving? About taking a walk, maybe?”

  “No. Absolutely not. She’s still terrified. She didn’t want me to leave, but I explained I had work to do. I said I’d be back later to check on her.” Josie heard a car door slam. “The tow-truck is here at the accident. I’m on my way.”

  Josie turned to Manny. “Has anyone come by here today asking about rooms? Or called about rooms?”

  “No one came by. Lawrie Small called earlier today about having rooms ready for her family coming into town, but that’s it. It’s been a slow week.”

  She glanced over at the bedside table, and then around the room. “Is there a phone in the room she could have used?”

  “No. With cell phones everywhere I took the room phones out. They weren’t worth the money.”

  Josie called Marta back. “Did she have a cell phone yet?”

  “No. She knew I was working on getting her one. One of the churches in town was helping with incidentals. They were going to get her a disposable one with minutes.”

  “Okay,” Josie said. “When you left the trauma center, did you notice anyone watching? Think back to when you walked outside with Isabella. Anything stand out in your memory?”

  As Marta thought for a moment, Josie told Manny to stay in his apartment until he heard otherwise and to call if he heard anything from Isabella. Josie got in her car.

  “No. I didn’t pay attention to the parking lot. I should have, I just didn’t think about it. I was worried about trying to make her feel safe.”

  “Who all knew that we were moving Isabella to Manny’s?” Josie asked.

  “The only people I’ve talked to about it were Dr. Brazen and Mark at the trauma center. Unless they told someone, no one else knows.”

  “Okay. Don’t come here. I’m headed to the trauma center. They have security cameras on the parking lot. I’ll talk to Mark and see if we can pull something up. Can you check Josh and Macey’s house, check for their car, ask Cici if he’s seen them? Also, call Otto and ask him to check for Ryan, for his car, and check with his parents. Tell him it’s critical we find Ryan. I’ll call Lou to notify the neighboring districts. When you’re done, drive the neighborhood to scout for her. I’ll check in as soon as I’m done at the trauma center.”

  Marta let out a breath as if she’d been holding it. “This is just horrible.”

  “Marta. This isn’t time for second-guessing. Focus on the job, not the person. Don’t get caught up in the emotion. That’s how details are missed.”

  “I know, I know. I’m at the stoplight now. Stay in touch.”

  * * *

  Josie drove to the trauma center, searching the dark streets for pedestrians, but saw only a couple in their fifties walking hand in hand and a couple of boys on bicycles. Parking in the emergency lane, she ran inside and found Mark at the nurses’ station.

  He looked up and smiled when her saw her, but his expression fell serious as Josie explained the circumstance. “Have you heard from her or seen her?”

  “No. Nothing. I think Marta was going to meet her tonight.”

  “She was. I showed up instead and found her missing,” Josie said. “Did you tell anyone she was being moved to the motel? Maybe even mention it in passing to someone?”

  “No! Of course not. I knew her situation,” he said. “Do you think the men who brought her here took her?”

  “If they did, we need to find a link immediately or we’ll lose her. Is there someone who can pull up your security cameras and look at today’s footage?”

  “Sure. Same-day footage is a snap. I can pull it up on this computer. We use it occasionally for a dementia patient or someone who walks off.” He sat down behind the desk and began typing. “What time frame are you looking at?”

  “Can you look up the discharge time for Isabella? I want to see who was parked in the parking lot when she left.”

  He ran his finger down a chart on the desk. “The exact time was seven thirty-five p.m. I can pull that right up. Come on around here so you can see.”

  As she walked around the desk, Josie’s phone buzzed in her pocket. Her mom had texted asking if everything was okay. Josie had forgotten to call her back. She sent a quick text that everything was fine, and that she’d check in with her in the morning. She felt guilty for having forgotten her, and she realized how unaccustomed she was to thinking about family and their needs.

  Josie watched Mark drag a bar at the bottom of the computer touch screen along a time continuum. He stopped it at seven o’clock and they looked at a static recording of the west side of the parking lot. The picture was clear and in color, nothing like the old grainy black-and-white shots businesses used to have.

  Mark pointed out his car, Dr. Brazen’s car, Marta’s jeep, and two other cars that might have been the vehicles of the two patients currently staying at the center. It was still bright enough outside to determine the cars were all empty.

  He switched to the view from the second camera and before he’d had time to identify any other vehicles, Josie knew she’d found what they were looking for. Josh Mooney’s orange Camaro had been backed into a parking space so that the front of it was facing the trauma center entrance. The location gave Josh a better view of the entrance, but it also gave Josie a better vantage point to see who was sitting in the car. She wondered if it was the same car that had been driving by her house in the middle of the night.

  “Can you zoom in on that car? I want to see who’s in the driver’s seat,” she said.

