The River Girls

by Melinda Woodhall

  But the duty officer had informed Leo that Detective Barker was on leave, and that Barker’s partner, Detective Ainsley would meet with him. Leo didn’t know much about Barker’s latest partner, other than she was the first woman detective the city had ever hired, but he wouldn’t be surprised if she was as cold and callous as the men she worked with.

  It wouldn’t matter to any of them that a mother was frantic about her missing daughter. Once they heard that Jessica’s mother was in jail, and that the girl didn’t have a permanent address, they would assume she’d run off on her own accord. But Leo knew that Jessica was vulnerable and alone. She may have gotten herself into serious trouble. The kind she couldn’t handle on her own.

  He put a stack of three chips into his mouth and followed the bite with a long swig of water as Beth listed all the people the police should question. His eyes were trained on the door that led into the interrogation rooms. He’d been back in those rooms too many times to count over the years as he had tried to keep his clients out of jail. He didn’t usually ask the police for help, but this was different. A minor was missing, and the police needed to do something about it.

  When the door finally opened, he saw a tall, blonde woman exit, followed by a golden retriever on a long black leash. The woman’s fine, delicate features looked familiar, as did her gracefully curved figure. Did he know her? He certainly didn’t see many women with her looks wandering around Willow Bay.

  The small community had its fair share of attractive women, but a tall, curvy blonde that looked like she’d stepped off the cover of a men’s magazine? That was a rare occurrence. And Leo had dated or slept with most of the eligible women in the town, or at least that’s how it felt sometimes when he stopped working long enough to look around and wonder why he was still alone, and if there was anyone else out there for him.

  The woman must have felt him watching her; she looked over at him with sad green eyes. Her eyes found his, and she recoiled, as if in shock, or was it anger? It certainly wasn’t the look of interest he was used to receiving from an attractive woman. Turning her face away, she strode toward the door, urging the leashed dog to follow.

  “Come on, Duke, let’s go!” The woman’s voice struck a chord in him, igniting unwanted emotions in his gut, and the niggle of a memory gnawed inside his brain, trying to escape.

  Was it guilt, or perhaps shame? He’d seen those green eyes before. But when, and where? Beth’s voice rose out of the phone and yanked him back to his primary purpose.

  “Sorry, Beth, I’m here.” He said into the phone, still watching the woman as she opened the door and stepped outside.

  The dog trotted after her but wasn’t fast enough. The door closed between them, trapping the golden retriever inside with his leash wedged between the door and the frame. “Hold on just a sec, Beth.”

  Leo walked to the door and pulled it open, careful to dislodge the leash and give the dog room to walk through.

  “There you go, boy,” Leo said, giving the dog a friendly smile. The dog looked back at him, his expression curious, but the woman didn’t turn around or acknowledge Leo. He caught a flash of golden blonde hair as the dog and his owner disappeared into the dark night.

  Behind him a voice called out, “Leo Steele? Detective Ainsley is waiting for you in room three.” Leo ended his call. His pulse quickened, and his dark eyes took on a determined gleam as he followed the young officer into the back.

  Chapter Nine

  The blonde woman and her dog left the police station and hurried down the sidewalk toward the parking garage. Star wasn’t with them. Hollywood looked at his phone and saw that the glowing dot on his app was still positioned directly over the WBPD on the digital map.

  Was Star still in there? Had she even gone inside?

  He was beginning to have doubts about the app’s accuracy, and his cravings were getting stronger by the minute. He was also feeling nauseous and the itching had gotten worse. He needed a fix.

  “Where’s that bag she had?” Vinny asked, as the woman and dog disappeared into the garage stairwell that would take them up to the second floor.

  The parking garage was pretty much empty at this time of night, but the ground level parking spaces were reserved for official police vehicles, so the woman had been forced to park on the second level. Hollywood had been too paranoid about getting trapped in a garage full of cops to follow the SUV into the garage, and he had yelled at Vinny to keep driving past the garage and circle back around.

