by Jeff Shelby
I switched my gaze to the right side. The platform was mostly empty. An older lady stood with a small roller bag next to her. A man was on the far side of her and I couldn’t see his face.
Then Elizabeth appeared between the woman and the camera. A small backpack hung on her shoulder. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail. She was too far from the camera and the footage was too grainy to get a good look at her face, to see any emotion in her expression. She sighed noticeably a couple of times, her shoulders rising and falling. She looked around quite a bit, her head rotating from side to side. I couldn’t tell if that was because she was scared or bored.
Finally, the train came and she followed the old couple up the portable stairs and disappeared from the camera.
I handed the iPad back to Anchor. “Absolutely her.”
He nodded. “Hang on. The other feed from here in Oceanside should be ready now.”
“You got it already?” Lauren asked.
Anchor nodded, staring down at the screen.
She looked at me. I just shrugged. She shook her head, looked away.
Anchor passed the iPad back over the seat and Lauren leaned in to watch with me.
The screen looked nearly identical, split in half with a ticket window on the left, the platform on the right and the military time down in the bottom right corner. The window side again showed Elizabeth buying a ticket, but it appeared as if she barely spoke to the cashier this time. No nervous laughter, no half-smiles. She stepped out of view of the camera.
I waited for her to show up on the right side.
She finally did, a girl about her age talking animatedly to her, two others trailing behind her. Her hands were tight on the strap of the backpack, as if she was worried it might get taken from her and she was listening to the girl next to her, whose mouth was still running. The girl had long, curly black hair, multiple piercings in her ears and wore tight skinny jeans and a gray hoodie. The two girls behind them were dressed similarly and appeared maybe a bit younger than Elizabeth and the girl she was talking with.
“That’s Netty,” Lauren said. “The one she’s talking to. The earrings.”
I nodded and watched.
The train came quickly and Elizabeth took a step back from the steps, almost like she was changing her mind about going.
The two girls behind her stepped in closer, crowding her.
Netty’s face went from animated to…hard. No smile, no expression. Her mouth was still moving.
She put her hand on Elizabeth’s elbow. Elizabeth started to move it but Netty kept her hand on it and Elizabeth winced.
They all paused for a long moment.
Then Elizabeth nodded and went up the stairs.
Netty followed close behind her and the other two girls boarded behind them.
Then the train pulled out and they were gone.
I touched the rewind button and watched it play again. Then I touched it again and watched it one more time.
I handed it back to Anchor. He raised an eyebrow at me.
“She didn’t want to go,” I said, glancing at Lauren. “I think she was changing her mind. Those girls forced her on.”
“Alright. So we head to the downtown depot?” Anchor asked.
I stared out the window. We were so close, but we couldn’t catch her. And it seemed like each time we missed her, things got a little worse. The mugging. Aaron Simmons. The AMBER Alert. Now these girls. I wasn’t sure how many more chances we were going to get to catch her.
“Yeah,” I said. “Hurry.”
THIRTY-SIX
The clouds had cleared and the sun sat directly in front of us as we drove southward. The northern part of San Diego County had exploded since I’d last spent any real time there, nearly every empty space filled with homes, businesses and people. What used to be considered a place that you only went when you had to was now where many San Diego residents called home. And with the surge in population in the northern counties, the southbound traffic on I-5 had snarled even further and even in the middle of the day, we were doing less than the speed limit, stopping and surging every few minutes.
Lauren clung to my arm in the back seat, her arm snaked around mine as she stared out the window. Something had changed in her body language and I couldn’t read it. I assumed it was just the tension of knowing that it seemed likely that Elizabeth had been strong-armed into boarding the train in Oceanside. It had unnerved me, too. It was one thing to think of all the terrible things that could happen to her when I didn’t know where she was or what she was doing. It was entirely different to actually see it on video, to see her alive and see something uncomfortable happen to her and be powerless to stop it from occurring.
We cut through the canyons south of Del Mar and the hillsides disappeared, the bay and the beach communities appearing like they’d suddenly been dropped there. A thin layer of afternoon fog hung over the water, shrouding everything in a damp white haze.
The old Santa Fe Depot was in the northwest corner of the downtown area and had remained the same for as long I could remember. Huge Spanish arches, dark wooden benches, homeless people with full shopping carts skirting the building. When I was a kid, we’d taken the train up to Los Angeles several times to see my grandparents, my father thinking it would be more fun than driving, and there was always something exciting about walking into the depot and knowing you were going to board a train. It was different than the airport. It felt like stepping back in time and that the possibilities of where you might end up and what you might see were far more exciting.
Kitting parked the Escalade in the blacktop lot and stayed in the car while Anchor walked with Lauren and me into the depot. The long, narrow building was nearly empty, a few passengers spread out amongst the wooden benches, looking tired and worn out. Each of them glanced our way, then went back to being tired.
“I’m going to go see what I can find out about security cameras,” Anchor said. He headed for the ticket window.
“I don’t see her,” Lauren said.
“I didn’t think she’d be here.”
“Me, either. Just stating the obvious.”
