Necessary Decisions, A Gino Cataldi Mystery (28 page)

“What do you want me to do, Gino?”

“Stop him.”

“Sure?”

“Do it.”

I waited. It seemed a long time, but I knew it was less than a minute.

“They’ve been here and gone. Weren’t happy about the money.”

“Aw fuck!”
What to do? Where would they go?
“Sameena, you and Doran go inside Terminal B. See if he recognizes anyone. I’m splitting everyone else up at the other Terminals.”

“What are we looking for?”

I thought about that as I punched the gas pedal. “I have no fucking idea. If Doran thinks of anything, let us know.”

From my car, I watched as a mass of people exited Terminal C. One group alone had twenty or more people. I didn’t even know what I was looking for or why I was here. No one was coming out holding signs that read, “we’re the kidnappers.” I felt pretty confident of that.

Maybe I was hiding from the Hacketts, afraid to face them after promising to bring their daughter home. How would I tell Lucia? I got a sick feeling in my gut. Mostly though, I thought of Jada and how frightened she must be. How she must have been counting on us—on
me
—to find her. Now all I could think about was Betty Ming back in Philly, and how she used to tell me over and over that she wished she’d died. I didn’t want that happening to Jada.
Couldn’t
let that happen to her.

Chapter 40

Naked and Scared

J
ada lay spread-eagle on the bed, shivering, her hands and feet tied to the four corners. Was he in the room with her? Rope burns had rubbed her ankles raw, and the insides of her thighs had cramped from trying to cover herself. The thought of him looking at her naked made her skin crawl.

She tried thinking of getting back to a normal life, of going home to her family, but that focused her worries in a new direction—on all the things she’d done wrong. Hurtful things she’d said to her mom. The way she’d gotten her dad so upset about the prom dress. The lies she’d told… If she ever got home safe, things would be different.

The uncomfortable feeling of having to pee came again, growing worse every minute. She relaxed her pelvic muscles and focused on squeezing the muscles around the urethra, staving off the inevitable for a few minutes. If she asked to go, he’d watch. Another shiver raced through her body. She felt sick.

Jada tried seeing through the blindfold to see if he was in the room. All she saw was black, the kind of black like when she and Mars used to lock each other in the closets at night and put a towel under the door to see who could stay the longest. She missed Mars, his laughter and jokes, even his teasing. Right now she’d take a lifetime of that. She’d even take a lifetime of helping her mother do the dishes, or of listening to her dad’s warnings about boys and the things they wanted from girls.

A noise in the room made her jump. She squeezed her thighs, pushing them closer together.
Please, Lord, get me out of here.

She listened, trying filtering out sounds to figure out what had made the noise. Silence.
Is he here? Is he watching?

A car pulled up outside, and a door opened and closed. She heard someone walking, but the footsteps faded. For a moment, she relaxed, but that only increased the pressure on her bladder. As much as she didn’t want to, she had to go. The thought of peeing on the bed crossed her mind, but then she’d have to lie in it. And how would he react to that? Instead she moved as much as she could and made grunting sounds, hoping he’d hear.

“Need something?” he whispered in her ear. Very close. Too close.

Jada’s muscles tensed. It had only been seconds.
So he
was
here all the time.

She nodded then felt the gag being removed. “I have to pee.”

He pressed on her stomach, almost forcing it out.

“Please?”

“Don’t worry. I don’t want you peeing the bed. I might be in there with you soon.”

She clenched her teeth. Prayed for someone to rescue her.

He untied her then stepped back. “Try anything like last time, and it will be a lot worse for you. Understand?”

“Yes.”

He led her to the door. When she reached to close it, he stopped her. “Oh no.”

“I can’t go with you watching me.”

“Learn.”

She sat on the toilet, closed her legs, and covered herself as much as she could. Her shoulders hunched to hide her breasts. She relaxed her muscles and pushed, but nothing came out. She closed her eyes and tried again. Still nothing.

“Hurry up.”

“I’m trying. I can’t go.”

“Get up.”

“No! Wait.”

“Take a shower. You’re filthy. I want you clean…just in case.”

“I don’t want to shower.”

“Take one!”

He sounded closer. In the bathroom. She squeezed her legs tighter together. “Okay.”

She heard the water running in the shower. After a moment, he said, “It’s ready,” then he grabbed her arm and yanked her up.

“You’re hurting me!”

His breath was in her ear again. Too close.

“Shut the fuck up,” he said.

Jada got in the shower, her hands touching the walls to help her balance. She reached to close the door, but he stopped her. “I’ve got to take the blindfold off,” she said.

“No need to take it off. I’m not concerned about your face being clean.”

He grabbed her arm and placed a bar of soap in her hand. “Take all the time you want.”

Jada turned her back to him, let the warm water soothe her as much as it could. Her ankles stung from the rope burns. She wanted to rub them, but there was no way she was bending over with him there. As she washed the lower part of her face, she squeezed her legs together and peed, letting it run down her leg so he couldn’t see. After that, she cleaned herself with the washcloth and did a quick scrub on the rest of her. “I’m done.”

Five led her out of the shower and handed her a towel. “Hurry up.”

“Can I get dressed?”

“No!”

There was finality about that answer. She didn’t argue.

