by A. Gomez
“Are you sure?” I was now scared for Belín. It was my fault we looked identical today. “Maybe you’re mistaken. Maybe it just seemed that way.”
“I wish I were.” He was trying to rein in his temper. “And there’s nothing I can do.” His hands were shaking. “He’s done nothing wrong except having and displaying that infamous tattoo and Chicago PD can’t do anything either.”
I turned my head slightly to watch him leave with Elsa, Inara and the other two suspects. Our eyes locked. He held my stare for a second and then his eyes flickered to Belín and then back to me. He walked out, looking confused. HOLY SHIT! He thinks there’s two of me! Or at least confused as to which one is me.
I turned to look at Belín. Her lips were curling up into somewhat of a grin at whatever was on her phone. Seriously? Did she not get what just happened? I leaned over to see what she was smiling about and it was a picture of the Asian man that just left.
“You know I have to think about my story, Isa,” she said, sounding proud of herself that she was able to get a snap shot.
Ben was texting and standing protectively next to Belín, practically on top of her, gently corralling her to a corner so her back was to a wall and he was in front of her, shielding her with his body. She was oblivious to Ben’s demeanor or behavior, engrossed in her own emailing or texting of what she just captured. That girl never stopped working. I shook my head in disbelief. She had mentioned in the past that she’d been in much worse situations. I supposed that if bullets weren’t flying or bombs exploding then this was a walk in the park for her.
“Ben, I have to get this consult done,” I said impatiently.
“Give me five minutes,” he demanded, his jaw clenching.
Two minutes later another agent showed up. Wow! That was freakin’ fast! Where did he come from? He explained everything in a low voice to the new agent, then whispered something in Belín’s ear and the two of them were off, going their way and us going ours.
I looked at the chart as we were walking and I stopped in my tracks, stunned. I had never bothered to look at the name on the chart before now. How stupid could I be! The name on it was Alexandra Copen and in parentheses was Alex. I grabbed Ben’s arm and let him read the name. We looked at each other, both of us floored. I asked him if he still had the papers I handed him earlier. He nodded and patted his suit jacket pocket.
We walked in the exam room. There were two plain clothes officers taking the report and a woman in the room with Alex. We waited until one of the officers was finished talking before I introduced ourselves. I started to get impatient. This cop was very long winded; he needed to wrap it up and leave. I walked to the counter and loudly dropped the charts down on it, hoping that would give him the hint. Ben rolled his eyes at me. The officer turned to see what the noise was and to my surprise, it was an old friend.
“Isabel!” he shouted.
“Jake!” I gave him a huge hug. “It’s been such a long time!”
“Too long, but you’re still as beautiful as ever!”
“Oh, go on… I bet you say that to all the child psychologists,” I winked at him. “Listen, come to my office later and we can catch up. I need to talk to this lovely girl first. Okay?”
“Absolutely,” he said with a chuckle. “As soon as I’m done with everything here I’ll head your way,” he added. He turned his attention to the woman with Alex. “Mrs. Copen, here’s my card. Call me for any reason… please,” he emphasized any reason.
The ladies both nodded and said thank you. I practically pushed Jake and his partner out the door and closed it behind them. I found a chair and pulled it close to Alex so I could hear and see her better. She looked like a child in an adult body. The woman with her looked a lot like her so I concluded it was her mother. I introduced Ben and myself and explained who we were.
“I’m Alexandra’s mother, Beth Copen. We weren’t sure if we were going to get to meet you today or not,” she paused, trying not to cry. I handed her the box of tissues. “The man who helped Alex get away said to make sure to ask for you. That you could help her…that you could help us…” she was getting emotional.
“I’m sorry, did you say a man helped her get away?” I was confused.
“Yes,” replied Alex. “He was a short, stocky man and had a thick Chinese accent.”
“So, it was an Asian man that helped you?” Ben interjected.
“Yes, and he also helped a couple of other girls that were with me. He said he couldn’t help everybody there but he was going back to try.”
Ben and I stared at one another astonished.
“Is this man’s name Chex by any chance?” Ben asked.
“No, I think he said Hong something,” Alex answered. “I think he might have said his last name but I couldn’t understand everything he was saying because of his accent.”
“You said, ‘he was going back,’ can you tell me where he’s going back to? Where were you? How did he find you? And where are the other girls he helped?” Ben was sounding too much like an intimidating agent. I saw the expression on the girl’s face and her mother’s. They looked distressed, not knowing what to answer first or how to answer.
“Ben, you’re firing all these questions at them and I think it’s getting to be too overwhelming for both of them.” I looked at Alex and her mother to see if they agreed. Beth took her daughter’s hand, nodding. “Okay,” I began, smiling at them, “Let’s just do one question at a time and if we can do more we will continue, but if we can’t we can stop and just pick up where we left off at a later time.”
Everyone seemed to agree. I looked at Ben nodding so he could begin.
“Can I call you Alex or do you prefer Alexandra?” he asked.
“Alex is fine,” she said impassively.
“Alex, do you know where you were?”
