The River Girls

by Melinda Woodhall

  “Look, Jankowski, I have another call coming in,” Nessa said as she prepared to make a right turn toward the river. “I’m heading over to the Old Canal Motel. Maybe the creeps who held Stacey Moore there are the same ones who took Hope.”

  “You can’t go on your own, Nessa.” Jankowski warned, his voice suddenly serious.

  “So, I’ll meet you there,” Nessa said, and tapped the option to switch to the incoming call. “This is Detective Ainsley.”

  “Nessa? It’s Eden. Sage Parker says she knows who took Hope. She says Trevor Bane was one of the men who came to the house.”

  “Why didn’t she tell us this earlier?” Nessa asked, pressing her foot down hard on the gas despite the slick road. “Is she sure?”

  “She’s right here with me and Leo Steele,” Eden said. “She seems pretty sure.”

  “Okay, I’ll radio the detectives that have gone to question Trevor Bane,” Nessa reassured Eden. “They’re already looking for him. We’re planning to bring him in for formal questioning. I’ll let them know he’s been identified as one of the men that abducted Hope. And we can try to get Trevor’s name added to the Amber Alert.”

  Nessa saw the faded sign for the Old Canal Motel directly ahead. She would park in the lot and call in the new information on Trevor Bane to Ingram and Ortiz. Then she’d wait for Jankowski to arrive.

  But as she pulled into the dark parking lot, she saw a black Dodge Charger sitting under a flickering lamppost. A man was standing by the car, seemingly oblivious to the rain.

  “I’ve got to go now, Eden,” Nessa said, her eyes trained on the figure in the rain.

  “We located Star…I mean Stacey Moore, and she’s told us that she was held at the Old Canal Motel. I’m approaching the motel now, to see what I can find. You and Leo should head over to the station and wait for me there. I’ll update you as soon as I know anything.”

  Nessa didn’t wait for Eden to respond. She disconnected the call and pulled up beside the Charger. Reinhardt stood in the rain, his black baseball cap the only protection he had against the storm. Nessa shrugged on her navy-blue rain jacket and stepped out of the car.

  “Hey there, Detective,” she called out, blinking against the drizzle that refused to stop. “Did Jankowski get a hold of you? Did he tell you to meet me here?”

  Reinhardt stared at Nessa for a long beat, then shook his head as if already regretting what he was about to say. “I think there’s something you need to know about Jankowski.”

  Chapter Forty-One

  Eden stared down at the phone in her hand, wondering if she should call Nessa back and ask more questions. Did Nessa think Hope could be at the Old Canal Motel? Had the kidnappers taken her niece to the same place they’d kept Stacey Moore before she’d managed to run away?

  She turned to Leo, who was driving his BMW at full speed toward the glowing lights of the downtown skyline, then looked in the backseat. Sage Parker was huddled close to the door, her head resting against the rain-splattered window. She hadn’t spoken since they’d left Devon with Reggie at the farm house under police protection.

  “Turn around,” Eden said, an urgent need taking hold; she had to find out for herself if Hope was at the Old Canal Motel.

  The old place was only minutes away. Hope could be there. Eden couldn’t just drive away in the other direction. If Hope was close by, Eden had to find her.

  “What are you talking about?” Leo asked, his eyes still on the slippery road ahead. “What did Nessa tell you?”

  Eden hesitated. Would Leo drive to the motel if he knew there might be an active police investigation in progress? Or would he tell her they should wait at the police station like Nessa had instructed? She couldn’t take the chance he’d balk at what she was planning.

  “Nessa said we should meet her at the Old Canal Motel,” Eden said before she could change her mind. “Now turn around here and head back toward the interstate.”

  Leo looked over at Eden with narrowed eyes. She thought for a minute he could see right through her lie, but then he began to slow the car, pulling into a side street before turning the car around and heading back toward the overpass and the dilapidated motel beyond.

  Eden fidgeted in her seat, her breathing starting to come fast and heavy.

  What if Hope is there, and I’m too late to save her?

  “Please hurry, Leo,” Eden said, biting her lip as she stared ahead, desperate to see the sign for the motel.