We meandered through the benches, more to kill time than thinking that we were going to find anything. I stopped at the vending machine and bought a cup of coffee. Lauren shook her head no when I asked if she wanted one.
I blew on the surface of the coffee as we walked outside toward the tracks and boarding area. A few more people were scattered along the platform areas, sitting on roller bags, staring to the north, wondering where their ride was.
Lauren’s hand touched my elbow, then gripped it tightly. “Look.”
I followed her gaze up the tracks. Sitting on a bench, back away from the platform and up against the building, were the two girls we’d seen on the security footage from Oceanside. They were tucked close to one another, one of them holding a bag of chips that the other had her hand in.
“Stay right here,” I said. “I’ll go talk to them. If they try to run, I’ll send them this way.”
“I’ll get Anchor,” she said, ducking back into the depot.
I walked slowly toward the girls, not wanting them to be spooked by my approach before I was close enough to corral them. But if they noticed me, they didn’t show it, munching on the chips and chatting between themselves until I parked myself in front of them.
“Hi,” I said.
They both looked at me in the way only indifferent, arrogant teens can, with slight distaste and a mountain of condescension. Both had long black ringlets of hair and light brown skin. Heavy eye make-up in an attempt to make them appear older than they were. The one on the left might’ve been older, bright green eyes and a tiny diamond stud in her nose. The one on the right had hazel eyes and a tiny scar on her chin. They both had on black skinny jeans and gray hoodies, the only difference being that the one with the pierced nose had a faint purple design on the front of her sweatshirt. Both had on black canvas sneakers. Maybe sisters, maybe cou
sins.
They both stared for a moment, then went back to their chips.
“Where’s Netty?” I asked.
That got their attention.
Pierced Nose raised her chin at me. “You know Netty?”
“Yeah. Where is she?”
“How you know Netty?”
I shrugged. “Don’t remember. She here?”
The younger one squinted at me. “He don’t know Netty.”
“You two enjoy your ride down here from Oceanside?” I asked, looking at each of them.
They exchanged anxious glances.
“How’d you know that?” the younger one asked.
Pierced Nose grabbed her by the arm. “Shut your mouth, Luz.” Then she looked at me. “You a cop?”
“Nope,” I said. “Far worse.”
“Worse than a cop?” she said with a frown. “Doubt that.”
I squatted down like a catcher, looking at each of them carefully. “I’m going to give you one chance here. So listen carefully.” I nodded down toward the direction I’d come from. “See the dude down there?”
They both looked. Anchor was standing there with Lauren, staring back at us.
“That dude is most definitely not a cop,” I explained. “He’s like the anti-cop. And if I wave at him, he’ll come down here and take you both away to someplace where no one will ever find you. Take a good look at him. Because if you don’t give me the answers I want, he’ll be the last thing you ever see.”
The younger one visibly tensed up and the older one swung her eyes back to me. “Who the hell are you?”
“Just a guy with a couple questions,” I said. “Feel like answering?”
“We don’t have to do shit,” Pierced Nose said, giving me a sour look.
I shrugged and looked at the other one. “How about you? Feel like talking? Or you wanna go for a ride with my friend?”
She was still staring at Anchor, who was returning the stare with a dead face.
“Let’s go, Luz,” Pierced Nose said, starting to stand up.
I crowded her and she sat back down on the bench. “Asshole.”
“You have no idea,” I said, then tapped the other girl on the knee. “Hey. You.”
She whipped her head to me. No time to hide the fear in her eyes.
“What?” she said.
“Shut up, Luz,” Pierced Nose snapped. “You don’t have to say nothin’.”
“You shut up, Blanca,” Luz snapped back. “That white dude looks crazy.”
Anchor did, in fact, look a little crazy.
I focused on Luz. “You rode down here with Netty and another girl. Where are they?”
“Who are you?” Luz asked, but her tone was different from Blanca’s. Not defiant. More worried.
Which was good.
“My name’s Joe,” I said. “And I’m looking for the girl with Netty. All I want is to know where she is. Not looking to hurt you or your friend here or Netty. Just looking for the other girl.”
Blanca kicked out at me, her foot striking my knee, but I was ready. She came off the bench and I was already up. I caught her by the arm and shoved her roughly back down on the bench.
“Bad idea,” I said. “You get up again, I’m bringing my friend down here.”
Blanca’s defiance lost a little bit of strength and she looked away from me, her chest heaving.
I turned back to Luz. “The girl. Where is she?”
“She went with Netty,” Luz said.
“She is gonna cut you,” Blanca whispered.
Luz ignored her. “Your girl is with her.”
“You forced her on the train in Oceanside,” I said. “Why?”
Luz’s lips twisted for a moment. “Girl didn’t wanna go. Netty told her she didn’t have no choice.”
“Why?”
“Cuz that’s Netty,” she said, shrugging. “She wants somethin’, she gets it.”
“Okay, but why did she want her to go with you guys?”
Luz shifted uncomfortably on the bench and said nothing
I tried a different approach. “And the girl you were with? She didn’t want to go. Why?
Luz stared down at her feet. “Scared, I guess.”
