“I’m looking for a missing child.” Wyatt withdrew the two photos. “Have you ever seen this girl around here?”
The police chief examined both pictures then gave them back to Wyatt. “I wish I could say yes, but I can’t. How long has she been missing?”
“Over a week.”
“She may be long gone by now. So many teens who’ve gone missing are runaways. How old is she? Sixteen?”
“Yes.”
“Why do you suspect foul play?”
“The van she took was found abandoned in a field with a dead girl nearby.”
“Maybe she killed the girl and fled. After you’ve been in this business long enough, you see all kinds of things. Kids killing kids is one that has been hard to accept.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. But I don’t think that’s the case here. I’d like you to show your officers these photos and have them be on the lookout for this girl.” He slid the pictures into the folder and held it out for Chief Jeffers.
“Sure. If we find out anything, I’ll give you a call.”
Wyatt withdrew his business card and passed it to the police chief. “I appreciate—” The sound of “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” interrupted him. “Excuse me.” He pulled out his cell and walked a few steps away to answer the call from Kate.
“I’m sitting in a coffee shop with Zarah’s older sister. They almost look like twins. She called Beacon of Hope today to check on Zarah. That’s when she found out that her sister had died. The girl answering the phone told her I was speaking at the middle school. She came to find me. I think you should hear what she has to say.”
“Where are y’all?”
“At a Starbucks but I’m taking Amanda to Beacon of Hope to give her Zarah’s things.”
“I’ll meet you there then.” He turned toward the police chief. “I appreciate any help you can give me.” He touched the brim of his cowboy hat then left the station.
It would take him a while to get there with the rush hour starting. Dallas traffic wasn’t his favorite thing to negotiate.
Fifty minutes later, he pulled into a parking space in the back lot and headed into the building. Wyatt found Kate in her office with a beautiful young girl, dressed in jeans and a University of Texas T-shirt with the same long curly brown hair and dark eyes that slanted at the corners slightly like Zarah’s.
Kate rose when he entered. “Amanda, this is the Texas Ranger I was telling you about. Wyatt Sheridan.”
The corners of her mouth wobbled with a smile. “I can’t stay too much longer. I work at a restaurant and have to be there tonight by five thirty.” She touched her finger to her upper lip.
Wyatt took the chair at the round table across from the teenager. “Kate said you’ve been in contact with Zarah.”
“We used to talk some before she ran away from her last foster home. Then I didn’t hear from her for several years until last week.”
“Why do you think she ran away from her foster home?” He lounged back in his seat, watching Amanda as she talked.
The teen stared right at him. “She was being sexually abused by the husband but was scared to tell anyone.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
Tears welling in her eyes, Amanda looked away, rubbing under her lower eyelid. “She begged me not to. Said she was going to take care of it. A few weeks later I heard she’d run away.”
Kate reached over and patted the girl. “Predators prey on fear.”
Amanda’s gaze slid to Kate’s hand on hers. The girl shifted in her chair and stared at the table. “I was so lucky. I was adopted and had a good home. But I couldn’t do anything to help her. I can now.”
Something was wrong. Amanda said the right words, almost as though they were rehearsed, while her body language indicated there was no truth behind what she was telling them. Or, at the most, only partial truth. “Why did she call you after all these years?”
“She thought something bad might happen to her. At first, I thought she was talking about the man who sexually abused her. That he found her.”
“But you don’t think that was the case?”
Amanda lifted her gaze. “No. I did some checking. The foster parents she lived with last have moved away from here.”
At least that much was true. He had looked into Zarah’s background before she’d run away and ended up on the street turning tricks. “Even though she took part of her possessions, you don’t think she willingly left here? Got into that car?”
“Why would she? She said she was safe here. She said she loved being here.” Amanda scratched the side of her neck and shifted again, uncrossing her legs and recrossing them.
Kate flinched and leaned back, her eyes narrowing on the girl. “So why do you think she wanted you to come see me?”
“To tell you she was scared? She just said to come see you. She wasn’t real clear why. Maybe she wanted me to have her things. I don’t know why. She said she didn’t have much.” The tears returned and a few coursed down her face, flushed with a rosy hue.
“Most of the girls come to us with little. Zarah had only been here seven months.”
“I appreciate being able to take her things. I don’t have anything of Zarah’s. We were separated when she was five and I was seven.”
Too many red flags were waving in the air. Wyatt stood and peered down at the young woman, wanting the height advantage. “Cut the lying. Who are you really? Why are you here? Is it Zarah’s possessions you want? Why?”
The teen blinked rapidly, hugging her arms to her body, her gaze wide but never looking at him. “I don’t know what you mean.”
He placed his hands on the table and leaned close to the teen. “We know that Zarah has a sister and her name is Amanda, but you aren’t her. Yes, you two have similar coloring. I give you that, but I can tell you’re lying. I’ve been around enough to know when someone is. And frankly, you aren’t very good at it.”
“I came here because Zarah asked me to. But I don’t have to stay.” The impostor bolted to her feet and whirled around, racing for the door.
