Midnight Crossing (17 page)

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 corner 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.

“Isabella is gone, Ryan.”

He looked up at her, apparently caught off guard at the statement.

“Josh and Macey are gone,” she said.

Again, confusion in his eyes.

“I want to know where they are,” she said. “No games. No lies. You have too much on the line to screw with me right now.”

He nodded and his expression grew earnest as his breathing returned to normal. “I understand, but I don’t know where they are. I haven’t talked to either one of them since I got back to Artemis.”

“We’ll get your phone records. You know that, right?” she said.

He leaned his head back and groaned. “Okay. Seriously, Josh called a few times, but not about leaving with her. He just called freaking out because they were missing. He kept telling me that he had to get them delivered. That someone would come after him if he didn’t get the women before they went to the cops.”

“Who was coming after him?”

“He never said. I never asked. I didn’t want to know.”

“So what did you do about the missing women?” Josie could feel the acid burn in her stomach.

“Nothing. He called the first time and he was like,
You have to come with me. You have to help me find these two women
. I was like,
Listen, I did what you asked. You still haven’t paid me the other half of the money you owe me. I’m done with this. I should have never gotten involved
.”

“Did you go with him to search for the women?” she asked.

“One night. We drove out by the river.”

“By my house?” she asked.

He nodded.

“How did you know to look for them there?”

“Somebody told Josh that Isabella and Renata hitchhiked out to stay with some old lady in Mexico, and that she told them to go see you. That’s why he kept driving by your house. I swear. I drove out with him one time and that was it. I told him I was done.”

“Who gave Josh this information?”

“I don’t know. He didn’t tell me.”

“What day did you drive out looking for the women?” she asked.

“It was Saturday.” He wrinkled his forehead and said, “Actually it would have been Sunday morning, at like two. We never saw them, though.”

“Did Josh shoot Renata?”

He put his hands up. “I have no idea. I swear.”

“Do you know if Josh ever made contact with Isabella or Renata after they escaped in Piedra Labrada?”

“I have no idea. After I drove out to your house with him I told him I was done. He hasn’t called me since. Check my phone records.”

“What about the other women?” she asked. “Where are the other three?”

“I told you, I left them in Piedra Labrada, but what I said wasn’t totally true. I didn’t leave because of my documentation.”

He paused, and Josie glanced at Otto. She could feel the tension rising in the room as they approached the truth of what had happened on the trip.

“Could I get a drink of water?” Josh asked. Josie noticed his sticky voice and nodded. Marta left the room.

Ryan continued. “When we got to Piedra, we rented a cheap motel room to sleep a couple hours before we’d cross the border that night. We were all tired and hungry and pissed off. I just wanted it all to end. Josh lay down to sleep, and I took a shower. When I got done, I walked out of the bathroom and Isabella and Renata were gone. The other three women were huddled in a corner crying. I yelled at Josh, who’d slept through them leaving, and he jumped out of bed. Then all hell broke loose. He was yelling and screaming like a maniac. I was afraid the police were going to get called on us. He pulled one of the women up off the floor by her hair, and he started kicking her and kneeing her in the stomach. He said it was her fault for letting the other women go. I knocked Josh on his ass, and I left. I just walked out.”

Ryan bent over at the interrogation table and placed his head in his hands, and Josie saw tears fall onto the table under him. “I left because I couldn’t take one more night of Josh. I keep thinking about those other three women, though. I don’t know what’s happened to them.”

“When you drove out by my house with Josh, what did he say about them?” Josie asked.

Marta walked back in and placed a Dixie cup in front of Ryan, who gulped noisily until it was empty. “He said they were staying somewhere together. He kept saying it was cool. He was going to get them delivered.” He looked at Josie, and she thought he’d finally reached the point she was striving for. “Maybe that’s where Josh and Macey went. Maybe they took Isabella to finish the trip to Albuquerque.”

“New Mexico?” she asked.

“That’s where we were headed.”

“Why New Mexico?”

“Josh just said he had work for the women. They were going to get jobs. He said life in their country sucked, and he was going to set them up right in the U.S.” Josh made a face like he was disgusted. “He made it sound like he was doing them some big favor, and then he—” Ryan stopped, as if he didn’t want to recall the memory.

Otto broke in. “Ryan. This is critical for the investigation. You know what happened isn’t right. Josh did horrible things to innocent women. This is your chance to make it right. If you saw him force those women into having sex with him, then you need to tell us now. Someone is going to pay for attacking those women. We want to make sure the right person goes to jail.”

“When we stayed in a motel, we always got one room to keep everyone together. He said it was safer and cheaper. Josh got the bed and I had to sleep in front of the door to make sure nobody tried to leave. Then he’d make one of the women sleep with him.” He clasped his hands in front of him on the table to try and stop the trembling. “The rest of us, we had to turn the TV up as loud as it would go, and sit on the floor and act like we didn’t know what was going on. It was awful.”

“Why didn’t someone stop him?” Josie asked.

“Because he was the only one that knew anything! He had all our documents, our identification. We were in a foreign country with no ID. He took mine too. I didn’t even know where I was. The women had fake passports that he kept. He told them once they got dropped off in Albuquerque, they’d get all their stuff back. And he’d say things about killing their families all the time. He had their addresses written on a piece of paper, and he’d read the girl’s name and then her family’s address. He let them know,
If you don’t do what I say, your family will pay
. Then he’d be like,
Come take care of me
.” Ryan shook his head like he wanted to clear the memory out of his head. Josie wanted to tell him to imagine the nightmares the women who were raped were now having.