Detective Croyden wasn’t on duty. Tony thought for the second time that at least he didn’t work twenty-four hours a day.
“I’ll get Lieutenant Stone,” the desk officer said, perking up after they told her who Shahla was. She had looked bored when they came in. “She’s the officer in charge.” And then to Shahla, “I’m glad you’re all right. We were worried about you.”
“You were?” Shahla turned to Tony after they entered the conference room and said, “Were the police looking for me?”
Tony nodded.
“But I was right here all the time.”
Lieutenant Stone walked into the conference room. Although she wasn’t exceptionally big, she looked impressive in her blue police uniform, with the full belt, attached to which were a gun, handcuffs, a nightstick, a cell phone, and a number of other implements of the trade that Tony couldn’t identify. That belt must weigh plenty. And the lieutenant looked as if she could take care of herself.
Lieutenant Stone shook hands with both of them. She said to Shahla, “Your hands are cut. Do you need medical attention?”
“It’s nothing. I’m okay.”
“Be sure to clean them up and disinfect them. I’m glad you’re safe. Sit down and tell me what happened.”
“The first thing is that a man attempted to kidnap her within the last half hour,” Tony said. “He may still be in the area.”
The lieutenant flashed into action and asked key questions. When she asked what kind of car he was driving, Shahla said, “It was silver, not too big. I don’t know what kind.” Tony, who had seen it only at long range, couldn’t identify it any better. Shahla’s description of the suspect was a little more helpful, but not much.
Lieutenant Stone said, “That isn’t much to go on, but I’ll put out an APB and tell everybody you’re safe.”
She went out of the room. Tony ached to question Shahla some more, but he would hear it all soon enough. He felt a great sense of relief that she was all right. She looked okay, if a little bedraggled, except for her wrist and hands. He wondered whether the broadcast went out to more than just the two or three cars that he imagined were patrolling in Bonita Beach, but when Stone came back, she was all business, and he didn’t get a chance to ask.
“They’re keeping an eye on your mom’s house,” she said to Shahla, “and yours too, since he knows where you live,” indicating Tony. “We can have a car drive you home, Shahla.”
“I’m staying with Tony tonight,” Shahla said. “My mom’s out of town, you know.”
Stone looked dubious. “Is that all right with her?”
“I talked to her. She said it was okay.”
Tony didn’t want to get involved in this discussion. He had that guilty feeling he got when he thought he was going to be accused of doing something immoral.
Stone said, “Maybe that’s for the best. I suspect some news crews may be on their way to your mom’s house now. It’s probably better if you can avoid them for one night. We just gave out your picture a short time ago. They’ll pick up the APB and know you’re safe, so they’ll want to talk to you. But they can do that tomorrow. For now, tell me what happened to you since yesterday morning.”
Shahla hesitated and then blurted out, “I went to a party.”
“An all-night party?” “No. I left before dark. But then I got a phone call from him.”
“Who’s him?”
“Probably the man who tried to kidnap me. I didn’t recognize his phone number. And then I broke my phone. I don’t remember what it was.”
When, in response to probing from Lieutenant Stone, Shahla said that the caller sounded something like the Chameleon, the lieutenant said, “An officer from El Segundo talked to the Chameleon last night at his apartment. He was home with all his girlie pictures. So I can tell you for sure that he wasn’t out harassing you. In fact, he doesn’t even own a car. And he has an alibi for the night of Joy’s murder.”
Shahla told how she had been too scared to leave Jane’s basement. When she started telling what she had done that morning, Stone asked her why she hadn’t contacted the police after she found her mother gone.
“Because I didn’t know you were involved,” Shahla said. “I just thought my mother and Kirk had taken off to someplace.”
“You’re greatly undervaluing yourself by thinking your mom wasn’t worried about you,” Stone said. “She’s been calling here every hour since last night to see if we have any information on you. I don’t think she slept at all.”
“Why didn’t you at least return my phone call?” Tony asked.
“Like I said, I broke my phone. I didn’t know you called. My mom said she left a message on my phone about going to my aunt’s house. I didn’t get that one either.”
“Can’t you retrieve your messages from another phone?” Stone asked.
Shahla looked puzzled. “I don’t know. I’ve never been without my phone before.”
Tony said, “Your mom must be in the same boat because she didn’t get the message from you.”
Lieutenant Stone nodded. “We get situations like this all the time. You would think that since we’re in the age of communication, people would be able to communicate with each other. But we depend too much on technology. However, I want to give you kudos for foiling your kidnapper. It’s a good thing you’re not a docile little doll. If you were, you wouldn’t be here right now. Of course you shouldn’t have gone to the party without telling your mother. But this whole thing sounds like one of those old slapstick comedies where everyone is in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Stone was an adept questioner, and she wrung every possible bit of information out of Shahla, including as much of a description of the kidnapper and his car as she could give. Shahla answered readily, but she was getting visibly tired. Finally, it became evident that she had nothing new to add to what she had already said.
“We’ll let you go and get some sleep,” Stone said, looking meaningfully at Tony. “Let me see if any reporters are here.”
She went out and returned within a minute. “They’re starting to gather. Do you want to speak to them tonight, Shahla? You are one terrific story, and they’re going to hound you until they get it.”
Shahla shook her head. “I can’t take any more tonight.”
“Okay. Tony, is your car parked in front? Drive it around to the back. I don’t think they know you, do they? I’ll distract them and then sneak Shahla out the back door.”
“How did you know I had a spare bedroom?” Tony asked as they went from the carport through his back door.
“I didn’t,” Shahla said. “I didn’t want to tell my mom I was going to sleep on the floor. She wouldn’t have liked that.”
“So you didn’t know that Josh left.”
Shahla looked surprised. “What happened?”
“He didn’t like the fact that I turned him in.”
“Oh, Tony, I’m sorry. Is he still a suspect?”
“Not really. It seems those panties are about ten years old. They date from college. I vaguely remembered something about them after he accused me of betraying him.”
“I guess I can’t say that the situation must be difficult for you.”
Tony laughed shortly. “No more than I can say it to you. We have to make up the bed in what was Josh’s room for you. Fortunately, I actually do laundry once in a while, and I have clean sheets.”
“May I take a shower? I haven’t had one in a couple of days. And I need to wash off his touch. And my clothes are dirty.”
“We should have gone by your place and picked up some clean clothes.”
“And fight the reporters? No thanks. I’ll manage. But my leg started to hurt when we were at the police station.”