He led her back to the bed, tied her, then put the gag back in. The room went silent. Had he gone, or was he there watching? Then she felt his finger tracing up her thigh. She tried screaming, thrashing about. He stopped.

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. You need to be fresh until we get the ransom.”

More silence. She waited, tense. Her muscles aching. The sound of a zipper opening startled her. Then she felt the bed sink down.
God, please. No.

Even with the blindfold on, she squeezed her eyes tighter, trying to shut out the images of him sitting there with his…thing out. The bed shook in short jerky movements. Jada could only imagine one thing doing that. She felt sick, as if she would throw up. The movement continued. His breathing increased. She squeezed her legs tighter, her eyes even more. When she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, he got up. Her muscles relaxed, breathing slowed.

Then she felt it. A feeling like aloe vera gel being dropped on her stomach. Jada cringed, tried reaching with her hands to get it off her. Tried turning over. Screaming. She kept it up for as long as she could, the grunting, thrashing, struggling to get free. Finally she surrendered and just lay there.

Why is this happening, God? Why me?

The phone rang. He answered it.

“Everything’s fine. Uh huh. So what do you want me to do? Okay.”

A faint clicking sound, almost like a camera shutter, and then it was silent.

“That was Boss. Looks like your daddy doesn’t love you so much. He didn’t pay. I’m just waiting for the word. When it comes—you’re
mine.
Or maybe Number Three and I will share you.”

Chapter 41

Consequences

A
s I exited the airport, I looked at the driver of every car. I had no idea why, other than to slow down traffic. But I did it anyway. Some drivers I glared at. Most glared back with a what-the-fuck-are-you-staring-at look.

The phone rang. It was Delgado. “I hope it was her in that room,” I said.

“You got two wishes left.”

“No connection, I presume.”

“No, but it wasn’t all bad. We got another nut off the streets. Lance and his crew made sure he won’t push drugs on any young girls again. And we got a runaway to send for treatment somewhere.
If
we can find a house with open beds.”

“But no kidnappers.”

“No kidnappers.” A bit of silence followed, then, “I guess we didn’t do any good with Doran.”

I didn’t answer for a moment, not wanting to vocalize my frustrations or the disappointment I felt. “They made us look like fools.”

And me, the biggest one of all.

“We’ll get them, Gino. Don’t worry.”

“I’m heading back to Scott’s house. I’m sure we’ll be hearing from them soon. Besides, I’ve got to tell the Hacketts.”

“You need me there?”

“Yeah, but I need you checking those motels more. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

“I’ll call if we do.”

It took me about forty minutes to get to Scott’s house with the traffic. The delay gave me time to think of what I’d tell Jada’s parents. As soon as I walked in, they were all over me—Lucia, Lonny, Mars, and Alexa. Must have been watching out the window, waiting for me to pull in.

“Did you find her? What happened?” That from Lucia.

Lonny stared at me from the back of the room with worried eyes. He had already figured it out, probably knew we’d have called if the news was good. I took hold of Lucia’s shoulders, trying to be as calming as possible. “It wasn’t her at the motel. And—”

“What happened with the kidnappers? What about the money?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. They said they’d call.”

Lonny took hold of Lucia, supporting her as he walked her to the other room. “Call? What they hell are they calling for? We don’t have any money.”

When they had gone, Alexa came to me. “What’s going to happen to Jada?”

It was the first time I’d seen any real concern from the girl since this started. Maybe it took kids longer to accept or believe what was really happening.

“Like I said, Alexa, I don’t know.” I made sure my voice was low. “Things aren’t good. We’re going to have to get lucky to catch them. Without a ransom…” I shook my head. “It’s just not good.”

She nodded and walked away, reaching for her cell. She started to dial.

“Who are you calling?”

“A friend.”

“Don’t,” I said, and went over to her. “I asked you before.
Please
do not tell anyone what you hear in this room.
Nothing.
”

“It’s one of our friends. She’ll want to know.”

I pulled her back into the kitchen so the Hacketts couldn’t hear. “Listen.
Someone
is leaking information to the kidnappers. We—”

“It’s not
me.
And my friends—”

“I didn’t accuse you. But this is how it works. If I am to find out who is doing this, I need to know
absolutely
beyond a shadow of a doubt that it isn’t you or your friends. The only way I can do that is if you tell
no one.
”

When she stared at me this time, it wasn’t with the rebellious, I-hate-all-adults look she’d used before. This time she might have grasped how important this was.

“I won’t tell anyone. Not even Dad.”

I smiled and patted her back. “Good. You’re helping Jada.”

I had time for a few breaths, but that’s all before Doran came in. Sameena and a couple of the other guys were with him. I took them to the kitchen table and made sure they knew to keep the talk low.

“Fill me in, Doran.”

He told me how they changed locations at the last minute—not a surprise there—and one I should have expected and planned for. Doran had no ID on the men, because they wore gloves and masks.

“The thing is, they knew too much,” Doran said. “I tried telling them the money wasn’t ready, but he knew. He
knew.
”

“You’re positive?”

“No doubt. After that, I thought I’d try a different tack. I told him the money was treated, and that Scott thought it would be better not to deliver it that way. He looked at me and said you made a big mistake.”