  They’d had to stop at two red lights and ended up driving by the police station again just in time to see the woman disappear inside. Neither he or Vinny had seen Star, but the glowing dot had moved, hovering in place over the police station. Hollywood assumed that she’d already gone inside. Now he wasn’t so sure.

  “What bag?” Hollywood snapped, not taking his eyes off the garage exit.

  “The Macy’s bag she was carrying. She went in with the bag, and I didn’t see it just now when she came out. She must have given something to the cops,” Vinny said. He yawned and sat up straighter behind the wheel.

  “You want to follow her when she pulls out?”

  Hollywood was tempted to smash his fist into Vinny’s big nose. How the hell was he supposed to know what to do? Who could think when all he wanted to do was shoot up or throw up.

  And what will Sig do to me if he finds out I’ve lost that little bitch for good? Lost her at a fucking police station for Christ’s sake. He won’t be handing out smack if he’s pissed at me.

  Hollywood could feel his legs jittering, but he couldn’t make them stop. His fingers tapped erratically against the dashboard as he tried to decide what to do.

  He needed to get Star back to the motel fast, otherwise he’d have to find a new girl to take her place in the shipment to Miami next week. Sig was counting on that shipment to clear some of the debt they owed and get the crew from Miami off their backs.

  “No, don’t follow her,” Hollywood muttered, knowing that finding out where Star was, and what she might have told the police, had to take priority over following the unknown blonde if Star wasn’t with her.

  “So, you think Star’s inside?” Vinny asked, his glasses opaque in the dark car as he turned his head toward Hollywood.

  “How the hell should I know?” Hollywood yelled, bashing his fist on the dashboard. Sweat had started to bead on his forehead, the drops trickling down his cheeks like tears as he stared out the window toward the police station.

  “Calm down, man. Take it easy,” Vinny muttered. He started the car and flipped on the air conditioning. “Take a chill.”

  Hollywood felt the cool air move over his clammy skin. He let his body relax back into the seat and tried to think. He needed a fix, and then he needed to find Star. And after that he had to find another girl to meet the agreed quota for next week.

  They still hadn’t replaced Jess. She’d been questionable all along though. From the start she hadn’t been easy to control. Then once she’d gotten hooked, she’d been a mess. Always sick and whining. Probably better off that she was gone.

  But they needed to provide ten girls or there would be hell to pay, and right now they only had nine at the motel. Well, nine if they found Star and brought her back. And that was looking like a big if.

  “It’s your fault, Vinny,” Hollywood said in a cold, hard voice, all traces of amusement gone.

  “You were supposed to watch the girls, keep ‘em in line. You let ‘em freak out about Jess, and now Star’s gone, too. I vouched for you with Sig, and you’re making me look bad. You’re useless, bro.”

  “I told you I didn’t want to get involved with this shit, man. This isn’t my thing. This is all your fault.” Vinny looked sullen and crossed his arms over his chest.

  Hollywood lashed out as fast as a rattlesnake, grabbing Vinny’s collar and twisting it tight around his neck. “You listen to me, moron, you better stop fucking up and start towing the damn line here. You’re in now, and there’s
no way in hell Sig is gonna let you out.”

  He let go of Vinny’s collar and settled back into his seat. “Star wouldn’t have run if that shit with Jess hadn’t gone down. I had the little girl wrapped around my finger.”

  Vinny clutched at his throat and smoothed out his shirt and collar. He didn’t look over at Hollywood.

  “No more mister nice-guy from me,” Hollywood said, scratching his arm. “From now on, I’ll show the girls who's the boss. You just watch and learn.”

  Vinny shook his head and looked out the window, his mouth closed in a tight line.

  Hollywood decided he’d give it another ten minutes and then he’d go back to the motel to get high. He deserved it after everything he’d been through. After that he’d figure out what to do next.

  He looked over and saw that Vinny had a bright red mark around his neck and that his hands were trembling on the steering wheel.

