“More than twelve hours went by before you called police,” Hackett said. “I need you to explain the delay to me again.”
“I told you, they said that if I went to the police they would kill Tilly. I told absolutely no one. I did all I could to try to find Lyle. I don’t know where he is. When nothing worked, the only person I told is my brother, Jack. I begged him to help me and he told me to call the police.”
Hackett let a few moments pass in silence before he and Larson left Cora alone in the room.
The agents sent for Gannon, leading him to a separate room where Hackett sipped coffee from an FBI mug and flipped through his notes.
“And what’s your line of work, Jack?”
“I’m a correspondent with the World Press Alliance.”
“You’re a reporter with the newswire service?”
“Yes.”
“And you were in Mexico when she called you?”
“Yes.”
“Where in Mexico?”
“Juarez.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“And what were you doing there when she contacted you?”
“I was working on the WPA’s series on the drug trade.”
Hackett and Larson exchanged a look of unease.
“Is that right?” Hackett asked. “Yes.”
“Who did you talk to down there? What were you doing?”
“I talked to other journalists, morgue officials. It’s all in the profile that I wrote. The WPA will put out a day- of-death feature.”
“A ‘day-of-death’ feature?”
“Yes, it’ll likely run in tomorrow’s
“I’ll have to read it,” Hackett said. “Is it possible there’s a link to your activities in Mexico and what’s happened to your niece? Like maybe you pissed somebody off? Cartels have been known to go after journalists.”
“I know, but I doubt it,” Gannon said.
“Why?”
“I’ve only been there a few days and my sister said that the people who took my niece asked for Lyle Galviera, said he owed them five million dollars. Until today, I’d never heard of the guy.”
“Would you say you and your sister are close? Keep in touch regularly?”
“No. She ran away from home when she was seventeen and I was twelve. I never saw her again, until today.”
“So it’s fair to say you don’t really know your sister that well?”
“It’s been difficult, yes.”
“And here you are, directly from Juarez, Mexico?”
“That’s right. Here I am.”
Hackett stared at him for several long seconds before he and Larson met with other people in the Bureau and made a few calls. Then they led Gannon to the room where Cora had been waiting and questioned them together.
“Cora,” Hackett started, “I need to know more about Tilly. Does she have any medical condition we should know about?”
“No.”
“Does she have a boyfriend?”
“God no, she’s eleven.”
“Does she use drugs? Is she flirtatious? Does she spend a lot of time chatting on the internet?”
“No.”
“Is she a good student?”
“Yes. She has above-average grades. She likes school.”
“Describe her relationship with you.”
“She’s a good girl. We have a strong relationship. There’s just the two of us in our family. We’re as close as any mother and daughter can be.”
“Where’s Tilly’s father?”
“I don’t know. He’s been out of the picture from the start. I raised her alone.”
“Again, characterize your relationship with Lyle Galviera. You indicated it’s more than boss-employee.”
“I started working there five years ago and last year we started dating.”
“Are you engaged?”
“No. A few months ago we talked about marriage but we decided to keep dating, see where things go.”
“Describe Lyle’s relationship with Tilly.”
“He adores her and she likes him.”
“Can you think of anyone who would have reason to take this kind of action against you?”
Cora was stabbed by the memory of California.
“No.”
“What about Lyle and his company-any enemies?”
“I can’t think of one. Everyone likes Lyle.”
“Is the company involved in the trafficking of narcotics?”
“I told you, no, not to my knowledge. I know we were facing some hard financial times. Lyle had to lay off a couple of people and told me to watch office costs, but drugs? No, this is all wrong.”
“You said that this morning the kidnappers called you at your office?”
“Yes. When I got loose, I went there immediately to try to find some clue as to where Lyle was. They called me on my cell phone and put Tilly on.”
“Did she give you any idea where she was?”
“No, it was only for a second and she sounded so scared.”
“How did they get your number?”
“Tilly would have given them my cell phone number.”
“Have you ever been involved with illicit drugs, Cora?”
She was struggling to hold herself together and covered her mouth with her cupped hands, feeling her brother’s eyes upon her. “Yes.”
“Elaborate.”
“For about ten years, starting when I was seventeen, I was addicted to drugs-pot, coke and crack. I was messed up. I drifted across the country. I hit bottom. I cut myself off from my family. Then I got pregnant with Tilly. I got clean for her, started over with her. I changed my name from Cora Gannon to Cora Martin.”
“Why did you change your name?”
“To put my past behind me and start over. I moved to Phoenix, put myself through college and started a new life. I got clerical jobs. I’ve been clean since.”
“So it’s been about twelve years since you’ve used?” Hackett asked.
“Yes, about that.”
“Did you deal?”
