Midnight Crossing (16 page)

“I’m sure you’ve heard about the female victim who’s currently staying at the trauma center,” Josie said.

“I have. That’s such a tragedy. And the other young woman dying? I can’t understand how something like that can happen here,” she said.

“I’m sure the mayor has told you we’re working hard to reunite the two women with their families. The women are from Guatemala and we’re trying to find a way to help them back home. The flight will obviously cost quite a bit, plus some meals and incidentals. The police department doesn’t have any kind of discretionary funds available. Is this something your organization would consider supporting?”

“Absolutely. You tell me what you need in terms of travel money, and I’ll see what I can come up with. I’m glad to help.”

Josie had always thought of the mayor’s wife as someone who got involved at the top end, but rarely got her hands dirty. So her answer now was a nice surprise and it solved a major problem for Isabella. Returning home the body currently in the morgue was another issue altogether, but that would have to wait.

*   *   *

Josie found her mom chatting with several other women. They finally left the function at eight-thirty, and Josie drove her mom back to Manny’s.

She parked along the street in front of her mom’s room and turned the jeep engine off.

“You coming inside?” Beverly asked.

“No. I’ve got work in the morning,” she said. “I’m sorry your trip hasn’t turned into much time to visit. That’s the lousy part about police work. When something like this breaks open, you can’t put it on hold.”

“Josie. Give me some credit. Your dad was a cop. I know the drill.” Her mom opened the door and climbed out. Before she shut it she said, “I don’t expect you to babysit me or spend every minute with me. I just want to get to know you again. You’re my kid and I barely know anything about your life.” She paused and sighed. “I know I sucked being your mom after your dad died. But it was a long time ago. People change. I just thought it was worth giving it a shot again.”

Josie watched her mom walk up to her hotel room and unlock the door. Her thoughts turned to Isabella, and how she had fled her country and her family in search of something better. It made Josie realize that what she had all those years ago might not have been what she wanted or needed at the time, but it was a hell of a lot better than others had it.

The evening had left her feeling small and lonely, and she wanted nothing more than to climb into bed and curl up next to Nick, who was in Mexico trying to reunite a man with his family. She checked her phone before pulling away and saw a text from Marta.

Interview went great. Isabella confirmed both Ryan and Josh. She’s checked into Room 2. Can you check on her? Told her I’d be by at 9:00 to check in but I’m working an accident and can’t get away yet.

Josie sighed and texted back.
Will do
. She didn’t like the idea of leaving Isabella alone in the motel room, but Josie was out of options. She didn’t have an officer she could dedicate to the hotel that night. All they could do was check in on her and make sure she kept the door locked to anyone but the police.

*   *   *

Josie got back out of her jeep, walked one door down from her mom’s room, and knocked, but there was no answer. She could see light filtering around the curtain. She waited a minute and knocked again, this time calling Isabella’s name and announcing her own name to reassure her.

Thinking she might be in the shower, Josie turned to go to her mom’s room when Beverly stepped outside with a cigarette and lighter in her hand to sneak a smoke. Josie was too preoccupied to chastise her.

“I need to check on the woman staying next door to you, but she’s not answering the door,” Josie said. “Can you hear when water is running in the room next to you?”

Beverly made a face like it was a ridiculous question. “The walls are like paper. I can hear Manny humming in his apartment on this side.” She jerked her thumb toward the opposite wall.

Josie walked to the back of her mom’s room and into the bathroom, where she placed her ear against the wall shared with Isabella’s room. She heard nothing.

“Have you heard any noise from that room since you walked in?”

“No. But I’ve only been here a few minutes.”

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.”

“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.