Best Laid Plans(76)

“Yes.” Tia looked from Lucy to Barry. “I’m going in there,” she said. “Which of you is joining me?”

“I’ll observe,” Barry said. He looked at Lucy. “This is why Juan wanted you on this case, right? Your work with victims.”

“Thanks, Barry,” she said. She recognized his tone—he didn’t want to regret letting her take the lead on this interrogation.

Lucy followed Tia into a private hospital room, past the SAPD officer manning the door.

Elise was drawn and pale in the hospital bed, her limp blond hair against the white sheets making her look even more ghostly. She was reclined at an angle, and her right arm was in a full sling.

It was hard to pin down her age, because her injuries made her look younger. If Lucy had to make a guess, she’d say fifteen. She was of average height, underweight, and her face still held a faint bruise from where James Everett had hit her. Allegedly hit her on Friday night. There were other scrapes and cuts, but those were fresh enough to be from the events last night.

Elise glared at them. Though both Lucy and Tia were in plain clothes, Elise clearly had them pegged as law enforcement.

Tia spoke. “I’m Detective Tia Mancini with the San Antonio Police Department. This is my colleague, FBI Special Agent Lucy Kincaid. We’d like to know what happened last night. Do you know who shot you?”

Elise stared at them. “I’m not talking.”

“Okay. That’s your right, but someone shot you in the back. It would help us find him if you cooperate.”

“Go away.”

“We’re not going away,” Tia said. “We’ve been looking for you.”

“I didn’t do anything. I was the one who was shot.”

“And we want to find the person who did this to you.”

Elise snorted. “Right. Like you care.”

“I care,” Tia said. She sat in the lone chair. Lucy sat at the end of the bed, on the corner. Tia said, “Let me explain my job. I specialize in special victims.”

“Special? Like retards? I’m not stupid.”

“Special, like women and children who have been abused.”

“Just because I’m shot you think I’m abused?”

“How old are you?”

“None of your f*cking business.”

“It really doesn’t matter, because you’re underage and we have evidence that you’ve been soliciting.”

“Meaning, I’m a hooker.” She laughed weakly. “Fine me. So what?”

“I can help you. It’s what I do. Just tell me you want out, and I’ll make it happen. It won’t be easy, because you’ll have to change your lifestyle. But it’s possible. School. Graduation. A safe job.”

“Look,” Elise said, “thanks, but no thanks. I’m happy with my life just the way it is. I’ll bet I make more money in a week than you do in a month.”

“You might. But I’ll bet, even being a cop, my lifespan is longer than yours.”

“You can’t arrest me for prostitution because you have no proof. And even if you did, I’d be out like this.” She snapped her fingers, then winced. She reached for her water. Her hand was shaking as she brought the straw to her lips. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?” She closed her eyes.

Tia took the glass when Elise was done and put it on the nightstand. She nodded to Lucy.

“We can’t leave you alone because you’re wanted for questioning in a murder investigation.”

Elise’s eyes flew open. She stared at Lucy. Defiance and fear, all mixed together. Tia was right: this girl had been on her own for a long time. She trusted no one.

“Bullshit,” Elise said. “You’re setting me up.”

Lucy said, “We have a witness who places you at the White Knight Motel exiting a room where a dead man was found. How did that happen, Elise?”

She shook her head. “No. No, no, no. I’m not talking. You have no proof of anything, I’m not saying a word.” She turned her head and closed her eyes as if that would make them go away.

The machine next to her bed started beeping. The nurse came in and gave Tia and Lucy a dirty look. She checked Elise’s vitals and had her drink more water. Then she checked her bandages under the sling.

“I warned you both about this. She needs rest.”

“Five more minutes,” Tia said.

“If you upset her again, you will leave.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Tia said.

When the nurse left, Tia said to Elise with a tone that was both firm and kind, “Elise, you have two options. You come clean now, and we’ll help you. Cooperation goes a long way with prosecutors. I give you my word, Elise. You tell the truth, and I’ll be by your side for the entire process.”

She didn’t say anything at first, didn’t look at them. Then a little squeak came out. “They’ll kill me.”

“We can protect you.”

Tears leaked from her eyes. “No one can protect me.”

“Who shot you?”

She shook her head.

Tia looked at Lucy. Lucy realized what Tia was doing—Tia was being the good cop, she wanted Lucy to be the big bad federal cop. Lucy didn’t like that role at all—she didn’t want to browbeat this poor girl. But she said in a stern, calm voice, “Elise, we have more than enough evidence to turn over to the prosecution for a first-degree murder charge. You will be tried as an adult. Even if you were granted leniency because of your age and mitigating factors, you wouldn’t see the outside of a jail cell for at least twenty years.”