Midnight Crossing (Josie Gray Mysteries #5)(44)

Tyler left and Josie felt a huge surge of relief. He generally drilled her with questions. She had neglected to tell him that Ryan had had a falling-out with Josh, and at least two of the women escaped before the van ever made it into the U.S. Technically, Ryan hadn’t done anything that Josie could charge him with yet, but he didn’t know that. Josie was using the prosecutor and the fear of arrest to scare the hell out of Ryan. Ryan was her best chance at finding the missing women, so she was willing to risk the wrath of the prosecutor.

She dialed Otto’s cell phone. “Tyler’s clear on the investigation and gave his blessing.” Josie summarized the conversation and asked Otto to bring him in for questioning.

“I would Mirandize him in the car. He may be so flustered on the way into the jail that he’ll offer up information before his dad can get an attorney set up for him.”

“Will do. Meet me at the jail in about thirty minutes.”





TEN

Josie and Marta drove to the jail separately and pulled into the parking lot as Otto was walking Ryan in through the prisoner door at the back of the jail. He didn’t have cuffs on, but Otto was holding his upper arm and Ryan had his head ducked low as if trying to conceal his identity.

Once Ryan was in an interrogation room, the three officers met in the hallway.

“Did he open up on the way over?” Josie asked.

“Not a word. But his dad’s not supplying an attorney. His parents were ready to blow. I explained the criminal charges in front of them. They had no idea about the trip to Guatemala. He’d given them some story about helping a friend move. His dad basically disowned him on the spot. I read Ryan his Miranda rights in the kitchen. When we got in the car I told him he could have a court-appointed attorney but he didn’t respond.”

“Good enough,” Josie said. “I get first dibs.”

“Have at him.”

“Do me a favor. Go ask the dispatcher if she has a Texas map with highways. Maybe Ryan can help us figure out where Josh might be headed.”

*

Ryan was dressed in blue jeans, work boots, and a black concert T-shirt featuring some band Josie had never heard of. The graphic on the front of the shirt showed a giant snake’s mouth, opened wide with overextended fangs dripping blood. Sweat poured down Ryan’s temples, and a sour odor came off his body. As he used his forearm to wipe away the perspiration on his forehead, Josie noticed the insolent stare from earlier in the day had been replaced with a look of fear.

Marta positioned herself in one corner of the room to observe while Josie handled the questioning. She sat down across from Ryan and placed a digital recorder on the table, went through the formalities, and then asked again if he wanted an attorney present, for which he shook his head no.

“Please speak out loud for the record,” she said.

“No. I don’t need an attorney. I already told you what I did. I didn’t know I was doing anything wrong.”

“Do you know that it’s illegal for a person from another country to cross the border into the United States without proper documentation?”

He nodded once.

“Please speak out loud for the record,” she said.

“Yes.”

Otto walked into the room and laid a folded road map on the table, and then sat down next to Josie.

“So you understand that transporting women from Guatemala into Mexico was illegal?” Josie avoided mentioning transport into the U.S.

He shrugged and then said, “Yes.”

“Do you also understand that knowingly standing by while a rape is taking place is a crime?”

His jaw tightened as he clenched his teeth. He finally said, “I didn’t know that was happening.”

“The rapes took place multiple times, against multiple women. You can’t hide from this. Not only will you have an arrest warrant for the federal crime of transporting across an international border, but you’ll be labeled a sexual predator. Your name will be added to the registry for sexual offenders. Your parents will have to notify your neighbors that you live in their house. That’s assuming they don’t throw you out after you serve your jail time.”

Ryan pushed his thumbs into his eyes as if trying to keep from crying, but he eventually gave in, trying to hide behind his hands as he sobbed. Josie grabbed a tissue box off a corner table and shoved it over to him. He finally stopped, taking ragged breaths and blowing his nose into a handful of tissues.

Josie had interviewed enough people to know the breakdown was a very good sign. But she worried the whole process was taking too long. She needed Josh and Macey’s whereabouts, but she couldn’t afford to spook Ryan into silence.

Ryan took a long deep breath and shuddered as he exhaled.

“Isabella is gone, Ryan.”

He looked up at her, apparently caught off guard at the statement.

“Josh and Macey are gone,” she said.

Again, confusion in his eyes.

“I want to know where they are,” she said. “No games. No lies. You have too much on the line to screw with me right now.”

He nodded and his expression grew earnest as his breathing returned to normal. “I understand, but I don’t know where they are. I haven’t talked to either one of them since I got back to Artemis.”

“We’ll get your phone records. You know that, right?” she said.