by Mary Stone
Sam whimpered as if she understood every word, and nudged Jillian as if to say it would be all right.
Jillian scratched the top of the dog’s head, sighing heavily. “We’ll figure something out, Sam. I don’t know what, but I know that we’re not going to stay here any longer than we have to.” She checked the clock and shook her head. “It’s almost time to get up, so we might as well grab some breakfast and head to work.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Sam ran for the leash.
“I guess that’s a yes.” Jillian laughed, but behind her smile, she was defeated.
She didn’t know what she was going to do, and time was running out fast.
A little over an hour later, Jillian pulled up by the side door of Charleston PD. Sam whined from the passenger seat, slumping down onto the seat with a huff when Jillian didn’t get out right away. “It’s shift change. When everyone is inside, we’ll go.”
Sam buried her nose under Jillian’s leg until only one eye was visible, and that eye stared at Jillian. Her heart clenched, and her fingers tightened on the steering wheel. Hot tears stung her eyes as her landlord’s angry words played over and over in her head. There was no reasoning with the man, and there was no way she was going back there for another night of abuse.
A car door slammed a few feet away, an engine roared, and the last cop from the overnight shift drove away.
“The coast is clear, Sam.”
Sam gave one thump of her tail and jumped up when Jillian clipped the leash to her collar and opened the driver’s door. Leaping from the passenger seat, she landed on the asphalt and followed Jillian through the side door without making a sound.
Jillian hurried to the elevator, holding her breath until the door closed behind them. Sam jumped up, brushing the button panel with her paw, wagging her tail and turning to Jillian for approval.
“You’re a good dog.” Jillian sniffed, fighting fresh tears as she pushed the button for the basement. “You always know how to make me smile.”
Sam wagged her tail once more, and Jillian frowned and stroked the bridge of Sam’s nose with hands that trembled. What was she going to do?
The hallway to the evidence room was deserted, which was normal this early in the morning. Typing her passcode in, she rushed through the door the moment the lock clicked open, Sam at her side.
“Good morning, Jillian.”
Jillian froze two steps into the room.
“Why do you seem surprised to see me?” Ellie handed her a cup of coffee. “I’ve made it to work before eight more than once.” Ellie leaned down and grabbed Sam’s head between her hands, rubbing the dog’s face. Sam’s tail thumped against Jillian’s leg. When Ellie stood, she was frowning. “Have you been crying?”
Jillian automatically shook her head, but Ellie narrowed her eyes, her hands going to her hips. Jillian sighed, giving in. “Yes.”
“Wanna talk about it?”
“No.” Jillian sat in her office chair and opened the web browser on her computer, refusing to meet her friend’s gaze.
Sam loved on Ellie for another minute before she dutifully wandered over to Jillian’s desk and crawled into her spot underneath and out of sight.
Jillian was on the verge of tearing up again, and she hated losing her composure at work. She ignored Ellie, throwing herself into her work and trying not to think about her midnight prowler.
But Ellie wasn’t having it. “So, are you going to give me the silent treatment all day, or can I guess what has you shook up and clearly angry?”
“I’m sure you can figure it out.”
“Landlord?”
Jillian nodded. Her lip began to quiver, but she clamped her jaw tight, inhaling a deep breath through her nose. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’ve been looking at new apartments for the past week, and they’re either too small or cost too much.” Her shoulders slumped. “Or they want several hundred dollars for a pet deposit. The only place I found that was halfway decent wants a five-hundred-dollar pet deposit on top of a thousand-dollar deposit, plus first and last month’s rent, and it’s a couple hundred extra every month for Sam to be there.”
“That’s…probably not feasible?” Ellie stood and came over to her desk, looking at her like she didn’t know if the sum was expensive or not. Jillian loved Ellie, but sometimes the detective just didn’t live in the real world, thanks to her upbringing.
“That’s the problem.” Jillian sighed and dropped her arms to her sides in defeat. “Well, not the entire problem. Even if I could drop thirty-five hundred dollars in one day, the rent I have is already at the max I can afford. With an extra two hundred tacked on for Sam, it’s just not doable.” Her eyes burned, and she swiped her sleeve across her face, wiping away the beginnings of moisture and willing herself not to cry. “I don’t know what to do.”
“I don’t want to be pushy, but my offer still stands. I have four bedrooms and more bathrooms than one person can use. My parents don’t charge me rent, and they’re not going to charge me for a pet, so you wouldn’t cost me anything.” Ellie touched her shoulder. “I know you feel like you’d be a burden, but you wouldn’t be. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind having a roommate, and I’m sure Sam wants to move in too.”
Jillian laughed. “You’re a mess.”
“You know I adore Sam, and there’s room for all of us.”
“Won’t it feel like we’re encroaching?”
Ellie rolled her eyes to the side with a little laugh. “Not hardly. I don’t know why my parents insisted on putting me in the biggest apartment in the building. I only use half of the rooms. I would be just as happy in a two-bedroom, so you’d be doing me a favor.”
Jillian shook her head. “I don’t want to ruin our friendship.”