  “What exactly is going on at the motel?” Leo asked, his tone suspicious as he accelerated.

  “Nessa says it’s the motel where Star had…had stayed. Although, um, I guess I should call her Stacey now,” Eden stammered, stalling for time as she tried to decide how much she should tell Leo.

  “Anyway, Nessa said they’ve found Stacey, and she told them where she’d been staying. Nessa’s there now, checking it out.”

  “And she wants us to be there, too?” Leo said, raising his eyebrows as if surprised, before suddenly frowning. “So, she thinks that’s where they may be holding Hope?”

  “Maybe,” Eden whispered, too anxious to catch her breath.

  She clutched at the purse in her lap, desperate for the pills that would take away her dread and fear. But before she could reach inside, she saw the sign ahead.

  “There it is!” she practically shrieked, grabbing Leo’s arm. “Pull in here. Don’t miss the exit.”

  The street up to the main parking lot was dark and empty, and Eden turned to Leo with wide, frightened eyes.

  “Turn off the headlights,” she commanded, her voice shaking. “Don’t let anyone know we’re here. Not yet. Not before we see who’s here.”

  Leo stared over at her. “You’re not making sense, Eden. What are you not telling me?”

  “Nessa didn’t tell us to come here,” Eden blurted out, not caring what Leo thought about her lie, only wanting to find Hope.

  “But Hope might be here, and I need to know if she is. I can’t wait around for a call telling me it’s too late, when Hope needs me. I wasn’t there for her mother…and…I…I can’t make the same mistake again.”

  Eden’s chest heaved, and she felt as if her throat was closing up. She felt as if she were suffocating. As if she were dying.

  Just stop it, she scolded herself, inhaling deeply and then exhaling. You can’t afford to have a panic attack now. You’ve got to save Hope.

  Leo brought the car to a stop, turned off the lights, and looked at Eden. She expected to see reproach in his eyes, but she saw only sympathy. He took her trembling hand in his and squeezed it.

  “You didn’t have to lie to me, Eden. I want to find Hope, too, and I’ll do anything I can to help you. But whatever happens, it won’t be your fault. You didn’t fail Mercy and you won’t fail Hope.”

  Eden felt hot tears on her cheeks as Leo turned the car back on but left the lights off. He drove slowly toward the motel. Eden could see lights and a few cars clustered near the rear building, but a grassy median separated the front and rear parking areas.

  “There must be a rear entrance as well,” Leo said, just as Eden spotted two cars under a lamppost at the edge of the lot.

  “Over there,” she said, pointing. “I see people standing under that light.”

  “Is that Nessa?” Leo asked, as Eden strained to see through her window, which was foggy and blurred by the rain. “Can you see who’s with her?”

  Sage sat up in the backseat and gasped. Eden turned around to see her staring out the window in dismay.

  “That’s the guy that Trevor works for,” Sage said in a horrified whisper, pointing to the man in the black baseball cap beside Nessa. “That’s Sig.”

  Before Eden could react, Leo shook his head and frowned. “Actually, I think that’s Detective Reinhardt. He’s been on the force for years.”

  “Well, I never knew his real name,” Sage said, sinking lower into the seat. “Trevor did say he was a cop once, but he was high, and he was always lying about things, so
I didn’t really believe him.”

  “Maybe Reinhardt just looks like Sig,” Eden said. “I mean, why would Nessa be here talking to him if…”

  But her words stuck in her throat as she saw Reinhardt extend his arm toward Nessa. A flash of light flared briefly in the dark as a deafening gunshot reverberated through the night.

  They watched in silent horror as Nessa slammed backwards onto the wet pavement and lay motionless in the falling rain.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Hollywood leaned his head against the motel room door, a wave of nausea washing over him. He hadn’t eaten since the day before, but still struggled to stop himself from retching. If he was sick now, the only thing that would come up would be the hot bile churning in his stomach.

  He turned to face the room, resentment filling him at the sight of Hope, still bound and gagged on the floor. The girl had brought him nothing but trouble. She had screwed up everything.

