“You’re just used to having everything your way, and this time the tarot cards dealt a different fate.” Kang smiled.
I laughed.
He laughed.
I threw a fake punch at his arm and then quickly followed up with a double punch. “Two for flinching.”
Chapter Nine
Benito Decker, the FPS officer who had found the suitcase, lived at an address in a nondescript area of the city. The neighborhood was too far south to be considered Lower Fillmore and too far north to be part of Hayes Valley. It wasn’t the greatest neighborhood, rough around the edges but affordable in pricey San Francisco.
Sokolov parked the Crown Vic next to a small apartment building at the corner of Laguna and McAllister streets.
“Little odd for an FPS officer to be living in a neighborhood like this,” Bennie remarked. “You think his pay grade would afford him something more.”
“Maybe he likes to spend his money on something other than rent,” Sokolov said, exiting the vehicle.
The building stood three-stories high and had a neutral color. Four large garage doors occupied the ground floor. Facing the street on the second and third floor were bay windows. A single door led inside the building, revealing a small foyer where there was a staircase with a dark wood banister. No elevator.
Sokolov led the way to the second floor and stopped next to a door identified by a tarnished-brass number one. He knocked three times, shaking the door in the process.
“Mr. Decker,” Sokolov called out. “This is SFPD. Would you mind opening up? We’d like to ask you a few questions.”
The door cracked open, and young man with a buzz haircut, who looked like he needed sleep, poked his head out. He wore an undershirt and blue shorts.
“Hey, come inside. My CO called me earlier and said someone might be stopping by.” He stepped aside, allowing them to enter.
“We’re sorry to disturb you.” Sokolov turned his body sideways as he walked through the doorway. “We’ll try to make this as quick as possible.”
“You guys want coffee? I brewed a pot not too long ago.”
“We’re fine.”
“The place is a little small,” he said. “Not much room to maneuver.”
The one-bedroom apartment had a small sitting area and a kitchen. The mismatched furniture probably came with the place.
“As soon as the lease is up, I’m moving into a bigger apartment. I was in a pinch and needed a place quick.”
“You not from around here?” Bennie asked.
“No sir. I’m fresh out of training in Glynco, Georgia. This is actually my first position—night shift.” He smiled. “Take a seat?”
“We’re fine standing,” Sokolov said. “Why don’t you tell us in your own words what happened this morning.”
“Well, I was sitting at my post, the information counter. It was time for my next round. It was quiet. No problems at all.”
“Do these rounds take you outside the building?”
“No, we don’t patrol outside, but I do walk to the entrance for a visibility check. Like I said earlier, everything was fine. So I returned to my post. A little later I went to the bathroom. I wasn’t gone longer than ten minutes.”
“How do you know that?” Bennie asked.
He chuckled. “We have to log the time we leave and return. So that’s how I know.”
“And when you came back, that’s when you noticed the suitcase?”
“No, it wasn’t until I did my next round about an hour later. The electronic security machine at the entrance blocks almost all visibility outside from where I sit. That’s why we’re required to walk up to the door during our rounds. So anyway, that’s when I spotted the suitcase. A bomb was the first thing that crossed my mind. I was about to call my CO when the suitcase literally moved, like it tilted from side to side. I moved a little closer, and it did it again. That’s when I decided to go outside and check.”
“How did you know it wasn’t a bomb?” Bennie asked. “You could have gotten yourself blown up.”
“Because the second time, the suitcase moved like someone or something was inside of it. I guess I broke protocol there, but I called my CO shortly after.”
“And that’s when you discovered the little girl.”
He nodded. “Yeah, of course. She was shivering. I put my jacket over her and brought her inside right away. My CO told me to call SFPD. I did. They showed up about thirty minutes later.”
“The girl… she say anything while she was in your custody?”
“Not a word. I tried to get her to tell me how she ended up in the suitcase, but she never answered. I know some guy left her because I reviewed the video footage, but she never said anything about him. I’m sorry, but I didn’t push questioning her because I was told it was an SFPD matter, which I found strange since technically the area outside the building is federal property, or at least it’s space leased by the federal government. Anyway, how is the girl? Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. We just came from the hospital. No signs of physical abuse. Most likely a case of child abandonment.”
“That’s a shame.” Decker folded his arms across his chest. “Seems like a nice kid. I can’t believe a parent would do such a thing.”
“You’d be surprised what some parents will do to their kids.”
Chapter Ten
Sokolov and Bennie thanked Decker and made their way down the staircase and out of the building.
“Everything he said corroborates what his supervisor told us and what we saw on the tape,” Bennie said before sitting inside the vehicle. “I got no reason not to believe him. What are you thinking?”
“I agree but—”
“The suitcase.”
Sokolov grunted. “If this was treated as a case of child abandonment from the beginning, then no evidence was collected from the scene.”
“Well, there’s the suitcase. They should have bagged it. Outside of that, there’s the rape kit, but from what I understand, the backlog at the crime lab is hell.”
“It’s better now. Before, it took about nine months to generate a DNA profile. Now it’s three months.”
