Authors: Karen Rose
‘I won’t.’ He didn’t want to lie to the Bautistas, but he didn’t want to scare them away either.
She smoothed her dress and checked the visor mirror. ‘I look like I’ve been crying, but it makes me look like less of a cop, so the puffy eyes are okay.’
‘You look beautiful.’
‘Thank you. So do you. Do you need anything before we talk to Mila and Erica?’
He squeezed her hand. ‘Just be with me.’
‘Let anyone try to pry me away.’
Twenty-nine
Georgetown, Kentucky
Wednesday 5 August, 8.40
A.M.
Scarlett and Marcus met Trace in the vestibule of Saint Barbara’s. Scarlett had been nervous about seeing her uncle again, but Trace obliterated any nerves with a huge bear hug. She held on a few more seconds than she needed to, because for that moment in time he’d made her feel like a child again. Like the past ten years of her life hadn’t happened.
Like she wasn’t standing in a church of her own free will.
He set her down and tipped her face up, his smile changing to a frown. ‘You’ve been crying.’ He turned his frown on Marcus. ‘What did you do to her?’
‘He’s done nothing,’ Scarlett said firmly. ‘We’ve been talking and I’ve been emotional.’ She slid her arm around her uncle’s waist. ‘Uncle Trace, this is Marcus O’Bannion. He tried to help Tala, was with her when she died. Marcus, Father Trace.’
Marcus stuck out his hand. ‘Father,’ he said politely. ‘You’re the first member of Scarlett’s family that I’ve had the privilege to meet.’
Trace looked down at Scarlett, his brows lifted. ‘Oh, he’s good.’
She laughed. ‘I know.’
Her uncle shook Marcus’s hand. ‘They’re waiting for you in the choir room. Scarlett, I’ve told them only that you’re my niece.’ He hugged her to him again. ‘You look very non-coppish. I’ll let you decide when to tell them who you are.’
‘Are they okay?’ Marcus asked. ‘Physically?’
‘Their feet are pretty cut up. They walked for miles without shoes. I’m so thankful they were picked up by a good person. The trucker recognized that they were afraid and he didn’t ask many questions. One of the women in the church washed their feet and bandaged them, but you’ll want to have them seen by a doctor. You won’t have any trouble communicating from a language standpoint. Their English is impeccable. But they didn’t say much. I showed them the pictures of Mr Bautista and young John Paul, but other than crying and giving prayers of thanks that they were safe, they didn’t say anything more. They’re still very afraid.’
He led them into the church and Scarlett suddenly found it very hard to breathe. She hadn’t been lying to Trace. After all the talking she and Marcus had done, her emotions were like a seething cauldron in her gut. Adding to that the memories of Michelle that had been dredged up when she’d found Tala dead in the alley . . .
She swallowed back the lump in her throat and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. But then Marcus took her hand and held it securely in his. Breathing in the scent of his aftershave, she let it calm her.
‘You okay?’ he whispered.
She tightened her hold. ‘Yes.’
They followed her uncle into the choir room and both she and Marcus went abruptly still. Two petite women sat on metal folding chairs, holding hands even more tightly than Scarlett held Marcus’s. The older woman was visibly trembling, her eyes bright with tears. The younger was barely sixteen, according to the copies of the visas Immigration had provided, but she looked so much older. Her expression was remote, her dark eyes cold and her shoulders bowed.
‘She looks just like Tala,’ Marcus murmured, sounding spooked. He released Scarlett’s hand and stepped forward, going down on one knee in front of the women so that they could look him in the eye. ‘I’m Marcus,’ he said quietly. ‘And I’m so sorry for your loss.’
Mila Bautista’s body began to shake with suppressed sobs, which broke free when Marcus put his arms around them both. Tala’s mother leaned into his shoulder and cried, her heart broken.
Beside Scarlett, Trace sighed softly. ‘He’s for real?’
Scarlett had to blink away her own tears, Mila’s grief and Marcus’s compassion reaching right into her chest and squeezing her heart until it felt bloodless. She pressed the heel of her hand to her sternum to relieve the ache. ‘Yeah. He’s very real.’
‘I read online that he met Tala Bautista in an alley and tried to help her. Is he in the habit of helping strange young women in the middle of the night?’
She glanced up at Trace who was frowning worriedly. ‘Yes, actually, but not like you’re thinking.’ She quietly explained the situation, adding that Marcus had been shot at a second time and that his friend and the doorman had been shot last night. ‘But I still have to wonder who was the target in that alley – Tala or Marcus.’