  He glared at her, but she wasn’t looking at him. Her wide, terrified eyes followed Vinny’s every move as he paced around the room. He had removed his glasses, and was watching Hollywood with naked, predatory eyes. Hollywood felt a shiver run down his spine.

  “Look, Vinny, I didn’t mean for this shit to happen,” Hollywood said, putting his hand behind him and feeling for the door.

  He needed to be ready to make a quick exit. Although it wasn’t easy to make Vinny angry, when he did lose his temper there was no reasoning with him.

  “What exactly did you think would happen when you dragged us into this mess?” Vinny demanded, his voice cold.

  Gone was the meek sidekick who would take whatever crap was thrown his way. Hollywood knew instinctively that he had finally pushed Vinny too far.

  “I know, bro, it was a bad idea.” Hollywood reached for the little gun he’d stuck into the back of his waistband earlier.

  It was gone. Had it fallen out, or had he put it somewhere when he was too high to remember?

  He stalled for time. He needed to talk Vinny down from the ledge. “But we can fix this, man. It’ll be okay.”

  “Fix this? How will we do that?” Vinny asked, moving closer to Hollywood. He gestured toward Hope, who cringed at his attention. “By killing her?”

  Hollywood tried to think of a witty comeback, but his brain felt thick and slow. He forced himself to raise his chin in defiance and glared at Vinny.

  “Yeah, actually. You can save the day. Be a hero for once, instead of a loser. After all, sometimes we gotta do what we gotta do.”

  “No.” Vinny shook his head, offering a bitter smile. “You have to do what you have to do. You’re the addict, not me. You’re the one who needs the drugs. You’re the one who owes those thugs from Miami. I can walk away tonight, no problem.”

  “Come on, man,” Hollywood said, almost pleading. “After everything I’ve done for you? After everything my mother has done for you? You’re gonna let me down?”

  “Everything you’ve done?” Vinny spit out, his face contorted with rage. “If I really wanted to pay you back for what you and your mother have done, I would have to kill you both. But maybe that’s not such a bad idea.”

  Hollywood blinked in surprise. Didn’t Vinny remember the way they’d taken him in after his mother had died? They’d fostered him and given him food and a place to live. Had treated him like a son and a brother. And now here he was acting like they’d done something terrible.

  Before Hollywood could respond, a loud bang rang out from the parking lot.

  “What the hell? Was that a gunshot?” Hollywood stepped to the window and peered out.

  The night was dark, but he could see a figure illuminated by a light pole at the far end of the lot. It was Sig, and it looked like he was holding a gun. A motionless body lay on the ground next to a black Dodge Charger.

  “Holy shit,” Hollywood said, dropping the curtain and ducking down, as if Sig might start shooting in their direction. “Sig just shot someone. I think it was another cop.”

  He looked around and saw that Vinny was now standing behind him, reaching for the door.

  “No, don’t go out there!” Hollywood shouted, dragging Vinny back toward the middle of the room. “First, you’ve gotta take care of her. She knows who we are. She’s seen us. Come on, Vinny. I don’t want to go to jail.”

  Vinny looked over at Hope, then back at Hollywood. “Okay, I’ll help you.”

  “Thanks, man, I knew you wouldn’t let me down. I owe you one,” Hollywood said, then took a double take. Vinny was holding the little pistol.

  “I think you owe me more than one, Trevor.” Vinny said, examining the pistol and cocking the hammer.

  “Don’t call me that around here, you moron,” Hollywood snapped, then flinched as Vinny raised the pistol and held it with both hands in front of him.

  “Okay, okay, relax. Call me whatever you want. The girl won’t be around long enough for it to matter anyway.”

  “That’s right, Trevor,” Vinny said, as he brandished the gun. “You don’t have to worry about anything, anymore. No more drug problems, no more money problems, no more girl problems. All your problems are over. I’m going to save you.”

  Hollywood snorted and shook his head, unable to believe what he was hearing. What could Vinny do to save him? Vinny was a loser. A nothing. He’d been a total dead weight for the past twelve years.

  But then again, Vinny was a loser with a gun. And Hollywood needed him to use that gun. If they didn’t kill Hope, then Sig would just do it himself. And Hollywood and Vinny would become his next targets.

