I nodded.
“What do you want to bet that poor little girl was abused the whole time?”
It was silent for a few moments as we all considered this.
I shook my head. “That almost makes me ill. I’d like nothing more than to see this guy rot in prison for rape, child abuse, domestic violence-anything else they can pin on him.”
Everyone nodded. “But in order to get him there,” Richard said, “we have to find Isabel and convince her to testify. And frankly, even then it could be sketchy. It could end up being his word against hers. When they understand the courtroom ordeal that they’re about to subject themselves to, a lot of victims decide they don’t want to put themselves through it. They refuse to testify.”
I nodded. “I know. But before we get too concerned about that, I think we should focus on the most important thing, which is finding Isabel and seeing that she’s well taken care of. Getting her stepfather busted would also be nice, but I’m afraid that will have to be the icing on the cake.”
“Agreed,” Toni said.
I said, “And our more immediate problem is that it seems like when Isabel left, she may have jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.”
“I don’t think that old cliche fits,” Toni said. “But I’ll borrow from it and say that Isabel jumped out of one fire and maybe landed in another.”
I nodded. “Fair enough. Based on her text messages to Kelli, it seems as though after Isabel ran, she got hooked up with someone she thought was pretty cool, and then for some reason, she indicated that she was wrong.”
“Without even knowing all the details, I have a theory where my money lands,” Richard said. We all looked at him.
“Two-thirds of all young girls who run away from home end up involved in prostitution, and the risk is especially high for kids who have been abused. Sadly, this case has all the markings. I’d say there’s a very strong probability that Isabel’s gotten herself scooped up by one of the gangs that control prostitution here in Seattle.”
“Two-thirds?” Toni asked. “I think Danny and I both suspected this might be a possibility, but I’m surprised at how common it is.”
“It’s a tragedy of epidemic proportions,” Richard said.
No one spoke for several seconds. Finally, I said, “Well, all the more reason I’d like to find her. I can’t imagine the outcome for most of those girls, but it can’t be good. We need to find Isabel before she’s consumed.”
“Do we have the resources?” Richard said.
I shrugged. “We have the resources,” I said, “but the problem is the job doesn’t pay. This would be a charity case.”
“Her parents sure as hell aren’t going to pay,” Doc said.
“Agreed,” I said.
“Well, the good news is that we’ve got a free week anyway, right?” Kenny said. “Ferguson’s not until next week. We have a gap.”
“Exactly,” Toni agreed. “I say we go get her.”
“I agree,” Doc added. “Besides, if we find Isabel, maybe she’ll testify against her prick stepfather so he ends up in prison.”
I nodded. “That’d work. Like I said, though, finding Isabel is job one. Getting her stepfather sent up is icing on the cake.”
“Icing is good,” Doc said. “Sometimes, it’s the best part.”
Chapter 4
Our staff meeting finished up fifteen minutes later. I spent the next hour in my office, paying bills and catching up on e mails and paperwork. I finished up by quarter after ten, and Toni and I hit the road. We were on our way to meet Nancy Stewart at the Seattle Police Department headquarters on Fifth Avenue in downtown Seattle. The plan was to meet Dwayne and Gus in their office by 10:45 and then have them take us up to meet Nancy.
Toni and I take turns, by date, picking music. Today was an even-numbered date-June 6-so that meant it was Toni’s day to choose. I get the odds. Toni says that makes more sense. Go figure.
Although the “picker” gets to choose anything he or she wants, we try to pick something that the other one doesn’t hate. Today, Toni chose The Black Eyed Peas’
I’m not what you’d call an old hand at relationships, but I can say that when you get together with someone you’ve been good friends with for many years-like Toni and me-there are many benefits. One of these is that you already know what the other likes and doesn’t like. You already know where you fit and where you need to be careful. For us, we’re already comfortable with not filling every moment with conversation. The absence of conversation is not always a bad thing. We both like to just sit back and listen and think-not having to invent small talk to fill all the blank spaces. Which is why I was able to just drive and listen to the music as we cut through the heart of downtown before dipping into the tunnel that ran beneath Denny Way.
I thought about Isabel as the traffic noise bounced off the tunnel walls and drowned out the music. I was blown away by the figures Richard had quoted in our meeting earlier, and I was having a hard time getting my mind around the full magnitude of the problem. In and of themselves, the statistics are bad enough-horrifying actually. But it’s worse-much worse-when you look deeper. Each number on the statistics page is its own tragedy; each number represents a separate life with its own potential. Each young person represented by a number has her own hopes and dreams. Yesterday, I’d stood in Isabel’s room. I’d seen the little-girl stuffed animals, the young-teenage posters on the wall, the young-woman perfume on the dresser. For me, even though I’d never met her, Isabel wasn’t just a number. She was real. I was damn grateful that my team was as enthusiastic about going after her as I was.
We’d just pinned our visitor badges on in the sixth floor lobby at the Seattle Police Department when Dwayne walked through a restricted-access door and greeted us.
“Morning, guys,” he said, smiling. He was dressed sharply in a navy suit with very faint pinstripes. He wore his gold badge pinned to his lapel pocket.
“Long time no see, boss,” I said. “We don’t see you in three months, and now it’s twice in two days.”
“I know, I know,” he said. “You’re fixin’ to wear out your welcome.” He laughed when he said it, but I hoped he didn’t mean that the introductions and favors he provided for us were getting a little annoying.
“Hope not,” I said.
“Nah,” he said, chuckling. “You’re good.” He must have sensed my concern. “We’re happy to help. Besides, as I said, we appreciate the free lunches you give us for payback.”
“Especially happy to help your partner,” Gus said as he entered the lobby. “My dear,” he added, “you look beautiful, as always.”
“Thank you, Gus,” Toni said. She did look especially nice today. She wore black jeans; above, she wore a lavender-colored top layered over a white T-shirt. She was beautiful. Then again, I’m probably not the one to ask. I think she looks beautiful every day.
“I’m afraid we have to be pretty quick this morning,” Dwayne said. “We’ve got a case we’re working on.”
“Let’s go, then,” Toni said. “We appreciate you guys making the introductions for us.”
“You kidding?” Gus said, holding out his arm for Toni. “I don’t care what the boss says. I’d rather escort you around than do police work any day.”
Toni smiled and took his arm. “Lead on, kind sir,” she said. Gus beamed and headed for the elevators.
Dwayne and I followed. Dwayne shook his head and laughed softly. “That guy brightens up whenever she’s
