No Escape

by Heather Lowell

  Kelly shrugged, then lifted her thumb to her mouth and started chewing the ragged cuticle.

  Tessa slowly reached across the table and pulled Kelly’s sunglasses away from her face. The girl said nothing as Tessa gasped out loud.

  “Your face! Who did this to you?” Tessa carefully turned Kelly’s head toward the sunlight, revealing raw looking bruises around her left eye, cheekbone, and the corner of her mouth.

  “I tripped getting out of the pool,” Kelly said, pulling away from the gentle touch.

  “What did you trip on?” Tessa asked angrily. “Someone’s fist?”

  Ed put his hand on Tessa’s arm to silence her, then held it out to Kelly. “I’m Ed Flynn. It’s very nice to meet you. I understand California hasn’t been too kind to you.”

  Kelly looked down at the weathered hand he offered her, then up into Ed’s warm brown eyes. He looked like such a dad, with an expression of concern and gentleness that made tears well up in her eyes. Instead of latching on to his offered hand like the lifeline it was, Kelly snatched the sunglasses off the table and put them back on her face.

  Ed knew she was trying to put distance between them, and he let her. If she felt safer with the Jackie O glasses on, maybe she’d relax enough to tell them what had happened.

  “I won’t let anything happen to you now, Kelly. Neither will Tessa. But you have to trust us,” Ed began. “Can you do that?”

  Kelly resumed biting on the thumbnail she had been mauling. “I just want to go home,” she said with a break in her voice.

  “We’ll take you there. Is home in Colorado?” Ed asked.

  Kelly hesitated, then nodded jerkily.

  “Then why don’t you have a driver’s license issued from that state?” Ed asked.

  “My family didn’t have a car for me to drive,” Kelly mumbled.

  Tessa’s eyebrows shot up. She knew that even when an individual didn’t have a driver’s license, it was customary to get a photo identification card from the state. “What about your birth certificate? The state of Colorado doesn’t have a record of anyone named Kelly Martin being born on January 12, 1985.”

  Kelly shifted in her seat. “I don’t know. Maybe my mom lost it. Maybe I wasn’t born in a hospital, so they never got a birth certificate.”

  Ed caught Tessa’s glance and shook his head slightly. “You’d need one to enroll in school, child.”

  Kelly thought for a moment, then said “My mom home-schooled us.”

  Ed had to give her credit for quick wits—or for remembering a story she’d rehearsed before. “Tessa told me that you had an envelope with a bunch of cash and credit cards in your purse, but that you hadn’t known the cards were in there. She said you were going to talk to your cousin about it.”

  Kelly’s shoulders hunched even more. “I did. He said they belonged to friends that he had dinner with. They all forgot their cards at the restaurant I work at, so I returned them to my cousin when the manager asked me to.”

  Same story. Ed sat back and raised an eyebrow at Tessa, silently asking what she wanted to do next.

  Kelly saw the exchange, then shot to her feet. “I’m out of here. I don’t need this.”

  “Wait—” Tessa began.

  “You don’t believe me,” Kelly said accusingly. “After everything I told you. I trusted you.”

  Tessa’s heart sank at the hitch in Kelly’s breath, at the beginnings of a sob in her voice. “We do believe you were attacked, Kelly. We just need to understand the rest. But that can wait. Right now my priority is to get you to a safe place.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You can’t go back to your cousin’s house. Why didn’t you tell me what happened when we talked yesterday?”

  “I tripped and fell after I talked with you,” Kelly said, refusing to meet Tessa’s eyes even through her sunglasses.

  “Yeah, right.” Tessa shook her head. “You’re still not going back there.”

  “I have to. I have, um, things there. I can’t just leave. Jerry would worry about me,” Kelly said.

  “We’ll call your cousin—”

  “No! You can’t talk to him. I have to go now, I don’t want to cause any trouble.” Kelly began to edge away from the table.

  Tessa had had it. “Listen to me, young lady. You will not be going back to that house. Clearly there’s not enough supervision for you there.”