‘It was Tala.’ Erica Bautista had pulled out of Marcus’s embrace, stroking her mother’s hair as Mila continued to cry against Marcus’s shoulder. The girl’s expression was hard and angry, and Scarlett certainly couldn’t blame her for that.
Scarlett pulled another folding chair over so that she could sit facing Mila. ‘Why are you so sure?’ she asked softly.
‘Who are you?’ the girl asked, her eyes narrowing shrewdly.
‘My name is Scarlett. Father Trace is my uncle. Marcus is my boyfriend and I’m afraid for him, for his safety, so I came along. We want to help you, but nobody really understands what’s happening here.’
Erica continued to study her. ‘You’re with the police,’ she said flatly.
Scarlett blinked, startled. Mila pushed Marcus away, lurching to her feet in panic. Scarlett knew that if she stood up she’d tower over the woman, so she remained seated. ‘I’m not Immigration. I’m not calling them. I’m here as my uncle’s niece. I’m not going to turn you in to anyone. You have my word.’
Mila looked down at Marcus, seeking confirmation, and he nodded. ‘She isn’t lying,’ he said. ‘She really is Father Trace’s niece and she really is my girlfriend. And she really wants to help you. I called her two nights ago when I knew I was meeting Tala. I wanted a woman there that I could trust.’
‘You trust her?’ Mila asked, trembling so hard that Scarlett thought she’d fall down.
‘With my life,’ Marcus said simply, and Mila slowly sat back down.
Scarlett breathed a silent sigh of relief. ‘How did you know?’
Erica shrugged. ‘He is Father Trace Bishop. You are Scarlett. The article in the newspaper said that Detective Scarlett Bishop was first on the scene.’
Scarlett winced. ‘Oh. I didn’t mean to deceive you. Well, yes, I did, but only so I wouldn’t scare you. I meant what I said. I’m not going to turn you in.’
‘Your partner is with the FBI,’ Erica said coldly.
Scarlett mentally reviewed the
Ledger
article in her mind, then turned to Marcus, puzzled. ‘You didn’t mention Deacon in that article, did you?’
Erica’s eyes rolled. ‘I Googled you, Detective. I used the church’s computer. I used to use computers all the time before we came here. It’s not that hard. Even for someone like me.’
‘Someone like you?’ Scarlett said gently. ‘You mean a victim of a despicable crime perpetrated by evil people who deserve to be locked up for the rest of their lives?’
Erica looked taken aback. ‘No. I meant . . .’
‘I know what you meant,’ Scarlett said. ‘I also know your father was a teacher and your mother a nurse. I know you are educated and smart. I just don’t like being tripped up so easily.’ She smiled at Erica and watched some of the girl’s tension drain away. ‘Your sister was incredibly brave and sacrificed everything to try to get her family to safety. I won’t let her sacrifice be in vain.’
Erica’s lips quivered at the mention of her sister, and both she and her mother began to cry. ‘We told her not to go,’ Erica sobbed. ‘We told her it was too dangerous.’
‘She was desperate,’ Mila added, wiping her eyes. ‘Because of Malaya . . . Tala was determined that her baby wouldn’t be raised in that house. So she took the chance.’ Her fists clenched. ‘I want to kill that man for what he did.’
Marcus covered Mila’s fists with his hands, a comforting gesture. ‘Chip Anders?’
Fire flashed in the eyes of both women. ‘Yes,’ Mila hissed. ‘And his wife and that daughter they spawned.’
‘He’s missing,’ Scarlett said. ‘It appears he and his family were taken away by force. Do you know by whom?’
Mila and Erica looked at each other, satisfaction mixing in with their fury and grief. ‘Not by name,’ Mila said. ‘But he was very scared yesterday when he realized Tala was missing.’
‘When did he find out?’ Scarlett asked.
Mila opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Erica leaned her head on her mother’s shoulder and answered for her. ‘When the tamper alarm went off,’ the young woman said. ‘Our trackers were wired into the house alarm. Mama and I weren’t allowed to leave.’
‘But Tala was,’ Marcus said. ‘Her job was to walk the dog.’
Mila’s lips thinned and she looked away. ‘No. Walking the dog was Stephanie’s job.’
‘The Anderses’ daughter,’ Scarlett said. ‘She’s home from college.’
‘She’s a bitch,’ Erica snarled.
Mila looked startled. ‘Erica! We are in a church.’