“Damn, that’s still a long time.”
“The whole place went through the ringer a few years ago when it was discovered that the lab mishandled DNA evidence.”
“What? Like overturn-the-case type of mishandling?”
“Yeah. Over one thousand cases were audited.”
“At least they’re fixing it.”
“There are a lot of things that need fixing in this city.”
Bennie shifted in his seat. “Listen, when we get back to the precinct, I’ll check and see if the suitcase was dusted for prints. If anything, it’ll help missing persons.”
“I think we should have CSI cover the scene.”
“Probably contaminated by now.”
“Probably, but the suitcase… Something doesn’t feel right.” Sokolov licked his lips.
“I think it’s our natural reaction. Suitcase equals foul play”
“Maybe you’re right.”
Bennie slapped his thighs. “Bottom line is the girl’s not dead, and it doesn’t seem like she’s been hurt. At the most this is a case of abandonment. This is a missing persons/CPS problem. We’re Homicide.”
Sokolov stared straight ahead at the road with one hand resting on top of the steering wheel. “When you have the tech check the suitcase for prints, have him swing by the hospital and print the girl.”
“Will do. You know if the captain finds out what we’re doing, he ain’t going to be too happy about it.”
“Right now he thinks we’re working a homicide,” Sokolov said.
“Yeah, but sending us was a screw-up. I’d be surprised if this girl is still listed on the board when we get back. I bet the case has already been transferred to missing persons.”
“They’re overworked and understaffed. Trust me, if it has, they don’t even know about it yet.”
“Okay, so if it becomes a problem, we’ll just say we were helping out… tying up loose ends.”
“It’ll buy us a day. Maybe we can help this kid. If her parents don’t show up, she’ll end up in the system and her life will be screwed.”
Chapter Eleven
We were nearing four in the afternoon, the cut-off time that Reilly had given us. If we hadn’t anything to support our allegations by then, we were to pack up and call it a day.
And we had zip.
Nada.
Zilch.
Our month-long operation was a complete bust.
And it pissed me off.
I always prided myself on being productive and solving cases—I put the bad guys behind bars. The Woo operation would now be a black eye on my resume. Ugh.
“Come on now. It’s not the end of the world,” Kang said as he shut down the scanner. “This is part of the job. It happens. Imagine if we hadn’t chased it and it turned out to be something.”
He was right, but still I hated the feeling it left in my stomach. “Hey, you still have that picture of Suitcase Girl?”
“Hang on,” he said.
I crawled toward the front of the van and eased myself into the passenger seat. Kang placed his butt in the driver seat and then forwarded the picture to me.
“It’s a little freaky how much she looks like me,” I said, staring at the photo.
Kang started the van, and we drove away.
“Do you know what happens to her now?” I asked.
“If it’s a case of child abandonment, she’ll be turned over to missing persons. They’ll enter her in the system with all the other missing children. I imagine CPS is already involved.”
“It’s a shame. She looks so sweet. Why would her parents ditch her like that? Such a cruel thing to do.”
“There are a lot of messed-up folks in this world. You seem to have taken an interest in the girl.”
“I guess it’s because I look at her and see a part of me. Makes me wonder if I’d had a daughter of my own… would she look like her?”
I continued to look at the photo of Suitcase Girl. Kang continued to drive. Neither of us spoke.
We probably would have stayed that way until we reached the office, but Kang dialed a number on his cell phone. He switched it to speakerphone, and I heard the ringing.
“Sokolov,” the voice said on the other end.
“It’s Kang and Kane here.”
“How’s life in the van? I’m sure those are the type of investigations that made jumping ship to the FBI all worth it. Oh the jealousy,” he said dryly before chuckling.
“Yeah, yeah, keep it up,” I said. “And I’ll figure out a way to include you on a joint task force that takes place in this van.”
“What’s up?” Sokolov asked.
“The Suitcase Girl,” Kang said, “Where are you guys on the case?”
“Nowhere really because technically it’s not our case. We’re doing a little follow-up, but it’ll be turned over to missing persons. The girl is at Saint Francis. The doctor said she checked out okay. No signs of physical or sexual abuse but they did a rape kit anyway. CPS is already involved. They’ll be back tomorrow morning to take custody of the girl.”
“Any idea how she ended up in the suitcase?” I asked.
“There’s video footage. Shows a lone man dropping off the suitcase in the early morning. We spoke with the FPS officer on watch. He just happened to be on a bathroom break when it happened. He didn’t see the suitcase until an hour later on his next round.”
“Did the man look related?”
“Too dark to tell. We tried talking to the girl, but she’s tightlipped. Hasn’t said a single word to anyone since FPS found her.”
“She’s probably in shock,” Kang said.
“What’s with the interest?” Sokolov asked. “You guys getting involved? We’re having a guy print her. It would be helpful if you could run it through your database.”
“Sure, no problem,” I said. “Were you able to determine her age?”
“The doctor thinks she’s between ten and twelve.”
“You seem to know a lot about her situation for someone who should be investigating homicides,” I said.