  “You can’t make me leave,” Kelly insisted. But it was said in a tone of voice that was almost hopeful, as if she wanted the responsibility to be taken off her tiny shoulders.

  Tessa jumped into the opening. “Right now, you are the only witness to a crime that’s being investigated. I can have Ed take you into custody for your own protection. So you can tell your cousin you don’t really have any choice.”

  Kelly felt her stomach muscles relaxing for the first time in days. “Whatever,” she said, working hard to sound sullen.

  Tessa looked at Ed, glad that he hadn’t called her bluff. He stood up. “Kelly, why don’t you order yourself a big breakfast. I need to talk to Tessa alone.” He handed the girl a menu and steered Tessa out of earshot.

  She looked back over her shoulder and saw Kelly reading through the menu with what looked to be real enthusiasm.

  “That was pretty tricky, lady. She was damned relieved to have you take the decision out of her hands,” Ed said.

  “Comes from helping to raise Kevin,” Tessa smiled, referring to her much-younger half brother. “Teenagers act like they want independence and responsibility, but when things get tough they’re happy to find a way out of being in charge of their own lives while still saving face.”

  Ed smiled briefly, then grew serious as he thought of what he had to do next.

  “Kelly’s lying, you know. She’s got a pretty, well-rehearsed story, but you could grind it up and use it as fertilizer,” he said.

  “I don’t know what’s going on, but I do agree there’s something, er, fishy-smelling about her story,” Tessa responded. “Still, someone could be intimidating her, and that’s why she’s afraid to tell us the truth. We need to get her into a safe environment, then she’ll begin to trust us.”

  “You can’t build a legal case on a foundation of lies.”

  “She’s not lying about being raped,” Tessa insisted.

  Ed looked over her head at Kelly, who was watching people pass by the front windows—as if she were looking for someone and afraid to see him at the same time. “Something happened to her, there’s no question. And I don’t like the bruises on her face. Slipped on the pool deck, my ass.”

  “So you agree that she needs our support right now, not a bunch of questions that imply we don’t believe her?” Tessa asked.

  “You have to stop making excuses for the child, Tessie. Try to understand what she’s lying about and why she’s doing it, and I bet you’ll uncover the truth about what happened to her.”

  “I know. I was thinking that we could have her take a polygraph test. That way we’ll know what to focus on and be able to weed out the unimportant stuff. And you’ll know for a fact that she’s nothing more than a scared teenager who needs our help.”

  “Hell, I can see that right now. But I worry about how to figure out the rest of it,” Ed said.

  “I know. But can we do it my way?” Tessa reached out and laid her hand on Ed’s forearm. “Please. It’s important to me that we do this right—and slowly. I think it’s even more important to Kelly.”

  Ed looked down into hopeful blue-gray eyes and felt it happening—felt himself being sucked in against his better judgment.

  What the hell.

  At least he’d be there to watch over Tessa if things started spinning out of control. He wouldn’t let her throw away her career on this case.

  “I’ll call and set up a polygraph for this afternoon, off the record. Then we should talk to Sledge Aiken,” he said, checking his watch.

  “I’d love to,” Tessa replied. “He’s been traveling with his t
eam for off-season appearances, according to his agent.”

  “Ah, but I checked the official web page of the Waves before leaving this morning. The team returned to LA last night.”

  “So while you are monitoring the polygraph with Kelly, I’ll find a place for her to stay. Then we can go see Aiken,” Tessa said.

  “Where are you going to put her?” Ed asked.

  “Well, she can’t stay with me. I don’t want any accusations of conflict of interest or malicious prosecution. I think I’ll talk to TSS—Three Sisters Shelter. They take in battered women and children, and they have a residency program for at-risk patients who have graduated from their drug rehabilitation programs. The security there is decent, and they have good supervision. Kelly might even meet some girls her age.”

  “Okay. But first, we’d better get that girl some breakfast before she starts eating the place mats,” Ed said as he steered Tessa back to the table. “Poor kid probably hasn’t eaten in days.”

