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She shook her head. “Nothing. I thought she was an officer until she pulled a gun on me. I was too scared to think about anything else besides getting help and finding Izzy.”
“Did she sound like she was from Tennessee?” Izzy asked.
“I…I don’t know. I’m so sorry.”
Beau’s phone rumbled on the table. Cruz’s number and photo flashed on the screen. “One second,” he said, scooping it up and answering the call. “Hey, Cruz. What’s up?”
“I need you to come down to the station.”
Apprehension tightened his chest. “Did you find the man who tried to grab Izzy?”
A beat of tense silence pulsed through the line. “No, we found another girl.”
4
Asharp buzz signaled the interior door to the main hub of the police station was ready to be opened. A sense of déjà vu transported Izzy back to the last time she’d stepped into the stand-alone, brick building just off the main square downtown. Numbness trickled down her spine and slowed her feet.
Beau rested a hand on her back. “You’re okay,” he whispered against her ear.
His warm breath on her face made her shiver, and his reassuring presence pushed her over the threshold. After making sure Paxton’s boyfriend was on his way to see her home safely, Izzy insisted on accompanying Beau to the police station. Not only did she not want to be without him, but she wanted to offer whatever comfort she could to the poor girl who’d been discovered in the forest.
The station was quiet, only a couple officers hunched over paperwork at their desks. She kept her head down as Beau guided her to the same room where she’d once given her statement. This time, the beige-colored room stuffed with a lone table and cluster of chairs held Cruz, Brooke, and a girl no older than sixteen with dirty cheeks and soiled clothing.
Cruz caught her eye and nodded. “Thanks for coming, Izzy. Beau.”
She flashed a small smile, unable to stop herself from staring at the girl. Had she looked that scared and fragile when she’d sat in the same spot?
Brooke stood and met her with a hug then offered her a chair. “This is Kasie. Kasie, this is the young woman we told you about. You already provided your statement, but we thought you might be more comfortable if she were with us as we waited for your parents to arrive.”
With chattering teeth, Kasie cast a quick glance at Izzy before dropping her gaze to her tightly clasped hands on her lap. “He took you, too?” The question was small and quiet.
Izzy’s heart pounded and she sought Beau with her gaze, who quickly crossed the room to stand at her side.
He dipped his chin, as if encouraging her to answer.
“Not him, but someone else did,” she said, licking her dry lips. “The man who took me is in jail.”
“Were you on a hiking trail?”
“No, I was at a rest stop. I was grabbed in a bathroom.” She wrapped her arms around herself, but the memory didn’t assault her like it usually did. “Are you from around here?”
Kasie moved her thumb over the top of her hand again and again. “Elm Ridge. Not far. I just wanted to hike. To see the sunset over the mountains. I drove to the state park, close to where ya’ll found me, and that man just appeared.”
Brooke settled into a folding chair close to the door. “You don’t have to relive this. Don’t need to tell it all again.”
“I want her to know,” Kasie said, voice cracking.
Izzy grabbed the girl’s hand and squeezed. “I understand. When I went through this, there were two other girls with me. We’re all still in touch, encourage each other. What happened to us was horrible, but it bonded us together in a way no one understands.”
Beau lowered himself into the seat beside Izzy and draped his arm across the back of her chair. “Did you find links to the man? Any idea where to find him?” He directed the question across the room at Cruz.
“Based on the things Kasie overheard, we’re thinking he lives close by,” Cruz said. “Or at least has been in the area for a while.”
Izzy tightened her grip on Kasie. She’d always assumed the monsters behind the sex-trafficking ring were from out of town. That there was no way people like that could live so close, or even in their close-knit community. The idea that someone had hidden among them constricted her throat like a noose. “What did he say?”
Kasie drew in a shuddering breath, shaking her slender shoulders. “He was talking to someone on the phone. He said he couldn’t let an opportunity just pass him by, no matter how bad Charlie and Karen ruined everything. That he had to clean up their mess before he could move on but would just take me with him.”
“Charlie and Karen aren’t a threat anymore, and we know they’re from Indiana,” Cruz said. “But if they had another partner who’s lingered in the area since December, there’s no telling where he’s staying.”
