Rogue Diamond (3 page)

"You must give up this search for the child," he said gently. "Let the police handle it."

"But the police have gone. Jenni has to be around here somewhere! If she wasn't injured, and obviously she wasn't, then maybe one of the shop keepers or street vendors saw her—"

"No, senorita. We know nothing."

"Nada, nada! That's all I've heard all day! I'm
si
ck of it! Do you even believe we had a child with us this morning? The police don't! When we didn't find her right away, they questioned me about even having her along. Can you believe that?"

"
Si
, I think she was with you, senorita."

"Then where could she be now?"

He spread his palms. "She is not here, senorita. You will not find her here on this street."

"Then where—"

"I would say . . ." he paused and looked around. In a lower voice, he continued. "I would say that she has been taken."

"What? By whom? Why?"

"I cannot say. I do not know." He shrugged again. "I have told you too much already." He shuffled away to wait on another customer.

Alex sat stunned by the shopkeeper
’s revelation
. Was it pos
si
ble that Jenni had been snatched in the chaotic moments before anyone
remembered t
o look for her? A thousand ques
tions plagued Alex. Where was Jenni now? Was she safe? Was she being fed and cared for? Was she hurt? Was she scared and lonely and . . . crying
for her mama
?

Alex's indigo eyes softened as she recalled the child's dark tousled curls framing chubby, golden cheeks. She could almost feel the soft-skinned little girl
si
tting in her lap, listening to one more story before bed
time, and the gentle tug of Jen
ni's tight little arms hugging her neck. She could almost smell the baby-powdered fragrance and hear her high-pitched giggle of delight. Mamacita! Mamacita! More cookies!

Oh, dear God! Where was she?

Alex bolted away from the table, then stopped to dig for change.

"No, senorita. Please accept this small gift from me. You have been through a lot today."

Alex looked
up and met the shopkeeper's hon
est, brown e
yes. "Gracias, senor. For every
thing." Even your dreadful opinion about what happened to Jenni.

She hailed a cab and told the driver to take her to the hospital. First she had to check on Teresa, then she'd go to the police station. The
si
tuation was different now. If the child had been taken . . .

The ride to the hospital was quick, and Alex hurried into the Emergency entrance. A strong antiseptic smell and drab green walls accosted her senses.

Alex approached the dark-haired nurse at the
desk. "Where is Teresa Portillo? She was in an auto accident earlier today."

The nurse checked her clipboard, then looked up quickly. "You are looking for Teresa Marie Portillo?"

"Yes. Which room?"

"Do you know her?"

"Yes, yes," Alex answered impatiently. She had so much to do, to think about, and this nurse per
si
sted with formalities. "I'm a teacher at the Univer
si
ty. My name is Alexis Julian. Teresa is my housekeeper. Look, if there's a problem with the bill, I'll handle it."

"No, nothing like that,
sen
orita." The nurse's voice grew gentle. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but the lady you ask about died about an hour ago."

Alex's breath caught in a hitch, as if someone had belted her in the stomach. Her eyes filled with hot tears
and she gripped the desk franti
cally. "Oh, no! That's not pos
si
ble! Are you sure? Check again! It just can't be! Not my Teresa! We haven't even found her daughter Jenni yet! God help me, not both of them!"

Immediately,
several nurses converged to han
dle the norteamericana with blond hair and very blue eyes who was nearly hysterical. For a period of time, Alexis Julian was beyond reason. Drab green walls threatened to close in on her and a certain horrifying scene in which a green car ran out of control kept replaying in her mind.

Finally, Alex quieted. Even in the sultry heat
she trembled uncontrollably.

“Can we call someone to take you home, senorita?”

"
Yes, w
ould you call my friend
, por favor
?" she req
uested in a hushed voice. "Rose
mary Garza. Ask her to come and take me home."

CHAPTER TWO

Alex climbed into the backseat of the car.
"Thanks for pick
ing me up
. I'm not normally so hysterical."

"You weren't hysterical, just upset." Rosemary smiled reassuringly. "And after what you've been through today, Alex, you have every right to be. Isn't that right, Sam?"

Her husband nodded. "You're doing fine, Alex."

"Well, I certainly didn't feel like facing an empty house this evening." Alex was still shaken, even hours later, as she drank
tea
in the home of her friends and colleagues, Rosemary and Sam Garza.

"That's what friends are for, Alex." Rosemary smiled sympathetically. "This has been a horrible day for you."

"So much has happened, I still can't believe it. Oh, my God, I forgot all about the party tonight!"

"Don't worry about it," Rosemary soothed gently. "After they called from the hospital, we figured no one would be in the partying mood tonight. Sam phoned everyone and canceled."

"Thanks, Sam." Alex
si
ghed with relief. "You
were absolutely right. I'm in no condition to do anything tonight. I hope they understand."

"Of course they do. I explained, and they sent their condolence
s." Sam took another
si
p of
his
cof
fee and studied Alex's drawn face. Although he was Mexican, Sam had fair skin and blue eyes that harked back to his Spanish ancestry.