  Mark focused in on the windshield. There were clearly two people in the car, but a glare made it impossible to make out their faces. He fast-forwarded to 7:40 and watched as Isabella walked out of the hospital with Marta. The light from the parking lot illuminated her face as she paused before getting into the jeep. She looked around the lot, smiling, as if noticing her surroundings for the first time, the trees and the homes, finally letting down her guard a little.

  After Marta’s jeep pulled away from the trauma center, ten seconds later the Camaro followed. As the Camaro drove closer to the security camera mounted on the front of the building, a clear shot of the driver’s face came into view. Josh Mooney.

  * * *

  Josie thanked Mark, and as she drove back to the department, called Marta to fill her in.

  “This is awful,” Marta said. “Josh’s car is gone. No one answered the door at the apartment. Cici of course played dumb.”
<
br />   “Come on back to the department. We’ll talk next steps.”

  Josie hung up and called Otto, explaining what she knew. “Did you find Ryan?”

  “I called his number, but no answer. It’s almost nine-thirty, so hopefully he’s at home. I’m on my way to his parents’ house now. That’s where he’s been living.”

  “Hang tight for a minute. I’m ready to go to the prosecutor. Let’s bring Ryan in on charges. I think we’ll get more out of him if he’s facing jail time.”

  “Will do. I’m just a few minutes from the house. I’ll wait to hear from you.”

  * * *

  Back at the department, Josie issued a BOLO alert, both online and for all area dispatch, to be on the lookout for Isabella Dagati and an orange Chevy Camaro. Josie had hoped that Caroline Moss’s community group could rally around Isabella and help relocate her to a safe place where she stood a chance at a happy future. Now she was back in the custody of the man who had raped and stalked her, and possibly murdered her friend.

  Josie dialed the prosecutor’s office, doubting anyone would be in so late in the evening, but hoping nonetheless. She was surprised when his secretary, Ramona, answered the phone.

  “Tyler Holder’s office.”

  “Ramona! I thought the office would be empty.”

  “Big trial tomorrow. What can I do for you?”

  “I need to speak to Tyler. It’s urgent.”

  “He’s headed out the door. Want me to grab him?”

  “Please. Can you get him to swing by the PD for ten minutes?”

  Josie heard the phone clank down on the desk, and a minute later the secretary came back on and said he was on his way.

  “You’re a saint, Ramona. I owe you one.”

  * * *

  The county prosecutor’s office was located in the courthouse across the street. Tyler Holder was in his early forties and had garnered the respect of the local law enforcement officers with a fair and heavy hand at trial. Josie didn’t always agree with him, but she never got the sense that he was taking the easy way out.

  She gathered her case notes and took them to the table. A few minutes later she heard Tyler take the stairs two at a time and enter the office looking wired. He wore a light gray suit and red tie and smelled faintly of cologne. Josie shook his hand and he took a seat beside her at the conference table.

  “I appreciate you coming. I know you’re on your way out.”

  “Can we do it in ten?” he asked.

  “You bet.”

  Just then Marta walked into the office, looking frantic. Josie motioned toward the table and she said hello as she pulled out a chair.

  “Here’s where we’re at,” Josie said. “Isabella Dagati is the name of the surviving woman who was transported here from Guatemala. We’ve only identified the woman who was murdered with a first name, Renata. We provided photos to Isabella, who confirmed that Josh Mooney and Ryan Needleman transported her and the murder victim, as well as three other women, from Guatemala.”

  “Ryan Needleman?” He squinted at Josie as if he didn’t believe it.

  “I’ve talked with him. He’s already admitted it. He got thrown out of college for fighting this fall and was looking to make some quick money. Josh Mooney set it up.”

  “His family will be devastated. How’d a kid from such a good family go so wrong?”

  “The situation got much worse about an hour ago. A psychiatrist from Odessa, who’s been working with Isabella, agreed to moving her out of the trauma center into a more relaxed environment until she can go back to her family. Marta moved her over there at seven-forty this evening. When I went to check on her at the motel at nine o’clock, she was gone.”

  “She left?”

  “I don’t think so. We pulled up surveillance tape of the trauma center parking lot and found Josh Mooney sitting in his orange Camaro, parked in the back of the lot. There was a passenger who we believe to be Macey, his sister.”

  Tyler winced. “No surprise there. You don’t think Ryan’s with him?”

  “I doubt it. I think Ryan realizes what a mess this is and wants nothing more to do with it. As soon as I give Otto the word, he’s ready to bring Ryan in,” she said. “We believe Josh and Macey were watching the hospital for Isabella’s release. The video shows that as soon as Marta pulled out of the lot to transport Isabella to Manny’s motel, Josh and his passenger followed.”

  Tyler was typing something into his phone, presumably a note about the case.

  “To make it worse, Isabella also identified Josh as the man who repeatedly raped both her and the woman who died.”

  He made a disgusted noise. “I’d not heard about the rape.”