Wyatt leaped forward and cut off her escape by blocking the door. “On the contrary. You do have to stay until we have this figured out.”
He escorted her back to the table, and she sat down hard in the chair, both arms folded over her chest. “I am Zarah’s sister.”
Zarah did have an older sister but from the records Daniel accessed the family had moved to Louisiana years ago. Had they moved back, and Daniel hadn’t discovered that yet? “I want you to call your parents. They will need to come here and pick you up. And while we wait for them, I’m going to be doing some checking on what you told us.” Hovering over her, he drilled his gaze into her, hoping to intimidate her.
A glint sparked in her eyes, and she tilted her head back to look straight at him. She clamped her lips into a tight line. Her expression issued him a challenge.
“Better yet, I think this would be better handled at the police station. You have just become a person of interest in a kidnapping case.”
“Kidnapping? Zarah is dead.”
“And she was involved in a kidnapping.”
The color siphoned from the young woman’s face. Her grip on her arms went slack. “I don’t know anything about kidnapping. This was just supposed to be a simple job. Act like I was this girl’s sister and get her things.” The impostor tossed her head toward Kate. “That’s all. No harm. The girl’s dead. You said yourself she didn’t have a lot.”
“Who are you really?”
“Emma Banks.”
“How much are they paying you to do this?”
“Five hundred dollars.”
Wyatt skirted the table and delved into the box with Zarah’s possessions inside. What was so important about them? He dumped its contents on the table and was even more puzzled by what he saw. He unzipped the black backpack and pulled out articles of clothing—three T-shirts, a pair of jeans, a bag of makeup, and several lacy pieces of un
derwear. He checked all the side pockets. Nothing.
Wyatt gave Kate a questioning look. “Not much.”
“That isn’t all of it. That was all the police gave me that was with her when she was found.”
“No purse?”
“No, and she did have one that’s missing.” Kate slanted a look toward the teen then back at Wyatt.
“Where are her other possessions?”
“In the storeroom. I hadn’t gone and gotten that box yet. This one was delivered yesterday and was still sitting on the table when we came in here.”
Wyatt came around to Emma and lounged back against the table, his hands clasping its edge. “Once you got Zarah’s stuff, what were you supposed to do with it?”
“Call a number and let the person who answered know.”
“How old are you?”
“Nineteen. I look young for my age.”
“Do you live with your parents?”
“No, I’m taking theater classes at a community college.”
“How were you picked to do this?”
Emma dropped her head. “I can’t say.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want to get her in trouble.”
“I’m sure if you cooperate you won’t be charged with anything, but if not, like I said, you might be considered an accomplice after the fact to a kidnapping.”
Emma’s hand trembled as she brushed her long brown hair behind her ears. “I met her a couple of times in the Student Union and we got to talking. She knows I need money and that I act in school productions. I guess that’s why she approached me.”
Thankfully, the girl had not mastered the art of lying convincingly, which took practice. “Who is she? Which college? Is she a student there?”
Emma bit into her lip. A minute passed before she answered, “East Dallas Community College. Her name is Liz Taylor. We even joked about her name being the same as a famous actress. I assume she’s a student there. She had some books and was studying the first time I saw her.”
“Which class was she studying for?”
“Freshman English.” Emma shifted toward Kate. “I’ve never been in trouble with the law before, but I needed the money. I even dyed my hair brown like she told me. I wouldn’t get paid until I brought her Zarah’s belongings so I followed everything she said to do.”
Walking across the room, Wyatt took out his cell and placed a call to the Dallas police detective he was working with on the task force. After he talked with him, he made another call to the community college and set up a time to meet the Admission Director.
When he rejoined Emma and Kate, he sat across from the teen again. “Detective Finch is coming to take you down to the police station until we check out your story. Kate, can you get the rest of Zarah’s possessions?”
“Yes.”
After Kate left the room, Emma began crying. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You attempted to steal Zarah’s possessions. You were caught before you could succeed. You may know who is behind the kidnapping of a young girl. Those tears won’t accomplish anything. I have a daughter who tries them.”
Emma sniffled and swiped them away, then collapsed back in her chair and glared at him.
The mention of his daughter brought Wyatt’s thoughts back to the earlier problem he’d have to deal with when he got home. Not just with Maddie but his mom. He loved his mother, but it was becoming obvious she wasn’t the best person to raise his daughter, especially when she blatantly ignored his wishes and let Maddie do what she wanted.
After Detective Finch took Emma with him, Kate emptied the second box of Zarah’s possessions on the table in her office. Sad that a kid’s life could be contained in two small cartons.
Wyatt fingered a ratty stuffed monkey. “This is Zarah’s?”
“Yeah. It was one of the few things she had with her when she came here.”
“It doesn’t fit the image of her. She came across tough as though she didn’t need anyone.”
“I once found her asleep on the couch in the rec hall after hours with this stuffed animal clutched to her chest. When I woke her up, she was angry and hid it behind her back. That was the only time I saw it except that first day she came here.”