  Chapter 6

  Hollywood Hills

  Friday, February 26

  Several hours later, Tessa and Ed pulled into the exclusive Hollywood Hills neighborhood where Sledge Aiken had purchased a 2-million-dollar home the year before. As they studied addresses painted on the curb, they noticed a new FOR SALE sign outside the metal gate at the end of the driveway leading to Aiken’s home. The property was encircled with a six-foot-high wrought-iron fence, ensuring the quarterback’s privacy.

  “So much for the element of surprise,” Ed said, indicating the locked gate and security camera that covered the driveway.

  “Looks like Aiken is moving,” Tessa said, pointing at the sign. “You don’t suppose he plans to leave town suddenly”

  “I doubt it. More likely he’s going to renegotiate his contract with the Waves now that he has a Super Bowl ring,” Ed said. “Rumor has it he’s been shopping for nicer digs.”

  “Nicer digs. Because his multimillion-dollar Hollywood Hills shack isn’t good enough?” Tessa shook her head. “The more I learn about Mr. Aiken, the less I like him.”

  Ed got out of the car and rang the bell. When he got no response, he pushed down the buzzer and held it.

  “¿Quién es?” The hesitant voice coming over the intercom sounded middle-aged and feminine.

  “Policía, señora. ¿Podería hablar con el señor Aiken?” Ed asked to speak to Aiken in rapid-fire Spanish, which was a basic requirement for all Southern California law enforcement officers.

  “No se encuentra en el momento,” the voice replied. “Debe regresar por la tarde.”

  “¿Con quién hablo?” Ed asked who the woman was.

  “Soy la housekeeper, señor.”

  Ed let the woman get back to work and returned to the car. “Aiken isn’t home,” he told Tessa through her open window. “The housekeeper says he’ll be back sometime this afternoon.”

  “So we wait for a bit,” Tessa said. “You can give me the full details of Kelly’s polygraph results.”

  Ed sat behind the wheel again and pulled out his ubiquitous notebook. He’d taught that to Tessa, and half smiled when he saw her pull out a small leather-covered pad of paper herself. “You may not like the polygraph results. They’re a bit ambiguous.”

  “I can take it. Give it to me straight,” Tessa said.

  She was starting to become annoyed with men trying to protect her from information they thought might be difficult for her to accept. She didn’t think of herself as fragile, but apparently being a few inches over five feet tall, and blond, gave the impression of being delicate.

  “The examiner did a baseline with the regular questions. Then he asked her whether she was raped by Sledge Aiken. She said yes, and she was being truthful about the answer.”

  Tessa relaxed just a bit. “I’m sorry it’s true, but I’m glad she’s not lying about that part.”

  “Yeah. She also didn’t know what was in the envelope in her purse until you told her. The examiner was positive of that. Kelly also works as a hostess in a restaurant, is actively pursuing a singing career, et cetera.”

  “So which results were ambiguous?” Tessa asked.

  “She is ambivalent about proceeding with the investigation against Aiken, for one thing. And her responses about her background before getting to LA indicated evasion. Her name is real, but not much else. Which would explain why the state of Colorado doesn’t have any information on Kelly. She’s probably not from there.”

  “Maybe she’s protecting someone,” Tessa said.

  “Like herself?” Ed asked before he thought better of it.

  “You said her answers were honest about all the other stuff. Why would she lie about her background?” Tessa asked angrily. “I’m not blindly defending her, I’m just asking you to consider that maybe these lies have nothing to do with the case.”

  “Tessie, anything important enough to be lied about is important enough to impact the case.”

  “Then I’ll find out what it is from Kelly. Just give me a little more time to earn her trust.”

  “Time is something we have plenty of,” Ed said. “Since no charges have been filed, the media hasn’t caught a hint of the story yet. At this point, we have the luxury of doing things slowly and carefully.”

  “Maybe.” Tessa checked her watch. “But how long are we going to kill waiting for football boy?”

  Ed sighed at her uncharacteristic impatience. “We can see if the neighbors will talk about him while we wait.”

  They began with the house across the street because it didn’t have a fenced driveway. A man in his fifties wearing a colorful golf shirt opened the door almost immediately.