Erica didn’t look like she cared. ‘She is, Mama. You call her a spawn, I’ll call her . . . what I called her.’ She looked Scarlett in the eye. ‘I hope whoever took her makes her suffer like she made Tala suffer. I hate her.’ Her fury disintegrated into a choked sob. ‘She killed my sister. Her or that boyfriend of hers.’
Scarlett’s ears perked up. ‘Boyfriend? We don’t know about a boyfriend.’
‘Drake Connor,’ Erica spat.
Scarlett took the girl’s hand long enough to give it a brief, encouraging squeeze. She could barely contain her excitement at this new information, which she sensed might be the link they were looking for. ‘What did he do?’
Erica dropped her gaze to her lap, but not before Scarlett saw the shame in the girl’s eyes. ‘Whatever he wanted,’ she said, her tone gone dead.
Scarlett glanced at Marcus. ‘Do you want Father Trace and Marcus to leave?’ she asked quietly, and Erica nodded.
‘We’ll be outside,’ Marcus said, giving Scarlett’s shoulder a stroke as he walked away.
‘We’re alone,’ Scarlett said. ‘You can tell me anything you want without shame.’
‘Everyone will know,’ Erica whispered miserably. ‘They will know anyway because why else would
he
buy three women?’
‘You’re talking about Anders now. He bought you. Not Drake, right?’
Erica scoffed. ‘Drake was poor. He didn’t have any money. Stephanie dated him just to make her father mad. Her father bought us, all of us. He sent my father and brother away to work in his factory and he made my mother take care of his mother.’
‘You mean his aunt?’
‘Her too, but when we first came, Mama had to take care of his mother. She was bedridden.’ Erica faltered. ‘She wasn’t mean like him. She wanted to tell someone that we were being forced to work for no money, that he was . . . using us. But then . . . she killed her. Mr Anders’s wife put a pillow over her face and suffocated her.’
‘Marlene Anders,’ Scarlett said, and Erica nodded. ‘So Chip’s mother was killed by his wife?’
‘Because she sympathized with us,’ Mila whispered. ‘Marlene liked nice things. Liked having servants. She just didn’t want to pay for them. She liked having control.’
‘What about Aunt Tabby?’ Scarlett asked.
Mila’s eyes filled anew. ‘Is she alive? All Father Trace knew was that she was in the hospital. What happened to her?’
‘She’s unconscious, but still alive,’ Scarlett said. ‘I called to check on her on my way down here. She’s holding on. She was beaten severely by Chip.’
Both women gasped. ‘We left her alone there,’ Mila whispered, guilt ravaging her face. ‘That beast beat her because she cut our trackers and let us go.’
It was true, and Scarlett wasn’t going to insult them by denying it. ‘Marcus found her under a bed. She told us about you, said we had to find you and keep you safe.’
Mila bowed her head. ‘She is a good woman. We didn’t want to leave her there, but she made us. We’ve prayed for her all night.’
Good luck with that
, Scarlett thought, startled to realize that there was more hope than sarcasm in her mental voice. ‘Can we get back to Drake?’ she asked gently, and watched Erica’s shoulders tense and her gaze drop back to her lap. ‘He could be important to our investigation. You said he was Stephanie’s boyfriend. Did he live close by?’
Erica shrugged. ‘Close enough to come by several times a week.’
‘You said he did anything he wanted.’ She gently took Erica’s hand. ‘Did he rape you,?’
A very small nod. ‘Mostly Tala, but sometimes me when Tala was . . .’ She covered her face with her hands. Scarlett very gently tugged her wrists, going down on her knees in front of Erica’s chair so that she could see the young woman’s face. ‘You have nothing to be ashamed of,’ she whispered urgently. ‘I know this is hard for you.’
‘How could you know?’ Erica flung back bitterly. ‘Have you been raped?’
‘No. But I’ve been a police officer for a long time and I’ve worked with too many women who have been raped. It’s hard for them to tell me what happened, but those that have and that can see their rapists come to justice . . . I think it helps them heal.’
‘It’s an American court,’ Erica said, her bitterness unabated. ‘They won’t listen to me.’
‘I’m an American police officer, and I’m listening to you,’ Scarlett said. ‘I will do everything in my power to find him and bring him to justice. That’s all I can promise. But I need your help. I need to know everything about Drake that you can tell me so that I can find him. I also want to know because someone is trying to hurt Marcus. If Drake knows anything about Tala’s murder, he could be the one trying to kill Marcus.’