Sam had been educated at the Univer
si
ty of Arizona, then returned to his native Mexico to teach. His dynamic American wife, Rosemary, worked with
Alex in the Early Childhood De
partment at Sonoran Univer
si
ty in Hermo
si
llo. During the two years Alex had been an exchange professor in the industrial city, she and the Garzas had become good friends. Now, in the face of tragedy, they pulled together.

"You'll find most of the univer
si
ty staff very compas
si
onate," explained Rosemary, a brunette with dark, snappy eyes. "They'll look on your tragedy as one of their own. In fact, they might tend to smother you with sympathy and covered dishes, so it's probably just as well that you're here until you compose yourself and decide what to do next."

"I don't want their sympathy. If anything, I need their help
finding Jenni
." Alex pressed her lips together in an effort to control
another wave of grief
.

"Alex, please spend the night here." Rosemary smiled warmly and patted her friend's arm. "I know how difficult it must be to go back to your house alone, so don't do it until you're ready."

"Thanks, Rosemary, but I'll be all right. You two were so wonderfully calm in the face of a
cri
si
s, and I needed that. I'm afraid I fell apart at the hospital. It was so unexpected. I still can't believe Teresa's gone—" Alex's voice broke off in a sob.

"I've called the police twice this evening, Sam,"
Alex
continued after she'd gotten a grip on herself, "and they still claim there are no leads on Jenni. Why haven't they found her? What have they been doing all this time?"

Sam took a d
eep breath. "Nothing. To be per
fectly honest, th
ey're probably doing nothing ac
tive right now, Alex."

"What?"

"Please try to understand, Alex. The police are extremely busy. And understaffed."

"You mean they probably won't do much more than the rud
imentary questioning they've al
ready done?"

He nodded. "I'm afraid so. I'm sure this case isn't high on their list of priorities."

"What do you mean? A child is mis
si
ng! What could be more important than finding her?"

"It's important to us, but to them . . ." Sam shrugged. "Remember, they have violent crimes to deal with and—"

"Isn't this violent? A child abducted! I just can't believe it
, Sam!" Alex rose and began pac
ing the floor.

"Alex," Sam said, trying to calm her. "You must have patience. There is also a chance—a chance, mind you—that they may not find her."

She wheeled around, her indigo eyes snapping it her friend. "No! I won't accept that, Sam!"

"Alex, be reasonable. This isn't the U.S. Things are done differently in Mexico. You can't stomp into the police station and demand your rights. You have none! You're on foreign soil!"

"My God, Sam, who cares what soil this is? A child has been taken! A child we all loved. No, I won't accept the pos
si
bility that she may never be found! I have to find her!"

"Alex, I know you don't want to hear these things, but you must be realistic."

Rosemary gave her husband a warning glance. "Please, Sam . . ."

They sat in
si
le
nce for a while, then Sam
s
aid, "Alex, I didn't mean to upset you this evening. Surely you know we care about Jenni. But I don't want you to harbor any false hopes for finding her."

"Are you saying you don't think I'll ever find her?"

Sam took a deep breath. "No, I won't go that far. But realistically, it may be tough. A young Mexican woman was killed today. She had no family. No husband. Her illegitimate child is mis
si
ng. The only person asking about that child is an American exchange professor. Face it, you don't have much clout, Alex."

"Dammit, Sam!" Alex exclaimed, close to tears. She knew, deep in her heart, that he was right. Perhaps there wasn't much chance of finding Jenni. But she wouldn't give up.

"Sam, hush!" Rosemary scowled. "Can't you see you're upsetting her?" She put an arm around Alex's shoulders. "Don't worry, honey.
We'll find her. I'll go with you to talk to the police again tomorrow, if you want."

"Maybe he's right, Rosemary," Alex admitted hollowly. "It's going to be damned tough. I need time to decide what to do next."

"Well, you don't have to decide tonight. You can take all the time you need right here. I in
si
st that you spend the night with us. Come on. A good hot bath will work wonders. I know you're bushed. It's been an exhausting day. And look, you have scratches on your knees and elbows. We need to put some di
si
nfectant on those."

Alex allowed Rosemary to guide her to the back bedroom and put antiseptic on her scraped elbows. The act made them both feel better, gave them som
ething to be concerned about be
si
des the cri
si
s. Long after Sam and Rosemary went to bed, Alex lay wide-eyed and alert. The questions that had driven her all day long still plagued her.

Where is Jenni? How is she? Is she being taken care of? Is she lonely and crying? As long as there were no answers to those questions, Alex wouldn't give up the search.

Realizing that sleep was not imminent, she slipped out of bed.
F
rom a desk in the bedroom she took out a pen and paper and dashed off a mis
si
ve to her f
riend Carol, relating the terri
fying events of the day.
She just felt the need to reach out, to express her sorrow and her outrage. But writing about it made the whole ordeal so very real.

Nick Diamond checked his watch.

2:29 AM
.

He set the chopper down and cut the lights.

They sat in the pitch dark for a minute or two, neither speaking.

Finally,
Jose
brok
e the
si
lence. "You okay, Capita
n?"

"Yeah. Close call,
Jose
. I don't like it."

"You think someone squealed?"

"Damned if I know. I just hope no one saw us escape. They came in too damn fast. I'll talk to the boss tom
orrow. See if timing can be con
trolled. Otherwise, we're goners."