I sucked in a sharp breath. “What happened to you?”
Fear lived deep in the girl’s blue eyes. Her red hair was covered in leaves. Her lip was split, her white frilly blouse was ripped, her shorts torn, and cuts marred her long legs as though someone had decided to use her as a sculpture. Surely, hopping fences couldn’t have given her the bruises so quickly.
Her gaze darted up and down the street. “I need to hide.”
She needed first aid. “The cops can help you.” She definitely wasn’t a suspect but a victim, for sure.
Her head moved back and forth at a rapid rate. “No cops.” Her voice squeaked like a dog’s chew toy. “Please help me.”
Her plea sent a chill down my spine. My horrible night all those years ago flashed before me. “Come on. My car is one block down.”
She hesitated, licking her bloody lip.
“I promise, no cops. But if you don’t come with me now, they will find you.” That much, I was certain of. I was surprised Ted didn’t have a man canvassing every nook and cranny in the near vicinity for her. Whatever was in that house had to be bad to divert the cops’ attention away from a potential suspect or victim.
I had so many questions skipping through my mind. First, I needed to help the girl, and not by turning her in. I trusted Ted. But at the moment, the girl needed a friend and not an interrogator. I carefully grasped her hand. “We need to move.”
She came with me willingly. When we were safely in my car and on the road, she sighed then started crying.
I rubbed her arm lightly with the back of my fingers, careful not to put any pressure on her bruises. “Let it out.” Crying was a great release. I always felt as though tears held all the bottled-up pain, and when tears fell, the pain inside eased.
She cried as I sifted through my brain, trying to think of where to take her. I could take her to my dingy apartment. I had a bed, a secondhand couch, a coffee table, and no air conditioner. I nixed the idea since the possibility existed that Ted could stop by.
When I was several blocks away from the crime scene, I pulled off to the side of the road, in front of a closed convenience store.
The girl looked around. “What are you doing?”
“I need to think.” I didn’t want to drive around since my little VW Bug was low on gas. “There’s a homeless shelter a mile from here.”
“No. I’m a mess. I don’t want to call attention to myself. They might call the police. If Miguel knows I went to the cops, he’ll kill me. Also, no hospital. They would definitely alert the police.”
“Do you have a name?”
She sniffled. “Nadine.”
“I’m Maggie. I want to help you, but I’m coming up empty on where to lay low for tonight. And who is Miguel? Your pimp?”
Ted would be angry if he found out about Nadine. I didn’t think I was breaking the law.
“Miguel is a very bad man, but yeah, he’s my pimp.”
“Is Miguel part of a gang called the Black Knights?”
She hiked a small shoulder. “Never heard of them. Look, if Miguel finds out that the cops have me, he’ll kill me.”
I pulled out my phone. “Is Miguel the one that hurt you?”
Her cold, clammy hand covered mine. “It doesn’t matter who hurt me. Please. I need one night to regroup.”
I wanted to askthen what,but I knew she would go back to Miguel. All nightwalkers returned to their pimps.
“The guy the cops caught—was that Miguel?”
“No. I don’t know his name. He’s a new guy who works for Miguel.”
“What were you doing at that house?”
Her hand was on the door. “You’re sounding like a cop now, and I’ve said enough.”
