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  Valentina nodded at her husband, and he disappeared upstairs while I finished my coffee. Robert came back with an iPhone in his hand and a laptop under his arm. He handed me both.

  “I’ll have both things back to you as soon as I’m done with them,” I said.

  “Please,” Valentina said and grabbed my hands between hers. “Please, take your time with it. Just help us find our girl. She’s a good girl; you must know this, Detective. She truly is; she does volunteer work at the animal shelter, she gets straight A’s, she’s compassionate toward her friends and would go through fire for them. She would never hurt anyone, never. She must be so scared right now. Please, just find her.”

  I nodded, looking at them both. I knew better than to promise them anything, yet I really wanted to. If this had been my Josie, I don’t know what I would have done. First, the rape and then this? It was almost too much for one family to take.

  “I will do everything in my power,” I said. “I can promise you that much.”

  Chapter 18

  A weary man with a cigarette dangling from his lips answered the door of the second-floor apartment. I was back in Overtown and knew the eyes staring back at me a little better than I was proud of.

  “Shoot,” the guy said, trying to close the door in my face. I put my foot in it to block it, then pushed the door open so brutally it knocked into the guy’s face.

  “Ouch!” he yelled and stumbled backward.

  I walked inside and closed the door behind me. The guy was known as T-Bone because his body resembled one.

  “I haven’t done anything,” T-Bone said, touching his nose and wiping away the blood. “I’ve been a good boy.”

  “I’m sure you have,” I said and picked him up from the floor, then dragged him to his ripped leather couch. I sat in a recliner next to it, then handed him a tissue to wipe the blood away.

  “I’m serious,” he said. “I stayed out of trouble like you told me to. No drugs. You can search the entire place; you won’t find any.”

  “I’m not here for that,” I said. “I need your help with something.”

  T-Bone’s face lit up. “Oh, really? You need my help now, do ya? How the tables have turned, huh? What’s in it for me?”

  “Honor and glory,” I said and slapped him over the head. “What do you mean, what’s in it for me?”

  He made the international sign for money, and I exhaled, knowing it would come. “There’ll be a reward,” I said. I had talked about this with the Lockwoods when leaving, and they had agreed to pay one if it led to finding their daughter. “It could be quite substantial, actually. The girl I need you to find for me has some very wealthy parents.”

  That did the trick. I could see the change in T-Bone’s eyes. Money always did the trick. It was disgusting. But I needed this guy. He knew every corner of town and every face of the criminal world. He knew what pedophiles lived under which bridge and what mobsters to stay clear of if you wanted to keep living. If the girl were living on the streets, he’d know or be able to find out.

  I grabbed my phone and found a picture of her. “This girl. Have you seen her?”

  He looked at the picture, then sniffled. “Pretty girl. Wouldn’t last long on the streets, though.” He handed me back the phone. “Haven’t seen her, I’m afraid. But send me the pic and I’ll see what I can find. I know the guys down by the port would love to get their hands on a girl like that.”

  I exhaled, knowing he was talking about the human traffickers. Trafficking was a huge problem in my town and a multimillion-dollar business. Six times last year, smugglers had been caught when trying to bring in girls through the port illegally, and we only saw the tip of the iceberg. Thirty-six arrests had been made last year, but there were more and more traffickers coming too, knowing there was a lot more money being made in trafficking than most other crimes these days. If they had gotten their nasty hands on Lucy, she could be anywhere in the country by now.

  I sent him the picture and waited for him to receive it.

  “I’ll ask around,” he said, lighting up another cigarette. “But it better be worth it.”

  “That’s all I’m asking.”

  Chapter 19

  I drove through town, frequenting several of my other informers, spreading the word about Lucy Lockwood and hoping to get some information or at least one sighting of her, but I had no such luck. I also visited her best friend’s house and talked to her mother, then visited the shelter where she volunteered and asked around to see if anyone was close to Lucy or might know anything about where she might be hiding. So far, all I got were positive statements when asking about her. Lucy was a well-liked girl, and everyone that knew her kept referring to her as one of the good girls. The same went for all five of the girls that had been murdered. They were straight-A students, members of the Bible club, debate club, or chorus, all taking part in the community, all doing volunteer work outside of school, and being just plain good girls.

  I drove to South Beach and into an alley where I parked and took the back entrance into a building. I ran the three stories up and knocked on the door to an apartment.

  A woman opened the door, her dreadlocks pulled back and held by a hair tie. She was wearing baggy harem pants and a small crop top.

  “Hunter? What brings you here?”

  “Can I come in?”

  She looked like she had to think it over for a few seconds, then agreed. Her name was Alvita or The Plague, as they called her in the cyber world. I just called her Al. Al was a former CIA hacker who had turned her back on the world after seeing what it was capable of. Now, she hid in this small apartment where no one would find her. Except for me, that was since I had known her for years and used her to do the things our own IT department couldn’t do fast enough or weren’t skilled enough to do.

  “What’s up?”

  “I need your help,” I said.

  “I kind of figured that,” she said with a grin.