  What a wimp. Hollywood resisted the urge to scratch at his arm yet again and shook his head in disgust. Once a loser, always a loser.

  Chapter Ten

  The silvery light of the waxing crescent moon shimmered off the Diablo River, casting an ethereal glow on the man’s pale face. He stood motionless in the night, transfixed by memories that had called him back again and again. He almost felt guilty. Almost felt like he’d defiled something sacred. The last girl had been a mistake. But the first one? The first one had been fate.

  He looked around the clearing next to the riverbank. Everything seemed the same as the first time. The same weeping willow tree swooned against the sky. The same shadowy tangle of water hyacinth floated ominously in the black water, suffocating whatever lay beneath. The same all-consuming need coursed inside his veins, screamed to be satisfied. The only thing that was missing was Tiffany.

  He closed his eyes, trying to conjure the image of the long-gone girl, hoping to relive their last moments together.

  Tiffany’s golden hair shone in the moonlight, long and smooth against soft shoulders bared to the warm night air in a strapless yellow sundress. He watched her light a small camping lantern and spread out a blanket before taking two cups out of a wicker picnic basket.

  She checked her watch and looked back at the dirt path that led up to Harrington Road. Her baby blue VW Bug was parked at the road’s end, and the man imagined he could make out the Willow Bay High School Student Parking Permit sticker on the windshield. She was still so young, so innocent. She had no business being there. No business meeting up with a man she hardly knew.

  Well, he knew the man, and he knew exactly what the man wanted. Poor Tiffany had no idea what she had set herself up for. She’d be used and defiled like all the other girls before her. No, it was up to him to save her from her own foolishness.

  The man stepped into the clearing. His heart raced as she turned her head, a smile starting to form before she saw that he wasn’t the man she’d been expecting.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, her disappointment clear in her beautiful green eyes. “I’m waiting for someone.”

  “I know who you’re waiting for,” the man said. “And he won’t be coming.”

  “I don’t believe you.” Tiffany’s chin rose in defiance. “We’re together now, you know. We meet here to be alone.”

  “You know he’s come here before. Lots of times. With a bunch of different girls.”

  “Well, that’s his business. I don’t care what he used to do. Now he’s with me. That’s all I care about.” Tiffany averted her eyes, searching the road, and when she saw that it was still empty, turning to the water.

  “I would never leave you alone in the dark, waiting by yourself,” the man said, his anger percolating at the thought of the danger she was in.

  “You’d never have the chance,” she replied, her mouth a cruel sneer.

  “I wouldn’t be waiting anywhere for you. Not in a million years. Now run along, before you ruin everything.”

  Her words seared through him, and he stepped closer to her, desperate to make her understand.

  “You don’t mean anything to him, Tiffany. He’ll just use you and move on to the next girl. He’ll laugh about it. Tell his friends that you were begging for it.”

  When she didn’t look at him or speak, he continued. “But I’m different. I’d treat you right. I’d take care of you the way you deserve.”

  He reached out to touch her arm, and she jerked away. Tears stood in her eyes, shining like diamonds in the moonlight. His heart lurched at the sight.

  “Don’t touch me,” she spat out, her fists clenching at her sides. “I’m going to tell him what you’ve said. No telling what he’ll do once he knows you’ve tried to steal me away.”

  “Don’t go, Tiffany,” he called as she spun around and picked up the cups and blanket. “I don’t want you to leave. Stay here with me.”

  “Stay away from me, you loser,” she yelled over her shoulder as she picked up the lamp and stuffed the blanket back in the picnic basket.

  Suddenly he felt as if he was watching himself from a distance. He saw his belt in his hands. He watched as his hands looped the belt around her throat and twisted. He observed as she dropped the lamp and collapsed onto the ground. Slowly, his hands loosened, and Tiffany rolled over. Her face was splotchy and red. An angry mark encircled her neck. She coughed and sputtered.