Alex stared at both of us for a few seconds, thinking of how to answer. “I know I was at a house. It was a nice house, a two-story house. Big. There was a woman that took care of us. All the windows and blinds were nailed shut except for the ones in the kitchen and part of the living room. But the woman and the bodyguard watched us so closely we couldn’t look out those windows or even get close to them. When we had to go to our appointments the bodyguard would take us out the back, straight to the garage, so I just know what the back of the house looks like… besides the inside that is. I just know the house was in a nice area.”
An idea struck me, “Ben, can you please text Belín and ask her to come here for a minute?” I thanked him as he was texting. “Alex, can you tell me that woman’s name?”
“She said to call her Debbie.”
I wrote “Debbie” in Alex’s chart. “I’m going to show you a picture of a woman and a man and you tell me if these are the same people you’re talking about.”
She nodded, looking at her mother. Beth put her arm around Alex and held her close. There was a knock on the door. Ben answered letting Belín in.
“This is Belín,” I said. “She’s a journalist from Spain and ironically is working on a very similar case if not the same one.” I looked to Belín and asked for her cell phone. She handed it to me already unlocked and ready for me to open the pictures. I opened the selfie she just took and handed it to Alex.
“Are these the people you’re telling us about?”
She caught her breath. “Yes, that’s them.” She shoved the phone back into my hand and was visibly shaking in her mother’s arms. Her mother pulled her closer to her side.
“Don’t worry, sweet girl, no one is going to hurt you or take you. Agent Davis and Officer Jake will make sure of it.”
“They can’t promise that,” she said acidly. “The woman said her boss will kill us if we tried to get away. Well, I got away,” she said flatly. Her mother had tears in her eyes.
“Not on my watch they won’t,” Ben said in a menacing voice. And somehow, I believed him.
“Mrs. Copen…”
“Beth…please,” she insisted.
She agreed. I asked Belín to unlock her phone again. “Take a look at the two other girls in this picture. Do you know who they are?”
“Yes, they just got here from Dallas, I don’t remember their names. They’re staying at that house I told you about. They sound foreign, they both have the same accent.”
“Thank you, Alex.” I gave her a warm smile. “And last question… the Asian man that helped you, how does he know who I am?”
“He said he’s been watching you and knows who you are.” She seemed surprised that I didn’t know. “He told us you are a good person and helped other girls.”
An uneasy feeling took over me. I gave Ben a look; he just nodded at me, with his stony face, as if he had this all under control. Jeez, Ben! Give some sort of emotion! I just didn’t know how to feel about this. I had yet another person watching me that I didn’t know about. At least this one didn’t want to kill me. And what did the man mean when he said I helped other girls? I was just a psychologist. I handed Belín her phone and thanked her. She quickly left the room, no doubt to get to a computer after hearing what Alex had said.
“Beth, tonight is group therapy night for the teenagers we treat. I’d like Alex and you to come. She doesn’t have to talk but I’d like her to be there so she can meet the other kids in her situation.” I wrote down the information on a piece of paper and handed it to her. “Next, I’d like to know if y’all have eaten this morning?”
Beth sighed, grateful for my question. “No, our nerves had our stomachs in knots so we couldn’t eat. It would be nice to get something.”
“Okay then,” I said in a cheery voice. “Let’s walk over to the cafeteria and get you settled and fed. Give me just one minute and I’ll be right back to take you there.”
I eyed Ben and inclined my head toward the door so he would step outside with me. I began to tell him about the woman and the Asian man that had just left with the Triad member and Alex identifying them as being her captors. I outlined for him what I thought should happen and how we should go forward with this information. He agreed with one exception: he wanted to be present when I talked to David about the girl or girls he was treating. I agreed.
“Go ahead and make your phone call,” I told Ben. “I’ll go back with them and tell them we can talk more after they eat.”
I headed back to the room, waiting for Ben to finish his call. It killed me to know these perps were right there, in the same building as Alex, and we could do nothing about it. I didn’t tell them about who we saw; I just said Ben was on the phone and we’d leave once he was finished. I started to wonder if the house Alex was talking about was close by. If that woman frequented the hospital, it must be. This could be a good sign for the FBI. It might make it easier for them to get these assholes.
Ben peeked his head in and asked if we were ready to go. Alex and her mother grinned with anticipation of the thought of food.
Beth and Alex went through the breakfast line while I found them a seat. I chose one that was against a wall with a lot of other patrons around them. I didn’t think they should be isolated away from everyone as it might draw attention to them.
Agent Stems arrived just like Ben promised. I waved at everyone so they can see where we were sitting. Alex got to us first and I can see apprehension in her eyes. She set her tray down, her eyes darting from Stems to her mother.
“Alex, this is Special Agent Allison Stems. She works with Ben… and I guess a little with me too. Don’t worry, she’s super nice.”
“Nice to meet you, Alex.” Stems held her hand out for Alex to shake.
“Please, everyone have a seat, so I can explain just a little on what we need to do.” I sat next to Beth and put Stems and Alex together. Ben sat at whatever free seat was left. “This is Agent Allison Stems. She’s going to be Alexandra’s guardian angel for a spell.” They laughed at my choice of words. “Beth, once y’all are done eating, Stems will bring you up to my office and Agent Davis will continue with his questions,” I said. “We’ll explain in more detail what all this means once you’ve had a chance to eat and we’re in private. Don’t worry, it will all be fine,” I promised.