  “I don’t believe Ryan was involved in the rapes, but I want to bring him in. Charge him with transporting an illegal into the U.S. I need to scare him into giving us everything he knows about Josh and Macey, and where they might be taking Isabella.

  Tyler had started nodding his head in agreement as Josie explained. “You want to grill Ryan on Josh and Macey’s whereabouts?” he asked.

  “Immediately. Not only do they have Isabella, but the other three women from Guatemala are still missing. They were last seen in Piedra Labrada, just before they crossed the border. That’s where Isabella and Renata ran for it.”

  “I have no problem with bringing Ryan in. They broke a federal law through the Immigration and Nationality Act. Skip the warrant in the interest of time, but keep me posted.”

  Tyler left and Josie felt a huge surge of relief. He generally drilled her with questions. She had neglected to tell him that Ryan had had a falling-out with Josh, and at least two of the women escaped before the van ever made it into the U.S. Technically, Ryan hadn’t done anything that Josie could charge him with yet, but he didn’t know that. Josie was using the prosecutor and the fear of arrest to scare the hell out of Ryan. Ryan was her best chance at finding the missing women, so she was willing to risk the wrath of the prosecutor.

  She dialed Otto’s cell phone. “Tyler’s clear on the investigation and gave his blessing.” Josie summarized the conversation and asked Otto to bring him in for questioning.

  “I would Mirandize him in the car. He may be so flustered on the way into the jail that he’ll offer up information before his dad can get an attorney set up for him.”

  “Will do. Meet me at the jail in about thirty minutes.”

  TEN

  Josie and Marta drove to the jail separately and pulled into the parking lot as Otto was walking Ryan in through the prisoner door at the back of the jail. He didn’t have cuffs on, but Otto was holding his upper arm and Ryan had his head ducked low as if trying to conceal his identity.

  Once Ryan was in an interrogation room, the three officers met in the hallway.

  “Did he open up on the way over?” Josie asked.

  “Not a word. But his dad’s not supplying an attorney. His parents were ready to blow. I explained the criminal charges in front of them. They had no idea about the trip to Guatemala. He’d given them some story about helping a friend move. His dad basically disowned him on the spot. I read Ryan his Miranda rights in the kitchen. When we got in the car I told him he could have a court-appointed attorney but he didn’t respond.”

  “Good enough,” Josie said. “I get first dibs.”

  “Have at him.”

  “Do me a favor. Go ask the dispatcher if she has a Texas map with highways. Maybe Ryan can help us figure out where Josh might be headed.”

  * * *

  Ryan was dressed in blue jeans, work boots, and a black concert T-shirt featuring some band Josie had never heard of. The graphic on the front of the shirt showed a giant snake’s mouth, opened wide with overextended fangs dripping blood. Sweat poured down Ryan’s temples, and a sour odor came off his body. As he used his forearm to wipe away the perspiration on his forehead, Josie noticed the insolent stare from earlier in the day had been replaced with a look of fear.

  Marta positioned herself in one cor
ner of the room to observe while Josie handled the questioning. She sat down across from Ryan and placed a digital recorder on the table, went through the formalities, and then asked again if he wanted an attorney present, for which he shook his head no.

  “Please speak out loud for the record,” she said.

  “No. I don’t need an attorney. I already told you what I did. I didn’t know I was doing anything wrong.”

  “Do you know that it’s illegal for a person from another country to cross the border into the United States without proper documentation?”

  He nodded once.

  “Please speak out loud for the record,” she said.

  “Yes.”

  Otto walked into the room and laid a folded road map on the table, and then sat down next to Josie.

  “So you understand that transporting women from Guatemala into Mexico was illegal?” Josie avoided mentioning transport into the U.S.

  He shrugged and then said, “Yes.”

  “Do you also understand that knowingly standing by while a rape is taking place is a crime?”

  His jaw tightened as he clenched his teeth. He finally said, “I didn’t know that was happening.”

  “The rapes took place multiple times, against multiple women. You can’t hide from this. Not only will you have an arrest warrant for the federal crime of transporting across an international border, but you’ll be labeled a sexual predator. Your name will be added to the registry for sexual offenders. Your parents will have to notify your neighbors that you live in their house. That’s assuming they don’t throw you out after you serve your jail time.”

  Ryan pushed his thumbs into his eyes as if trying to keep from crying, but he eventually gave in, trying to hide behind his hands as he sobbed. Josie grabbed a tissue box off a corner table and shoved it over to him. He finally stopped, taking ragged breaths and blowing his nose into a handful of tissues.

  Josie had interviewed enough people to know the breakdown was a very good sign. But she worried the whole process was taking too long. She needed Josh and Macey’s whereabouts, but she couldn’t afford to spook Ryan into silence.

  Ryan took a long deep breath and shuddered as he exhaled.