“Maddie had one. A bear called Teddy. She named him when she was two and a half. I finally had to throw it away. It was falling apart and smelled. She cried all day about what I did. I even tried to find a new one exactly like Teddy. I finally did, and she wouldn’t have anything to do with it.”
“What could be in these things?” Kate waved her hand over the articles of clothing, a pair of sandals, and the monkey.
He shook his head. “You got me.” After examining each piece of clothes, he tossed them back into the box. “These are all dead ends. Maybe whatever someone wants was in the purse that’s missing.” He finally picked up the stuffed animal and began checking each limb and body. The insides made a crunchy sound when he squeezed the head.
Kate stared at the stuff animal. “That’s different.”
Wyatt inspected it closer. “The seam at the back has been re-sewn.” He took out his pocketknife and slit it, then dug around in the stuffing. When he withdrew a key wadded up in a piece of paper, he peered up at Kate. “Interesting hiding place.” Unfolding the paper, he read. “Locker 5RB.”
“Where? What does 5RB stand for?”
“Don’t know. The key doesn’t have any writing on it. But it definitely might be something someone didn’t want us to find.”
“Depending on what is in the locker.”
Excitement gripped him as it did when he felt he was on the right track or had gotten a big clue in a case. “Now all we have to find out is where. Maybe this Liz Taylor can help us. I’m heading to the college and see what I can find out.”
“What do you want me to do with her belongings?”
“I’ll take them with me. Maybe there’s something else we’re overlooking or a hint somewhere that tells us where the locker is or what in the world 5RB means.”
“The only places that come to mind are gym lockers and the ones at the bus station. I could see Zarah using a bus station. Not likely a gym.”
“We can start a search around here.”
“What if she did it before coming here?”
“Where she was picked up for solicitation?”
“Possibly. While you’re tracking down Liz Taylor, I’ll do some checking with the officer who arrested Zarah originally. Also, I’ll talk with her case manager. I’ve worked with the woman one other time concerning a girl picked up for prostitution like Zarah.”
“Great. I’ll call you later tonight after visiting with the college Admission Director and having a long talk with Maddie and Mom.”
“That doesn’t sound like something you’re looking forward to. What’s happened?”
Wyatt sighed. “My mother isn’t thinking like a parent but like a friend. I love her, but I’d forgotten how easy it was for me to talk her into doing something I wanted to when I was growing up. Maddie has discovered she can do that too. Remember when I was talking about Maddie wanting to get a tattoo? Well, she has one now thanks to my mom. Granted, only a henna one, but she went against my wishes. What do I do?”
Kate began putting Zarah’s possessions back into the carton. “I found when I’m angry with my mother or one of the girls I have to give myself a cooling-off period before I talk with them. When I can calmly discuss the issue in question with them, then I’ll approach them.” She flashed him a mocking grin. “Of course, it works better with these teens than with my mother. I want to show these girls how to deal with their anger in a constructive way, so I’m especially careful with them. Calm and cool are two words I keep repeating to myself as we talk about the problem.”
“Good thing I didn’t have time to deal with the tattoo earlier.” He touched her shoulder, relishing the connection with someone who understood. “Thanks. Sometimes with my mom, I feel like I’m raising two children. She d
oesn’t think before she acts. I know how much she loves me and Maddie, but she always hated making those tough decisions a parent sometimes has to.”
A smile shimmered in her eyes. “You’ll do fine.”
On the drive to the college, Wyatt thought about his conversation with Kate. He hadn’t had that kind of relationship with a woman since Rebecca. He didn’t realize how much he had been missing. His daughter needed more than what he could give her. She was becoming a young lady and needed a role model. Kate would be a good one.
At East Dallas Community College, the receptionist showed him to the office of the Admission Director. The woman greeted him with a handshake.
“How can I help you, Ranger Sheridan?”
“I need to talk with one of your students involving a case I’m working on. Liz Taylor.”
“Let me check our student roster.” She shifted toward her computer and brought it up on the screen. As she scanned the list, the furrows in her forehead deepened. “I don’t see anyone by that name or by Elizabeth Taylor, even with a middle name of Elizabeth or Liz.”
13
When Wyatt pulled up to his house an hour later, he stayed in the truck, his hands still clamped about the wheel. Dread weighed him down, keeping him glued to the seat. Today wasn’t a good day—one of the few leads in the case only ended up complicating the whole mess. Then there were Maddie and Mom. Anger began to fester in the pit of his stomach. His fingers tightened even more around the plastic.
What do I do? He rested his forehead against the steering wheel.
Calm and cool.
Kate’s words seeped into his mind like the heat from outside did into the cab. For a moment he felt as though Kate was sitting next to him, laying her hand on his arm to let her know she supported him.
With a gulp of the now stifling air, he pushed himself out of the truck and strode toward the porch. His mother met him at the door, her expression full of concern.
“I can explain everything, son.”
She rarely referred to him as her son unless she wanted to play the parent card. He moved past her into the kitchen. “Where’s Maddie?”
Saving Hope: Men of the Texas Rangers Book 1 Page 17