  I handed her the computer and the phone. “Techs have been through it all, but I need you to dig deeper, do your magic. This girl is missing, and she needs to be found, asap. Can you do that for me?”

  She shrugged and placed the computer on the desk. “Give me the rest of the day. I’ll be in touch.”

  I left her apartment, then ran down the stairs when realizing how late it was. I only had half an hour to get back to the school in time. It was a fifteen-minute drive if there was no traffic, which only happened in my dreams. I jumped into the minivan, closed the door, and stepped on the accelerator, pulling into the street. I hadn’t made it far when I spotted a black car coming up behind me. I hadn’t noticed it before, but now that it was getting so close, I suddenly saw it very clearly.

  “What the heck?” I mumbled. The black Hyundai drove very close to me, pressuring me to drive faster.

  “Go around me if you’re in such a hurry, you idiot,” I yelled at the rearview mirror. The windows on the black Hyundai were tinted, so I couldn’t see a face behind the windshield.

  Finally, it drove up on my side, accelerating till it was right next to me. I tried to see the driver but couldn’t see a face. Then, as I expected it to drive past me, it turned toward me instead, making a sudden move sideways, slamming into my van’s front end, causing my minivan to drive off the road. I bumped into the grass but managed to regain control of it just when the Hyundai took up the chase and drove into the side of my van, forcing me to run into the guardrail. As my minivan came to a sudden halt, I flew forward and hit my head hard on the steering wheel.

  Chapter 20

  I must have been out for a few minutes because once I came to, the Hyundai was long gone. I was all alone on the side of the road, my head pounding like crazy.

  What the heck was that? Who was that?

  Someone sending you a message.

  I swallowed, trying to think straight, blinking my eyes to better focus, and looked at my phone. I was more than late now. There was no way I’d be able to make it back to the
school in time. I looked at my bruise in the mirror. My forehead was slowly turning purple. My face wasn’t a pretty sight.

  Jean’s gonna yell at me.

  I turned the key and was happy to realize that the minivan could start again. The front was pushed in, and the sides severely dented. It made a loud rattling sound that couldn’t be healthy when I drove it, but other than that, it was fine. It could still take me places, and that was good enough for me. I didn’t even want to try and think about what to tell them at the station once I handed it back. How was I going to explain this to Fowler? Well, I didn’t have to worry about that yet. I had the minivan for the time I needed it to protect William. Then I’d make up some story if I had to.

  I drove carefully, staying just above the speed limit, then reached the school and stopped the minivan outside. I looked at my watch and realized the bell had rung at least fifteen minutes ago.

  “Shoot,” I said and looked around to see if I could spot William. Most of the kids had already left, and William’s Land Rover wasn’t in the spot it had been when we arrived this morning. He had already left.

  I shrugged, then drove back to his parents’ house and parked on the street outside. I exhaled, then looked at my forehead again and cursed the long-gone Hyundai. If only I had seen the face of the driver or seen the license plate when it took off. But I didn’t. I had no way of identifying the car.

  I opened my phone and tapped on it, checking my emails, then received a text from Josie, who had come home from school. It was our deal that she texted me as soon as she got back, so I knew she was home and safe. I wasn’t really calm till I received those words from her:

  HOME.

  I answered with a thumbs up. She texted me back.

  MOM’S ASLEEP. JEAN IS HERE. SHE FED HER BEFORE SHE FELL ASLEEP. SHE’S COOKING FOR US TONIGHT.

  I felt my mouth water. Jean was an excellent cook. She was probably working the night shift tonight, which was my luck. I was already looking forward to it. Fowler had told me I only had to stay at the house till six. After that, he’d have a couple of patrols drive by the street at night. The Covingtons’ house had security alarms and cameras, so they’d know if anyone tried to break in.

  I, for one, couldn’t wait to call it a day.

  Once I had been out there for about an hour, the gate opened, and Mrs. Covington stepped out, tapping along on her black high heels. She approached me, looking distressed. I rolled down the window as I realized she was there to talk to me.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Where’s William?”

  My eyes grew wide.

  “He’s not at the house?”

  She shook her head. “No. He never came home from school. I thought you were keeping an eye on him; wasn’t that what you were supposed to do?”

  I swallowed, feeling an outbreak of cold sweat all over my body. This wasn’t good. Fowler would kill me if he found out. No, worse than that, he’d fire me, and then how would I pay the bills?

  “He might have gone to the country club for a round of golf or just be hanging out at the restaurant with his friends,” she said. “He used to do that a lot. Maybe he’s with his friend, Krueger. I’ll text you his address and number.”

  “Okay. I’ll go look for him,” I said and started up the coughing minivan.

  Chapter 21

  Of course, the boy was nowhere near the country club, nor was he with this Krueger fellow, and his friend hadn’t seen him since sixth period, he said. I should have known it wasn’t going to be that easy. I felt like an idiot for driving across town looking for this boy, this eighteen-year-old kid who probably was just hanging out with his friends somewhere, maybe picking up girls. I felt ridiculous like I had suddenly become a babysitter for some affluent wealthy kid, who, by the way, had raped a girl and gotten away with it.

  But it was my job right now, and I had to stick with it. I simply had to.