  Hollywood didn’t want the girl’s blood on his hands, but what could he do? He had no choice. He’d have to pretend to go along with Vinny until he could ditch the little loser once and for all.

  "Okay, so you’re going to save me,” Trevor said, trying to keep his voice steady. “How exactly are you going to do that?"

  “Just like I saved the others,” Vinny replied, pointing the gun in Hollywood's face. “Just like I saved Jess and Brandi and Tiffany.”

  “Are you nuts?” Hollywood couldn’t stop the words that spilled out. “Those girls are all dead. Nobody saved them.”

  “Actually, I did, since I put them out of their misery. I saved them from ruin. And I’ll going to do the same for you.”

  “You mean, you killed them? All of them?” Hollywood said, prompting a muffled scream from Hope. “But...why…how?”

  “You made them whores, and I saved them from you and all the other lowlifes that used and abused them.”

  “What the hell are you talking about, man?” Hollywood ran a shaky hand through his hair, unable to take in what he was hearing. Was this some kind of sick joke? Then he saw the crazed gleam in Vinny’s eyes. He was telling the truth.

  The pathetic loser actually killed those girls.

  Hollywood’s mind hurt with the effort to make sense of it. But something didn’t fit in with Vinny’s twisted logic.

  “But Tiffany? Why her? That girl was pure,” Hollywood said, remembering now how Vinny had urged him not to tell the police that they’d known Tiffany after she’d gone missing.

  “She was no whore.”

  “Not technically, no,” Vinny agreed, “but I knew you’d ruin her just like you did everything and everyone else you touched. So, I sent her someplace you could never hurt her.”

  Vinny stepped closer. Hollywood could smell the cheap soap he always used and tried not to gag.

  “Okay, so you want to kill me. But my mom?” Hollywood demanded, trying to stall, hoping Vinny would make a mistake.

  “You’d really go after the woman who took you in after your whore of a mother abandoned you?”

  “First of all, your mother never gave a damn about me. She just cared about the check she got from the state for fostering me.”

  Vinny’s voice vibrated with anger. “And second of all, my mother was a good woman until some scumbag got her hooked on drugs. He ruined her, just like you’ve ruined the girls here.”
/>   “That’s always the excuse. It wasn’t my fault. He made me do it.”

  Hollywood heard sirens approaching in the distance. He’d have to get the gun off Vinny if he was going to make it out alive. If he could just get out of here, he could talk his mother into giving him enough money to leave town and disappear. Maybe he’d even kick his habit and start over, without his nagging mother and loser Vinny to drag him down.

  If he could make Vinny mad enough, the weakling would take a swing and give him a chance to grab the gun. Given enough time Vinny was bound to make a mistake. He was a loser, always had been.

  “Your mother was a no-good whore. Stop whining about it like a little bitch and just deal with it.” Hollywood braced himself for a punch, ready to grab for the pistol.

  But for once Vinny seemed not to hear Hollywood’s insults. He pointed the gun between Hollywood’s dark, disbelieving eyes and pulled the trigger.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  The wipers sluiced the rain off the BMW’s windshield, briefly revealing Nessa’s body sprawled on the ground, before the rain again blurred the macabre scene. Eden shook her head in disbelief, her mind not fully convinced that she had in fact just seen someone gunned down in front of her.

  This can’t be happening again; it has to be a hallucination.

  “This is Leo Steele, calling from my car outside the Old Canal Motel. I’ve just witnessed a shooting and there’s a police officer down. The shooter is Detective Kirk Reinhardt, and he’s still on the loose.”

  Eden turned to see Leo holding his phone to his ear, his eyes blazing as he looked into the dark night beyond the window, his big hand gripped so tightly around the phone she could see the veins bulging. He tapped on the phone, disconnecting the call, and then leaned over to open the glove compartment.

  Her heart thumped in her chest as he withdrew the gun and laid it on his lap.

  “What are you going to do, Leo?” Eden asked, her eyes glued to the weapon, feeling the phantom weight of a gun in her own hand.