“It won’t. We’ve been sharing this office.” Ellie gestured around the brightly lit space. “I know you’ve never shared the front seat of a car with the same partner for years, but this place is huge compared to a police cruiser.”
“But we go home to our separate homes every night, so it’s different.”
Ellie sighed and pursed her lips. “Are you going to try to talk me out of it, or do you want to accept my offer, move in and try it? I’ve never had a roommate, so I’ve always felt like I was missing out. And I’m telling you, I have two rooms that are completely empty and have been for years.”
“You didn’t even have a roommate in college?”
Ellie snorted. “My parents wouldn’t let me live on campus. Not after I got kidnapped. If they had their way, I’d still be living at home.”
“But they own the building, right?”
“Sometimes, you have to choose your battles, and I guess they did.” Ellie shrugged. “The apartment was a good compromise, and it meant I didn’t have to worry about my mom checking in constantly. I got the better end of the deal.”
Jillian sucked in a deep breath and let out the air on a long sigh. “I don’t want to impose.”
“You won’t be.”
“It’s only until I find a place I can afford that will take Sam too.”
Ellie’s lips curled up in a smile. “Sounds good to me.”
“I’ll pay my own way. Whatever the bills are, I’ll pay half.”
Ellie laughed again and shook her head. “It all comes out of a family account automatically. I don’t even know what services I have, so you’ll pay for your food and Sam’s, and not a penny less.”
Jillian narrowed her eyes. “You’re making this too easy.”
“Someone has to. You’re a good friend, and Sam is a good dog.” Sam’s tailed thumped against the desk. “I hate that your landlord is such an ass, and I want to help.”
Why was she even fighting this? Everything her friend said made perfect sense.
She’d still need to deal with the little problem about breaking her lease, but she’d just deal with that later. Not giving herself more time to overthink it, she stuck out her hand. “All right.”
Ellie smiled as they shook. “Wonderful. When can you move in?”
“Sometime this week. The sooner, the better.”
Her eyes were lit up like a kid going away to college for the first time. “How about tomorrow or Wednesday?”
“I’m not sure I can pack up that fast.”
Ellie grinned, tucking clenched hands under her chin. “Who says you’re packing alone?”
“You really are amazing.” Jillian grabbed Ellie’s wrist and pulled her in for a quick hug. “Thank you. For everything.”
Ellie hugged her back. “We’ll see if you’re still thanking me on Sunday night.”
“Sunday night?”
“It’s family dinner night, and if you’re living with me, you’re part of the family.”
“Oh.” Jillian smiled and bit her lower lip. “Okay. I think.”
Ellie made a face. “You’ll get used to my mother.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“Just know that if she likes you, she’ll be polite. Real polite.” Ellie went back to her desk, shooting her a warning look.
“And if she doesn’t like me?”
Ellie’s smile was wicked, her green eyes shining with glee. “Trust me, she’s going to love you.”
17
Ellie’s desk phone rang, interrupting her and Jillian’s plans for her move. She answered on the second ring. “Detective Kline.”
“This is Carl from the forensic tech lab. We’ve made progress on the computers seized from Arthur Fink.” He paused for a beat, clearing his throat. “You should probably see this.”
“We’re on our way.”
“No,” he said quickly. “It’s a laptop. I’ll bring it to you. You might want to prepare yourself.” He hung up before Ellie could respond.
“Who was that?”
“Carl.” Her forehead wrinkled with worry as she slowly replaced the receiver into its cradle. “He’s got something for us.” She turned to Jillian. “He’s bringing it down here.”
Jillian scrunched up her face. “That’s odd.”
A few moments later, there was a soft knock on the door. Jillian buzzed Carl in, and he went straight for Ellie’s desk, setting up the laptop. “I was able to break through his safeguards and finally get into his private files.”
Ellie shook her head. “I really thought he’d take a deal and give up the passwords instead of making you go through breaking into it.”
“I’ve been doing this a long time. They rarely give up the passwords.” He smirked, but his warm brown eyes held a serious note, one of almost pity. Ellie’s stomach immediately dropped. “They always think they’re going to outsmart us.”
“He almost did. If it weren’t for Entity, we wouldn’t have found the picture he posted anonymously.” Ellie beamed over at Jillian, wanting to give her all the credit for bringing in the computer program and being so determined.
Carl nodded at Jillian before clicking his mouse on an icon on the desktop. “Here’s the site that caught my attention first. This is where he purchased Valerie Price from, though his private file folders all list her name as ‘Taryn.’” He pulled back from the screen, as if putting distance between himself and the horror in front of him. “She wasn’t the first ‘Taryn’ by about a half a dozen other young women.”
Ellie sucked in a quick breath. “He named others the same thing? Do we know what happened to the other ones?”
“I have no clue, and there’s not enough information on them here for an investigation.”
“I can run them through Entity.” Jillian pointed to the scanner. “Send the photos over, and I’ll scan them in later.”
Carl nodded, but he was focused on the laptop screen. “The website itself is something out of a horror flick. All these pictures are of people available for purchase. I found Valerie’s old listing, along with your other victim, Ben Brooks.”
Ellie stared at the name, Ben Brooks, a mixture of gratification and repugnance filling her. She’d been right. And now, she was sure the remains in the woods belonged to Ben. “Do we know who bought Ben?”