  “I wanted to help you,” the man said, touching her face, his hands shaking with need and excitement. “I wanted to keep you safe.”

  “Please,” Tiffany said, coughing again and struggling to sit up. “Please, I just want to go home.”

  But the man knew it was a lie. The girl didn’t want to go home. She wanted to leave him. Once she left, he’d never see her again. She’d let herself be used and degraded. She’d be ruined just as his mother had been.

  He watched his hands tighten again on the belt with both regret and resolve. This is the way it had to be. The only way. This way, she’d be saved. She’d be pure. And he felt sure, a part of her would always be with him.

  He gazed into the clear, green eyes, feeling the power of her emotion as she trembled against him. She couldn’t speak, but her eyes told him everything he had wanted to hear for so long. She was with him. She would never leave him. As she closed her eyes and went limp beneath him, the rush of fulfillment took him by surprise. Her surrender had left him floating in a state of ecstasy, a feeling that no one could ever take away.

  He stayed with her for a long time, holding her against him, relishing their last moments together, before he gently wrapped her in the blanket she’d laid out, and carried her to the water. He watched as the blanket sunk underneath the water hyacinth, glad that the bright blue flowers would adorn her resting place after he’d gone.

  The man felt the tickle and sting of a mosquito on his arm, and he slapped at it, pulled back from his memories, cruelly recalled back into the humid night surrounding him. He looked into the water and felt a stab of loneliness.

  She’s gone now. They’ve taken her from me.

  He knew he should feel lucky. She’d stayed with him for years, her memory carried deep within him, making the empty days and nights more bearable. But when they’d found her floating all the way down in the Willow River, he’d realized that her resting place had been desecrated. He’d watched with angry eyes as they took her bones away.

  Then fate had intervened, had brought him back to the motel where it had all started. The birthplace of his rage. There he watched other men take what they wanted, degrading the girls around them without remorse. And the girls walked in willingly, like sheep to the slaughter, allowing themselves to be led dumbly into a life of depravity, realizing their mistake only after they’d already been ruined.

  Then he’d seen Jess. He’d thought he might be able to save her, but something hadn’t been right. He wasn’t sure what. Maybe Jess had been too damaged, or maybe the motel was cursed. Whatever had gone wrong, he knew he couldn’t give up. He needed to find a new girl to save, and he didn�
�t know how much longer he could wait.

  Chapter Eleven

  Eden’s nerves were at last starting to settle. Two full days had passed without further contact from Star or the police, and the acute anxiety Eden had suffered as she’d left the police station had since subsided into manageable concern for the missing girl. She thought she’d even gotten over her shock at seeing Leo Steele there.

  Whatever he was doing, it had nothing to do with me.

  Luckily, she’d managed to get a few hours of sleep the night before and had woken up with a renewed determination to find out if the police had made any progress.

  But first she needed to get Hope and Devon off to school. She slid cheesy omelets onto plates, poured orange juice into glasses, and called up the stairs, “Breakfast is ready, kids!”

  She muted the sound of the small television on the kitchen counter just as eager footsteps clattered down the stairs. It was the last day of the school year, and both Hope and Devon were excited about the end of school parties and activities they had planned for the day.

  “Morning, Aunt Eden,” Hope called out as she hopped onto a stool at the breakfast bar. “Wow, real-live omelets, what’s the occasion?”

  “It’s the last day of school, of course!” Devon answered as he, too, climbed onto a stool and picked up a fork. “I can’t believe it; no homework for three whole months!”

  Hope’s bright blue eyes lit up as she looked over at Eden. “And this time next week we’ll be flying toward the Bahamas!”

  Eden nodded, and smiled at the joy in her niece’s voice, glad that she had impulsively booked a week at an all-inclusive resort in Nassau. It would be their first real vacation together since the kids had come to live with her.

  Eden knew it was going to be hard to pull herself away from the foundation for an entire week, but the kids deserved a chance to experience some of the normal family activities their classmates talked about at school.