“It’s the suitcase. Why stuff the girl inside and leave her there?”
“Yeah, seems like extra effort for abandonment,” Kang said.
“Unless… the intent wasn’t abandonment,” Sokolov responded.
“You think a dead girl should have been found instead?” I asked.
“The lab at the hospital found traces of a sedative in her blood, enough to put her out. I wondered if it was intended to do more.”
“Interesting premise,” Kang said.
“If I discover anything else, we’ll let you guys know,” Sokolov said.
Kang disconnected the call. “We can run the girls prints, see if we get a hit, but you know, not much more.”
“This hunch that Sokolov has, it’s interesting. Was she supposed to be found dead?”
“I sense the wheels turning in your head. What are you thinking, Abby?”
“The FBI can be involved with missing children if the child is of a tender age, usually twelve and under.”
“That’s if it’s a kidnapping, right? I’m not so sure the evidence is leaning toward that. Sokolov would have pointed that out. This is more along the lines of neglect, poor parenting, that kind of thing.”
I shrugged. “Maybe, but like he said, why leave her in a suitcase? Surely it wasn’t for easy transport.”
“I wouldn’t write that thought off so quickly. It seems very probable that it made abandoning the kid easier.”
“Saint Francis is near the office. Let’s make a quick stop and talk to the girl for a bit.”
“Are you serious?”
“Look, I agree—everything we’ve heard so far points to the girl being abandoned. But I’m with Sokolov. That suitcase creates a ruffle that can’t be easily smoothed. I also don’t buy that it was used to make abandoning the girl an easier task.”
Chapter Twelve
We entered the hospital’s emergency room fifteen minutes later and inquired at the front desk about Suitcase Girl. The nurse sitting behind the counter looked up to find Kang and me showing our identifications.
She crinkled her brow. “Are you the mother?”
“No,” I said, waving my ID a bit. “We have questions we’d like to ask her. Is that a problem?”
“I’m sorry,” she said, a bit flustered. “It’s just that you and the little one look alike.”
The nurse tapped away at her keyboard while looking at the computer monitor. “She’s already been moved to the pediatrics floor, room four.”
We took the elevator up two floors and exited, bumping into a family with child in a wheelchair. Another family sat in the waiting area, their little boy busy playing with a wooden car on an area rug in front of them. The white walls were painted with bright rainbows, colorful flowers, and the characters from the Winnie-the-Pooh stories.
We walked past the reception desk, straight toward room four. A nurse exited the room just as we approached.
“Oh, you’re here. That’s good news. Your daughter is fine, a little quiet, but fine.”
I held up my identification. “I’m Agent Kane. This is Agent Kang. SFPD brought a young girl in this morning.”
“Oh, yes, she’s here. I’m sorry. I thought you two were the parents.” Her face turned a shade of red before she excused herself.
We watched the nurse hurry away.
“Are you ready to face your twin?” Kang asked with a smile.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Inside the room, a single gray curtain separated two beds. In the first bed lay a small black girl. A woman sat in a chair next to the bed and held her hand, speaking to her quietly. I smiled at the two as I walked by. The lady smiled back.
I assumed the girl we wanted was on the other side of the curtain. A tingle
erupted in my chest and spread outward across my body. I had no idea why it happened. I had questioned hundreds of people of all ages, sexes, and races. Why would this time be any different? Uh, it’s because she looks exactly like you.
I swallowed right before I turned the corner of the curtain, and then I choked on the quick breath I took.
I stared.
I couldn’t help it.
Her eyes, her lips, her nose, her hair—it was like she was modeled after me. Not an exact duplicate. It wasn’t like looking in the mirror. Her features were still that of a little girl. Her nose had a more button-like quality, her cheeks were chubbier, her face slightly rounder, but it was clear as day that the similarities were there. Anyone who saw her and then saw me would immediately think she was my daughter. We really did look alike.
Kang cleared his throat, jolting me out of the dream-like state I had suddenly fallen into. I glanced over at him. He had that same dumbstruck look on his face that I imagined was on mine.
I turned my attention back to the girl and said, “Hello. I’m Agent Abby Kane. This is Agent Kyle Kang. We work for the FBI. Is it okay if we talk with you?”
She lay in the bed, sitting upright with her back against two pillows. Her head was turned slightly down, but her eyes were clearly focused on us. A pink blanket covered her from the belly down, and her hands were tucked underneath.
I took a seat in a chair next to the bed. “You must be scared being all alone here. But I don’t want you to worry. The nurses here are very good, and they will take care of you.”
Not a word from her. She gave no indication through her eyes or any movement that she understood what we were saying
“Can you tell me your name?”
Empty stare.
“What about the name of your mom and dad, can you tell me that?” I reached out and took hold of her hand, holding it gently. “Can you tell me where you live or go to school?”
The silence from her continued. I looked up at Kang, and he offered a shrug. I stood up. As I turned to walk away, the girl grabbed my arm, stopping me.
[Abby Kanem - SG 01.0] Suitcase Girl Page 4