  “Good afternoon.” Ed flashed his badge. “We’d like to ask you a few questions about the neighborhood if you don’t mind.”

  The man’s eyes widened, then he glanced across the street. “Is this about the noise complaint? I’ve been telling the police for months about the loud parties across the street. Nobody’s even come out before.”

  “We’re here now, sir.” Ed took out his notebook and a pen. He didn’t bother to correct the man’s assumption about why they were there. “Can I get your name?”

  “Ira. Ira Seymour. I live here with my wife, June, and her mother, Stella.”

  “Is there a lot of traffic coming in and out of the house across the street?” Ed asked.

  “All the time. You know who lives there, right?”

  Ed nodded. “I was wondering if you ever saw any of the people who spend time with Mr. Aiken, since everyone has to stop at the gate and be let in.”

  Tessa took out a Polaroid of Kelly. “We’re interested in this girl in particular.”

  Ira Seymour studied the photo, then shook his head. “I’m usually parked in front of the TV when I’m home. And my eyesight isn’t too good. But my mother-in-law is a big star watcher. She sits upstairs day and night with a pair of binoculars, even keeps a log of the famous people she’s seen on this street.”

  “Is she home?” Tessa asked.

  Ira rolled his eyes. “Always. Let me call her,” he said. Then he winked at Tessa. “I love doing this.”

  Tessa and Ed exchanged a curious glance as Ira went to the bottom of the stairs. “Stella! Hey, Stella,” he repeated, in an impressive imitation of Marlon Brando’s character from Streetcar Named Desire.

  Ira’s mother-in-law came down the stairs, muttering about melodrama. An ancient Pomeranian was tucked under her arm. The dog saw the guests and immediately began growling.

  Stella was introduced by her son-in-law, raising her voice to speak over the snarling dog. Tessa explained that they were looking for information on Sledge Aiken and some of the guests he might have had in his home over the last two weeks.

  “That boy has a constant stream of friends coming over at all hours of the night. He’s not afraid to turn up the volume on his stereo system, either,” Stella said.

  “Have you ever heard yelling, maybe even screaming coming from the home?” Ed asked.

>   “Heavens, no. Just the usual party buzz, maybe some squeals from girls in the backyard pool.”

  “Loud enough for you to hear from all the way across the street?” Tessa asked.

  Stella looked at them sheepishly. “He has a corner lot. You can see what’s happening in the backyard if you go past his house and turn onto Magnolia Court,” she said, pointing toward the other street.

  Tessa held the Polaroid photo out to Stella, then quickly snatched her hand back when the older woman’s dog began to bark.

  “Don’t worry about Precious. I had to have all his front teeth removed after the third biting incident. He’s harmless now,” Stella said.

  Ira crossed his arms with a snort of derision. He glared at the little dog, which pulled its lips back in a snarl to reveal pink, toothless gums.

  Stella turned her body so she was between her pet and Tessa, then reached for the photo.

  “Oh, yes, I’ve seen her. She’s been to the house a couple of times. I recognize her hair—it’s so pale and long. She came by with a man, some kind of sports person.”

  “You mean she came with another athlete, someone besides Sledge Aiken?” Ed caught Tessa’s gaze.

  “Yes. I didn’t recognize the man she was with, but my friend Ruth did. She said he used to play one of those fringe sports that her late husband watched—arena football, maybe?” Stella stroked her dog’s head as she thought. “I can’t remember.”

  “When was the first time you recall seeing the girl?” Ed asked.

  “Maybe a month ago,” Stella said.

  “What did the man she was with look like?” Ed asked, prepared to write down the description in his notebook.

  “He was fairly tall. Or at least he towered over the girl. I recall he had blond hair, kind of thin in the front, but the color was much darker than hers.”

  “What was his build like? Husky, thin, muscular?” Tessa pressed.

  “Quite stocky. You know, when an older football player goes to fat,” Stella replied.

  “What kind of car did they arrive in?” Ed asked.

  Stella didn’t hesitate. “It was a Mercedes, but one of those cheap ones. It had two doors, with a hatchback. I’m pretty sure it was black.”