  “Come on, William; where are you?” I mumbled as I drove up the street back toward the school. I kept calling the boy’s cell, but he wasn’t answering. After the twelfth try, I threw my phone on the seat next to me, growling. As I drove past a house next to the school, I suddenly spotted William’s Land Rover in the driveway. I hit the brakes so hard I almost hit my head a second time when the minivan stopped abruptly.

  I panted agitatedly, then looked out the window and spotted William standing in the driveway, talking to someone. The two of them were obviously in some sort of dispute. The guy was older, an adult. I stayed in my van for a little longer, observing them. William was approaching the guy, and it was very easy to tell that the guy was terrified of him. William had that grin on his face, that sly smile. He reached out toward the guy like he wanted to caress his face when instead, he smacked him across the face. The guy fell backward, as surprised as I was.

  “What the heck?”

  William was holding something in his hand, and as I opened the car door and was about to jump out, I heard him tell the guy to pull up his shirt. The guy did it, and William, grinning, placed a stun gun on the man’s skin. The man screamed in pain as the gun sent waves of shock through his body.

  “HEY!” I yelled and began running up the driveway. But as I did, William didn’t even look at me. I could hear the sound of the stun gun electrical charge against the man’s skin.

  “STOP, you bastard!” I yelled and felt for the gun in my holster, taking the grip in my hand, ready to pull it should it be necessary. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  As he heard me yell, he turned his head to look at me, still continuing to stun the man, then he laughed.

  I pulled out my gun. “William, stop that right now!”

  William didn’t move. He stared at me, still holding the stun gun in his hand, still laughing at me like he enjoyed it even more with me watching him.

  “William! Step away from that man right now.”

  He pulled the gun away, then looked at the man once more, lifting his fist, pretending like he was going to hit him before finally pulling away.

  “If it isn’t Detective Hunter,” he said, walking toward me, the look of a madman in his eyes.

  “Stop right there,” I said.

  That made him laugh again. “Or what? You’ll shoot?”

  “If I have to.”

  He kept walking toward me, smiling widely. “But you’d never do that, would you, Detective? Because you are here to protect me. That’s your job; isn’t it?”

  “Not when you’re hurting people, William. I’ll have to take you in…”

  “For what? Mr. James here doesn’t want any trouble; do you?”

  The man shook his head without looking at either of us. “N-no, sir. No trouble.”

  “See? No witness, no accusations, no case. You’re wasting everyone’s time here, Detective.”

  “I saw you do it.”

  “So? If the victim won’t say anything, I hardly think you have a case. Besides, we wouldn’t want your boss to know that you weren’t where you were supposed to be today; would we? It wouldn’t be much fun if he found out that you left your post; would it?”

  My hand was wrapped tight around the grip of the gun, my knuckles turning white. I wanted to hurt him so badly. My pulse was sky high, and my hand holding the gun was shaking with anger.

  William smiled and walked up to me, then placed a hand on my shoulder. “I didn’t think so.”

  Chapter 22

  “I’m telling you, Jean, it’s hard to protect a kid when you want to strangle him yourself.”

  I grabbed the spoon and served myself a second round of spaghetti and meatballs. Jean made the best food in the world…the smell alone was heavenly.

  “Why do you have to protect him?” Josie asked.

  I shrugged. “It’s my job.”

  “I thought you were a detective,” Josie said.

  I exhaled. “I thought so too.”

  “Sometimes, you have to do stuff you don’t really want to,” Jean said. “Just like
at my job. There’s a lot of stuff I don’t enjoy doing, but I have to. I bet there’s also a lot of homework you don’t want to do.”

  Josie nodded, then rose to her feet with her plate between her hands. “Speaking of, I have homework to do.”

  She gave me a kiss, then rushed up the stairs. My dad had come over to eat too. Jean had invited him over as she usually did when cooking for us, and now he left the table and walked to the living room, where he sat in a recliner and turned on the TV. He closed his eyes briefly and grunted with satisfaction. He had gotten old over the past few years since my mom died last year. Seeing him alone broke my heart. Those two had been inseparable.

  Jean smiled and leaned over the table while I finished my plate. I had told her everything about the case and William when I got back while she was still in the kitchen, cooking. I had to. She took one look at my forehead and demanded to know what I had been up to.

  “I just hope I can find Lucy,” I said with a sigh. I patted my very full stomach. “I fear she might be in trouble. I don’t like that she has been missing for this long.”

  “I’m sure her parents are completely devastated,” Jean said. “I can’t imagine going through first her being raped and then…”

  I nodded. “It makes me so mad to think about that poor girl being dragged through all the suspicion when she reported the rape to the police. It makes me want to yell at my colleagues. What the heck are they thinking, telling her she is at fault? Who does that? And now this guy is just running around, harassing people and acting like a bully. I can’t believe they’re having me protect that bastard. You should have seen him today, Jean. I swear; he did this to me on purpose. To get rid of me, get me off his back. He saw I was gone and then knew he could use it. He is that calculated.”

  Jean gave me a look. “Really? Do you think he might have killed those kids on the boat?”