Minutes to Kill (Scarlet Falls #2)(95)

Ten minutes later, she was empty and spent. Her eyes ached, and her chest hurt. “They were nothing but potential witnesses to those men.”

“Probably.”

“They’ll try to get Jewel and the other girls who survived.”

“I’m sure they’ll be guarded.” Brody stroked her hair. “Douglas and his team are working with the FBI and Border Patrol, plus a host of other agencies who specialize in investigating human trafficking. Homeland Security could get involved. They are taking the girls’ safety very seriously. In fact, Douglas said if you want to see Jewel, I mean Jenna, then you’d better go today. She’ll be moved soon to a secure location.”

Hannah wiped her eyes. “OK. Give me twenty minutes to get myself together.”

Within an hour they were back at the hospital.

Douglas ushered Hannah into the hospital room and stepped out. “The two girls seemed to have bonded, so we’re keeping them together. It’s important to call her Jenna. She needs to regain her sense of identity. That’s one thing traffickers take away early, along with hope and dignity.”

A very pregnant teen slept in one bed. Jewel, no, Jenna sat in the bed near the window.

“Hi, Jenna.” Hannah approached the bed. “I’m glad you’re OK.”

A tear rolled down the girl’s cheek. “Thank you for everything.”

“It wasn’t me.” Hannah shook her head. “You saved yourself, and it looks like you saved someone else, too. Two someones.”



Brody filled a Styrofoam cup with coffee in the waiting area. “What will happen to these girls?”

Detective Douglas popped the tab on a can of Diet Coke. “Jenna has a mother, but I don’t know that she’ll go back home. The mother’s pedophile boyfriend was picked up for violating the terms of his parole, but Mom is unstable and unreliable. Besides, we need Jenna as a witness. We want to keep her safe, and if we hold on to her, she’ll get the help she’s going to need.”

He had the haggard look of a man who saw dozens of dead teenagers the previous day and just couldn’t process the sight.

“Can you keep her safe?”

“The girls will probably go into safe houses. We’ve dealt with this before. Witnesses tend to disappear in any case even remotely related to a Mexican cartel.”

“This isn’t over.”

“This will never be over,” Douglas said. “But we’re a step closer. Mick Arnette and his brother won’t be abusing any more girls. We have eyes on Herb Fletcher. We have new witnesses who hold vital information. Mick was in the habit of leaving his computer lying around. He used a password and must have assumed the girls couldn’t access it. But Lola said she watched him and learned his password. Jenna did the same. That is one very smart girl. Before she tried to run away from Mick’s house, she copied his document files to a cloud account. We have everything. Spreadsheets of income and expenses, client information, and online classified accounts where he advertised the girls. We also have a cell phone that communicated with the parent organization. That’s a lot of data to sift through. We’re in this for the long haul. On top of all that, we have Sam’s girlfriend.”

Hannah came down the hall. She wiped her eyes with a tissue.

“Are you all right?” Brody asked her.

“Yes. I gave the girls my card and told them I was available for legal assistance if they need it.” She turned to Douglas. “Jenna is worried about a dog that was kept at the house.”

Douglas nodded. “There was a pit bull mix chained up out back. He barked a lot but was surprisingly friendly. Poor beast was half-starved.”

“What happened to him?” Hannah asked.

Douglas drank from his can. “He was supposed to go to the animal shelter, but one of the guys on the raid team felt bad and took him home. Maybe I can arrange to have the dog visit Jenna. Could help win her trust. Thanks.”

“Good-bye, Detective. Let me know if there’s anything you need from me.” Hannah turned toward Brody.

He steered her to the elevators, and they navigated the hallways to the exit. Outside, the sun washed them with heat. “Going to be cold in New York.”

They walked to the car.

“I still can’t wait to get home,” she said.

But it wasn’t really home. Not to her. Brody would miss her when she left. “When will you go back to work?”

“I don’t know.” She stopped beside the rental car. “Royce is in the Manhattan office. I’ll probably take the train down on Monday and talk to him.”

“Can’t you just call him?”

“No. Face-to-face is better with Royce. On the phone, he issues orders and hangs up on me.”

Brody opened her car door. In the back of his mind, he could picture his grandfather doing the same for Gran. They were together for sixty years. Best friends, Gran had said. Brody had always wanted that for himself.

“When will you leave for London?” he asked her.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t sound too excited.”

“I don’t know what I want.” She turned and splayed her hands on his chest. “You confuse me, and what I feel for you scares the hell out of me. I’m not good at the relationship thing, but I’m working on it.”