“Feel free to ask Agent Stems whatever you like. She’ll answer as best she can,” Ben added.
Ben and I left them with Stems and headed back to the ER to find David. I was still holding the charts. I skimmed through Elsa’s as we walked. She was a new patient so there wasn’t a lot of information. David had prescribed an antibiotic and Ginger’s name was in there as well as one of the attending nurses. Not a whole lot to go on.
“Ben, Doctor Somer said that the woman comes here often, claiming to run a non-profit that helps young girls get the medical attention they need. If that’s their front, don’t you think that perhaps that’s also how they are soliciting these girls on line?”
“It is a possibility,” he pondered. “They could be hiding it through that ruse, making it hard for us to see it or find it.”
“Isn’t this something Josh can help with?” I asked coolly.
He eyed me, expressionless. “Yes, it is.”
We found David but he was busy with another patient. Thankfully, Ginger was not around. He saw me waiting and told one of the residents to take over.
“Love, I’m glad you came back.” He kissed me on the cheek and neck below my jaw line.
“I’m sorry for disappearing like that. Dr. Somer needed my help.” I glanced nervously at Ben. I didn’t want to make amends with David but we needed information from him. He was an arrogant, egocentric man so I just needed to be apologetic, yet still keep my distance. “I’m sorry for overreacting earlier, David. I just needed some time alone to think and process through everything.”
“Don’t apologize, honey. This is my fault and I told you I would fix it.” He took my hand and kissed it, gripping it firmly in his.
I pulled it out of his clasp and gave him half a grin. “David, is it safe to talk here without getting accosted by Ginger?”
“Oh, uh…” He looked up and around. “Yeah, we should be fine. I think she’s gone to radiology. What’s up?”
“Earlier today you saw a girl by the name Elsa. She came in with another girl, an older woman that calls herself Debbie and a large Asian man. We need to know what you saw Elsa for and who the other people are.”
David eyed Ben. “Is there something wrong? Are they in trouble?”
“No, nothing like that,” Ben lied. “They may have information on the case we currently have. I just need to ask them a few questions and Isabel would like to talk to the girls.”
“Let me think,” he said, looking down at the floor. “I saw her for an infection. She had a pretty bad laceration on her back that got infected. Apparently, she was in an abusive relationship and this was the handiwork of her boyfriend.”
I tried not to react. “And the others that were with her?”
“So, the woman that brought her is Ginger’s friend, I can’t remember her name. I think she runs a non-profit for at-risk girls; the patient’s sister was there for moral support, I think, and the man… I don’t know why he was there. I just assumed he was there to help since this was an abusive boyfriend she was hiding from.”
“Did you happen to see any tattoos on the man?” asked Ben.
“He had his jacket on the entire time and I saw nothing on his neck or face, so no.”
“David, Elsa’s chart has no address or contact information for her… how can I get ahold of her or the woman that helped her?” I asked, my eyebrows pulled together.
He ran his finger down my nose, forcing me to relax my expression, grinning at me. He always hated when I frowned. He said it would give me premature lines on my face. Bastard! I can frown if I damn
well please! “I think she is at a shelter, not sure. I can ask Ginger how you can get in touch with her if you like.”
I scoffed at his suggestion, “If you do, you better not say it’s for me. She may set you on fire.” Ben smirked at my comment. I looked at David in disgust, shaking my head, wondering how could he stand to work with her. Wondering what I ever saw in him.
He pulled me aside, away from Ben. “Isabel, please don’t look at me that way. It hurts me to think you could hate me.”
“I don’t hate you, David. I’m just feeling hurt and disappointed. I loved you so dearly at one point and you broke my heart… and now… now I just can’t be around you.” I let out a huff, scowling at him. He looked dejected and hurt. Crap! Why did I feel guilty for saying that?
“Can we talk later?” he asked.
“Sure,” I whispered.
“Promise?”
“Yes, I promise,” I said, forcing a smile.
Ben and I headed back to my office. Ben was talking about how David’s answers were not believable and how he didn’t trust David. I would nod and give an occasional mmhmm, but my mind was on Josh.
My ponytail was feeling too tight so I took my hair down while we were in the elevator. Ben was still rambling on. I was rubbing my scalp and fluffing my hair, lost in my thoughts of Joshua Rockwall. I leaned against the wall of the elevator, pretending to care what Ben was saying, nodding politely, but all I could hear was Josh’s voice declaring his love for me. All I could see was Josh’s piercing blue eyes looking into mine. I grinned at the memory of our time alone this morning.
“Isabel!” Ben snapped.
“What?” he startled me back to the present.
“You haven’t heard anything I said, have you?” he asked, sounding upset. “Where’s your head?
“I’m sorry, Ben,” I replied. “I’m thinking about Josh and those two girls on his phone. I know it’s Elsa and Inara and that he was telling the truth,” I said, feeling ashamed of my behavior. “I miss him. I want to see him. I want to be with him. I want all this to go away.”
