The girl was folded up in a blanket. I could see the silver and red of her school uniform underneath. She looked out the window, chin on knees, at the underbelly of the El. After a moment she shifted position, then answered.
“Hey.”
That was it. Just hey.
“I’m not a cop,” I said. “So you don’t have to answer a whole bunch of questions.”
She had light red hair, wide-spaced green eyes, and a sprinkling of freckles in between. She had bruises on her neck, her upper arms, and underneath her jaw. They were yellowed and looked like they might have come from a man’s grip. A man’s fist.
“If you’re not a cop, why are you here?”
“I used to be a cop. Now I’m a private investigator. Sometimes I help out.”
“Oh. Some guy attacked me.”
“I know, Jennifer.”
“That’s good.”
She laid her head down against the fold of her knees and sighed.
“They’re finding my parents right now. They’re going to be pissed.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that, Jennifer.”
“You don’t know. They’ll be pissed.”
“You’re twelve years old?”
She nodded.
“I was headed home from school.”
“But you took a detour?”
“I was going to take the El downtown. Walk over to the Apple store.”
“Cool store.”
“It’s open ’til nine. But that’s why they’ll be mad.”
“They won’t be mad.”
“You don’t know my dad.”
I thought about Rodriguez’s instructions. About not talking to the girl. Then I took another look at the girl. Then I forgot about Rodriguez’s instructions.
“Tell me about it,” I said.
“I don’t think so.”
Silence. Then she continued.
“He got me with the basketball.”
“The basketball?”
“I was walking across the alley, blocked off from the street by those.”
She pointed toward two large green dumpsters. Between us and the illusion of safety on Belmont.
“He came up out of nowhere. Dribbled the ball off his foot or his leg. Something like that. Right into the alley.”
I looked outside. A red, white, and blue ABA ball had rolled up against one of the iron girders that held up the El.
“You followed the ball,” I said.
“I took a step.”
“Anyone would. It’s instinct. He knew that.”
“You think so?” she said.
“Yeah, Jennifer. I think so.”
“He was behind, pushing me. With the knife. Put a hand over my mouth and started dragging me.”
I noticed a short set of stone steps cut into the side of the Belmont Arms. At the bottom of the steps was a wooden door. Looked like it had been kicked open a long time ago. My guess was that was where Jennifer Cole was supposed to wind up. Inside the cellar of the Belmont Arms, where assault would have ripened into rape and perhaps worse.
“How did you get away?”
“Scratched him. Bit him. He let go and I screamed. Then he ran.”
Jennifer’s voice was brittle to the point of dust. She showed me her teeth as if to prove she could bite. Then she started to cry. Quietly. Reluctantly. As if she needed permission. I waited. No idea what was next, what should be next.
“You get a look at him?”
She shook her head.
“I’m so fucking stupid.”
“It’s not your fault, Jennifer.”
I didn’t know how else to comfort the girl behind the Plexi. She was evidence, waiting to be processed. Another case waiting to be worked. A burst from the squad’s police radio kicked the conversation forward.
“I think your parents are here,” I said. “I’m going to go up and find out. But first I need to ask you one more question. The bruises on your neck and arms. You didn’t get them today, did you?”
Jennifer looked down at her arms and shook her head.
“Who did that to you, Jennifer?”
She shrugged her shoulders and wiped her nose.
“My dad gets mad sometimes.”
“How mad, Jennifer?”
“Pretty mad, mister. Pretty fucking mad.”
I laid a business card flat against the Plexi.
“Jennifer.”
She looked up.
“You see this number?”
She nodded.
“Remember it. Call it anytime you have a problem. You understand what I mean?”
She nodded.
“You got the number memorized?”
She nodded again.
“Say it back to me.”
She did.
“Good. Remember the number and get through today. Tomorrow gets better.”
I left the girl the way I found her and walked to the front of the building. Nicole had just arrived.
“Your vic’s in the cruiser,” I said.
“Thanks. They told me you were here. That’s two assaults in two days. How did that happen?”
“Luck, I guess. You think they’re related?”
Nicole shrugged.
“Probably not. Both attackers used a knife to subdue. But this one was bold. Broad daylight on a busy street. Besides, this one killed.”
“Assault victim’s a kid, Nicole.”
“I know. We’ll get her some help. Where’s Vince?”
“Upstairs with the body. Victim says she scratched the guy and bit him on the hand. Might want to look for blood.”
Nicole shook her head.
“No blood yet. But we did find this.”
An evidence tech handed her a Baggie. Inside was a used condom.
“Where?”
“Back of the alley.”
“Doesn’t make sense,” I said. “The kid says she fought him off.”
“You mean she wasn’t penetrated.”