“The screen name is ‘huntnbag.’ A search for similar names came up empty. The site uses rolling IP addresses that bounce from one country to another, and we don’t have the technology to track whoever that is. I did report this website to the human trafficking division at the FBI.”
Ellie sighed, though it was what had needed to be done. “It’s unlikely they’ll share any information with us if they do find a location.”
“That’s been my experience, but if they’re investigating, maybe they’ll manage to shut it down and prevent more deaths.”
“What is this over here?” Ellie pointed to the top corner of the screen. “Where it says, ‘other products for sale?’”
Carl blew a long breath out through his nose, looking like that file was the last thing he wanted to talk about. “That’s why I brought this to you instead of having you come up to the lab. More privacy.”
“I don’t understand.”
He clicked on the icon, his expression guarded. “I have them sorted, with the oldest videos first.”
“I recognize those women. That’s Tabitha and Mabel.”
Carl nodded, his jaw ticking. His eyes were sad when he finally spoke again. “But that’s not the video I wanted to show—”
“Oh my god.” Jillian’s voice was just above a whisper, but Ellie’s eyes were riveted on the screen.
On the video icon with a familiar background.
On the face on the screen.
So young.
Innocent.
Yes, innocent…up until that night.
It was herself.
Ellie’s own fifteen-year-old face as she screamed at her captor.
“Get out.” Ellie’s voice was calm, though her body quaked to the very core.
“I thought you might want to watch this alone.” Carl stood in a hurry and nodded at Jillian, motioning toward the door. When Jillian didn’t budge, Carl pointed toward the exit. “If you need me, I’ll be right outside in the hall.”
She couldn’t tear her eyes from the screen. She felt like every second of that ordeal was about to bubble up through a sewage drain and drown her. “Please, just leave.”
Carl nodded and quickly made his exit.
Beside her, Jillian’s hands shook as she reached out and touched Ellie’s arm. “I’ll stay if you need me to. It’s okay, I can handle it.”
Ellie shook her head. “No. I don’t want anyone to see this.”
Jillian’s eyes shown with unshed tears as she nodded and walked out of the room. Sam stood but didn’t follow.
With the quiet click of the door, Ellie was alone.
Alone to face the horror one more time. This time, with no blurring of details, no convenient forgetfulness to protect her.
Heart pounding, she sat heavily in her office chair, her mouth dry, stomach clenched. The mouse moved in slow motion under her hand as she rolled it toward the thumbnail with her picture in the center.
Swallowing against the lump in her throat that threatened to choke her, she abruptly flicked the pointer over to Tabitha and Mabel’s video and clicked the play button.
She could never have prepared herself for the unimaginable evil that took place on the screen.
A man, with a voice that made a small fissure in her sanity open up, chided and demanded.
The women pleaded.
Wailed.
Screamed.
Accepted that their love for each other would have to be enough, until they met again.
Ellie sat with silent tears running down her face, dripping onto her shirt, when the video ended.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she clicked on the video icon that showed her own teenage face.
Her eyes widened as the title appeared on the screen.
The One That Got Away.
She sucked in a quick breath, mouse still clutched in her hand, eyes widening as the title faded and her fifteen-year-
old face filled the frame.
The room was dark but familiar, even though she didn’t recognize it. The camera zoomed in until the only thing visible was the man’s hand and the back of his head as he leaned over her.
“Look at the camera.” He grabbed Ellie’s cheeks, turning her head painfully.
Her rebellious fifteen-year-old self kept her eyes focused to the side, refusing his demand.
He laughed, the hollow, joyless sound filling the small space. “I knew you’d be a feisty one when I saw you strutting down the street. Maybe another injection will help convince you, though I do quite enjoy watching you struggle. Are your limbs still heavy?” He tilted her head so they were at eye level. “Could you run if I untied you?”
Her lips drew together an instant before she let the spit fly into his face, aiming for the eye holes in the mask he wore.
He cursed, jumping back, out of the frame. The only sound was his footsteps as he rushed away.
Ellie smiled, and her head flopped forward, chin connecting painfully with her chest. Tied to a chair, with only a small area illuminated by a single lightbulb, her vision was still foggy from whatever he’d injected her with in the car. To her right and off-camera, hidden in the darkness, water splashed loudly in the plastic basin of a utility sink as the man grumbled and scrubbed away the last of her saliva. Ellie turned her head with monumental effort and glared in his direction.
When he returned to stand beside her, his voice was calm, almost jovial. “I’d say you’ll regret that, puppet. But you’re already going to regret so much.” He grabbed a handful of her hair in his gloved hand and pulled her head up again. Ellie whimpered through pursed lips but remained rigid and defiant. “I can help you with that head.”
Holding her head up by her hair, he wound a rope around her braid and pulled it taut. Squatting near a chair like the one she was tied in, he tied the other end of the rope to the bottom rung.
Ellie clenched her teeth against the pain as her hair was pulled upward until the roots were straining. Still, she kept her eyes trained on the floor, to avoid the red light of the camera that blinked intermittently to let her know it was still recording.