No doubt, I thought. Three girls approach you in an unfamiliar place and force you to go with them and you don’t know where or why. I had zero doubt that Elizabeth was scared.
“Why did you force her to go with you?” I asked again. “This some game you guys run? Rip her off? What’s the game?”
Luz glanced at Blanca.
“I ain’t sayin’ shit,” Blanca said, shaking her head. “You’re on your own.”
Luz blinked several times, then stared at me. “You gonna tell Netty it was me?”
“All I’m interested in is finding the other girl,” I said.
“Liar,” Blanca hissed.
“How about this?” I said, still looking at Luz. “You answer my questions and when I get to Netty, I’ll tell her Blanca was the one who talked to me. I’ll tell her I never saw you.”
Blanca’s eyes went wide and Luz bit back a small smile.
I glanced at Blanca. “Don’t think I won’t. I don’t give a shit about either of you. I’m looking for the other girl. You wanna run your little shakedown here and do Netty’s errands, be my guest. I don’t care one bit. I’m just looking for the girl.”
Luz looked at Blanca. “I’m tired of doin’ everything she says anyway.”
Blanca didn’t say anything, her eyes staring down at Anchor now.
“Any girl shows up,” Luz said. “We pick ‘em up.”
“What do you mean?”
“Girls show up alone for whatever,” Luz said. “Maybe runnin’ away, maybe just travelin’. Whatever. They alone, we go talk to them.”
“And?”
She glanced at Blanca. “And we call Netty. She calls Alex.”
“Who’s Alex?”
“Netty’s brother,” Luz said. “We take the girls to him.”
Another knot formed in my gut. I glanced around. A few more people were gathering on the platform, waiting on the first train of the morning.
I looked back at Luz. “Why?”
She tugged on her sleeves and folded her arms across her chest. “Bunch of reasons.”
“Name them.”
Blanca just shook her head, still disagreeing with Luz’s confessions.
“He might make them work for him,” Luz said, avoiding my eyes. “Deliver stuff. I dunno. Or he might make them do…other stuff.”
“What? Pimp them out?”
Luz shook her head. “Nah. He just keeps them for himself. If they pretty.”
The knot tightened. “So Netty took the girl to Alex’s.”
Luz nodded.
“Netty and Alex,” I said. “What’s their last name?”
“Moreno.”
“I want an address.”
Luz looked at Blanca. “I never been there.”
“You got the address?” I said to Blanca.
She squirmed on the bench.
I let her squirm.
“I ain’t sure I know it,” she mumbled.
“Cut the crap,” I said. “Either give it to me or I’m calling my friend over. Right now. I’m done jerking around with you.”
She stared at Anchor one more time, then slowly recited an address.
I looked at Luz.
“Sounds right,” she said. “Other side of downtown.”
A train pulled in behind us, heading northbound. The brakes squeaked in the air and a voice over the loudspeaker announced its arrival.
“I’ll find you,” I said, standing up.
Blanca looked up at me. “What?”
“Anything either of you told me is a lie,” I said, staring at each of them, as people walked past us to board the train. “I’ll find you. And you won’t tell another lie again.”
THIRTY-SEVEN
I hurried back to Lauren and Anchor.
“I have an address.”
I rattled it off.
“They said that’s where they took her?” Anchor asked.
“That’s what they said.”
“You believe them.” He said it as a statement, not a question.
“Yeah. Made it clear that lying would be a mistake.”
Anchor nodded. “Alright.”
Lauren’s face was a mask of anxiety and concern.
I took her hand and squeezed it. “It’s alright. We’re going to get her.”
She nodded, but didn’t say anything.
We got to the car and Anchor opened the rear door for us to get in. Lauren’s purse was on the seat and it tumbled to the pavement, the contents spilling on to the blacktop.
“Shit,” she muttered. She crouched down and started shoving things back into her bag.
I leaned down to help, handing her a tube of lipstick and a gray leather checkbook. The breeze picked up a piece of paper and I snatched it before it could float away. A receipt. I glanced at it before handing it to her.
It was from the drug store we’d stopped at earlier.
For a pregnancy test.
Lauren reached for it, her face pale as she realized what it was.
“I...” she stopped, then turned to Anchor. “Can you give us a minute?”
He nodded, closed the door and slid into the passenger side of the vehicle, pulling the door closed behind him.
Lauren was staring past me, chewing on her lip, almost as if she was in pain.
“Look, you don’t need to tell me anything,” I said. She didn’t. As shocked as I was to see what she’d bought, I wasn’t in a position to judge. And I had no right to care. “It’s none of my business.”
She shifted her gaze back to me and refocused. “I’m pregnant.”
I swallowed. “Okay.” I forced a smile. “Congratulations?”
She shook her head, frowning. “You don’t get it. I’m pregnant. We’re pregnant.”
It took me at least a minute to respond. “Pregnant?” I repeated, the words sounding funny as they came out of my mouth.
She nodded. “I was feeling crappy. Just…off. There were a couple of indicators for me. So when we stopped at the Wal-Green’s? I bought a pregnancy test and went to the bathroom.” She paused. “I’m pregnant. Probably the night in the hotel in San Diego when you first came back.”
